Gone Forever

CHAPTER 1

GONE FOREVER

ASABEA LEAVES NIMAKO

Asabea with Delphina her mom and Spencer her dad stood on their porch and waved good-bye to Nimako and her family as they drove away.

Tears sprang from Asabea's eyes as she watched her best friend, who had been her neighbor all her life, leave. Asabea and Nimako had known each other since infancy. They went to school together and ate together at school. You would never see one without the other. They were known as "Two Musketeers"

In fact, their friendship was something to emulate. Suddenly, they had to separate. For Asabea, it was an agony she had to go through. 'When your best friend moves to Nigeria on the last day of school, it's a sure bet that you are about to experience the worst vacation ever,' she thought. Asabea's mom watched her daughter's face carefully, seeing her look of dejection and misery; she hugged her and said, 'You know Nigeria isn't that far away. Perhaps if you save some money, you could afford to visit Nimako this vacation.' At this time, Asabea couldn't know what to do. Tears dropped from her eyes like ice cubes falling on a roofing sheet. The more she tried to control her tears, the more they came out.

After hours of crying, when no more tears were coming, Asabea asked her mom half jokingly, 'Am I about to get a substantial increase in my allowance?' She had been asking her parents for more money for a couple of months now. Asabea whisked her hand behind her back and crossed her fingers hoping today might be the day.

'Well, I'll talk to your dad about finding ways to earn some extra money these holidays,' said her mom. At this thought, Asabea was optimistic because she knew who her dad was. Though Spencer her dad was a bit difficult, anytime she asked for anything from him through her mom, she always got it. 'Come inside, in a few minutes diner will be ready,' said Delphina her mom and then she vanished into the house.

Asabea sat on the front steps alone. The familiar neighborhood was suddenly different without Nimako. The air was fresh. The wind was whispering. The sky was blue and the atmosphere should have influenced Asabea's mood, but she was not moved. There was no panacea which could heal her wounded soul once and for all. The more she tried to forget Nimako, the more her picture appeared on her mind. Asabea overturned a rock with her foot and inspected several worms as they wiggled to escape the afternoon sunlight. She picked up a few of them and moved them into the flowerbed next to the daisies. 'Do worms have best friends?' She asked the worms.

'Now am l ever going to see Nimako again?' she asked herself. Then a brilliant idea flashed through her head. She went to ask Spencer. 'Dad, how much does a sachet of water cost?' He raised his eyebrows and looked at Asabea with curiosity. 'Do you want to go selling pure water?' 'Well..., yes.' She had finally thought to raise some money on her own so that she could buy an air ticket to go and see her best friend Nimako in Nigeria.

Asabea explained to her parents her idea of going into the sale of water. It was not welcome news to them. She became moody and neither ate nor talked to anyone. Her parents tried to brush off the idea of going into the sale of water since it could jeopardize the family's reputation, but she did not understand them.

For her, the end justified the means and she had to see Nimako by all means. She then asked her parents if they could take her to see the family doctor the following day. It was only God who knew what was on her mind. They agreed to take her to see the doctor.

When they got there, Asabea expressed her feelings about the relationship between her and Nimako and the distance between them to the doctor. She asked the doctor to plead on her behalf so her parents would allow her to get into the business she had set her mind on doing. Finally, they agreed that she could sell the water in front of their house.

Asabea was given the chance to study the market to know how much capital she could start with and to find out whether she could get more market if she sold the water in front of their house.

Lo and behold, Asabea came out with a positive response. She started the sale of the water with Five Ghana Cedis and by the end of the week; she had made a profit of Twenty Ghana Cedis. For her, it was the best experience she could ever have, though occasionally she could not forget her problems. She remembered the good times she shared together with Nimako. At times, it appeared as though she was in control of her problems then all of a sudden, she would break down and weep.

In fact, this continued for a year and she had still not heard anything from Nimako. She then thought of writing a letter to him about her latest venture. At that time, the postal systems were very poor. Could you imagine posting a letter to Nigeria could take you between two and three months to reach its destination? Asabea wrote about the problems she had gone through since their separation and how she was eager to see her whether rain or shine.

She recalled one fateful day after school when Nimako said it would not rain so they should run home. Luck eluded them. The rain caught them in the middle of the road where there was no shelter nearby to protect them from the onslaught of the rainstorm. In fact, they were whipped by the raindrops. To add oil to already burning flames, a wind storm lifted Nimako and dropped her on the ground as if a 'Macho Man' (a well built man) had pushed her.

After a while of this ordeal, luck smiled on them. A taxi cab came to pick them up and took them home. It took about two weeks for them to fully recover from the injuries they sustained from the rainstorm. Asabea told Nimako what she had gone through in her absence. She told her how much of herself she had lost. She had lost her appetite for almost everything she used to enjoy doing. Food had turned into a bitter pill.

CHAPTER 2

Her attempts to find a solution to her problems had failed. She remained convinced that having Nimako near her was the only solution. When she finished writing the letter, she sealed it and gave it to her dad to post it for her. Each passing day, Asabea peeped into the mail box anxious to find a response from her friend. Four months had elapsed and still there was no response. Her anxiety rose to fever pitch. She certainly couldn't wait any longer and was about to write another letter to him when a thought struck her.

One Sunday afternoon, she asked her dad whether he actually posted the letter. Though offended by the question, he was worried about his daughter's state of mind since she and her friend separated. Knowing fully well how much Nimako meant to her daughter, he assured her that the letter had indeed been posted. This confirmation did a good work of calming her nerves and made her hesitate to fire another letter to her friend.

After about five months, a letter from Nimako arrived in their mail box. The last few lines caught her attention. 'I can't believe you are selling pure water. This, I have to see. Send me a picture!' She told Asabea about her new experience in Nigeria. She told her about her smooth flight to Nigeria and the new friends she had made. According to her, Nigerian food, its music and the Ibo language was just superb. What touched her most was that her new friends wanted to know more about Ghana and since she was also willing to tell them more, they were highly excited.

At this juncture, Asabea wept as if she had just been told of her mom's death. Receiving a letter from Nimako, everybody thought that could solve some part of the problems confronting her. Unfortunately, the content of the letter had rather pricked her wounds. She couldn't stop herself from weeping. Her parents had to talk to her to calm down. She then went to bed. The following day, she took a picture while selling the water. When the picture was ready, she added it to the letter and posted it to Nimako. A week later, Asabea went to bed and had a dream.

Asabea receives a letter from Nimako

After about five months, a letter from Nimako arrived in their mail box. The last few lines caught her attention. 'I can't believe you are selling pure water. This, I have to see. Send me a picture!' She told Asabea about her new experience in Nigeria. She told her about her smooth flight to Nigeria and the new friends she had made. According to her, Nigerian food, its music and the Ibo language was just superb. What touched her most was that her new friends wanted to know more about Ghana and since she was also willing to tell them more, they were highly excited.

At this juncture, Asabea wept as if she had just been told of her mom's death. Receiving a letter from Nimako, everybody thought that could solve some part of the problems confronting her. Unfortunately, the content of the letter had rather pricked her wounds. She couldn't stop herself from weeping. Her parents had to talk to her to calm down. She then went to bed. The following day, she took a picture while selling the water. When the picture was ready, she added it to the letter and posted it to Nimako. A week later, Asabea went to bed and had a dream.

Asabea goes to bed and she has a dream:

In the dream, she and Nimako had passed well in the Basic Education Certificate Examination and they had been awarded scholarships to further their studies abroad. Not only that, Nimako's dad organized a big party for them. It was all feathers, bubbles, pink decorations and a glamorous location and everyone was dressed up. The food was stunning, the table settings sublime and the flowers were perfectly arranged. Food was in abundance; both local and continental. Drinks flowed like water from a fountain and the jazz was always hot.

The party was rife with tantalizing drama. They ate, drank and danced till day break. Later on, Nimako was given the chance to at least show her appreciation to the invited guests, her friends and her dad for such a great honor accorded to her and her friend. The following day, they packed their entire luggage and went to the airport. Before getting on the plane, Asabea's dad gave them a piece of advice.

Spencer's advice to Asabea and Nimako:

You are going to London to learn and to find knowledge. But remember that you will meet a lot of challenges in the Whiteman's country. I have heard sad stories about some young girls from our country, who went to London to study. They were not serious in their studies. They rather went to pubs and enjoyed themselves and left their books behind. Some of them indulged themselves in immoral practices forgetting about their Christian principles. So Asabea's dad said to them, 'You must not go and show the bad side of you to the other world. Ghana is sending you to London to study. You can enjoy life later when you have completed your studies.' He ended with a prayer. Asabea and Nimako shook hands with him. Thirty minutes after both of them got into the plane, it took off.

Arriving in London, a man came for them and handed them over to the school authorities. They were taken to their rooms.

They ate, and after washing down, they went to bed. The following day, they embarked on an excursion to many interesting places. Suddenly, Asabea woke up and got to know that it was all a dream. In fact, she was anxious to see her friend Nimako not knowing what she saw was all a fantasy.

Asabea receives sad news from Nimako about her health:

A month after the dream, Asabea got sad news from Nimako's parents about the state of Nimako's health. Of late, Nimako had continuously reported of her failed health and how her parents had been taking her from hospitals to hospitals. She was taken to County Hospital where she remained there for a week. Dr. Birddell after conducting about five different tests on the patient and they all proved negative, she referred Nimako to a specialist in Lagos Teaching Hospital.

CHAPTER 3

At that time, they had depleted all the money they had accumulated at the bank. They had also sold their jewelry, cloths and even their house back home in Ghana. They had virtually nothing on them. Going to God too means they needed some money because one could not go to God in an empty hand.

Nimako's parents put their heads together to see if they could raise some money.

They decided to go to Mr. Emeka, a family friend who was also a businessman who had been exporting gold to UK. It was Ransford who suggested the idea of exporting gold to UK to Mr. Emeka. He also drew the business plan for him. Mr.

Emeka had suddenly become rich. When Ransford narrated her daughter's sad story to him, he really sympathized with him but when he asked him to lend him just 10, 000 Naira to help him send his daughter to a prayer camp, he refused. Mr. Emeka told Ransford he could not help because he had spent all his money and that what his family would eat the following day was a problem.

In fact, Ransford could not control his tears. He thought if everybody would fail him, it should not be Mr. Emeka. He could help him if he wanted but he did not. The Bible is right to say that we should not rely on man because man will surely fail you. Mr. Emeka had failed Ransford. Whom was he going to again? At this juncture, Ransford was helpless and desperate. There was nobody he could turn to. The society had rejected him and his friends too had rejected him. Is that how unfair the world is? Do angels still exist?

What a wicked world! All that Spencer had in this world was Nimako and he was losing her. Even at the point he was thinking of what to offer the world and then something struck him that if the world could not offer him anything at that crucial time in his life, why should he think of what to give it back to the world. Such is the world that we live in. One thing that people should not forget it in life is that, in this world, 'Never say that won't happen to me; life has a funny way of proving us wrong.' When you do something good to somebody it does not necessarily mean you will get something good in return. Ransford encouraged himself.

He became firm and forged ahead in life. Mr. Emeka denied him at the time that he needed his help most. He thought of going to see another person. Perhaps God would touch Mr. Chuku's heart. Mr. Chuku was not Ransford's friend but they were all living in the same vicinity. Though Mr. Chuku was accessible, Ransford had never gone to him for any help whether in cash or in kind. It was a difficult decision which Ransford had to take to save his only daughter from death. They say 'A man is the one who takes a bitter pill'.

One evening, Ransford went with Stephanie his wife to Mr. Chuku's house. After greetings, Mr. Chuku welcomed them and offered them a seat. He then asked them of their mission.

Nimako got dementia and she forgot everything she had learnt. Stephanie decided to help her but things were difficult.

Seeing the state of mind of Nimako at that time, Stephanie could not allow her waste away just like that. She used all means to help her. She started teaching her in the house which was not easy at all. 'What's your name baby,' asked Stephanie? Nimako responded by asking same question, 'What's your name baby?' Stephanie then asked the next question, 'I'm Stephanie; what about you?' Nimako repeated same question, 'I'm Stephanie; what about you?' Stephanie realized they really had a problem at hand.

Stephanie talked to Ransford about how serious Nimako's dementia was.

They were confused as to what to do again because the problems were too many for them. Anytime Ransford was at the edge of giving up, Stephanie lifted him up.

Ransford took a family album and showed it to Nimako. He pointed his finger to Stephanie's picture and he asked Nimako to identify it. This time she was able to identify her mom in the album. He then showed his picture in the album to Nimako and she was able to identify it. Ransford became happy because Nimako was gradually regaining her memory. She was 15 years young.

At this time, many things went through her mind. She was thinking about what she could do with her life. All her classmates, she started school with had finished the second cycle institution. She had stopped school for almost four years. She was thinking of whether to go back to J. H. S. 2 or to start from Primary 1. She had virtually forgotten all that she learnt at school. Indeed, she was totally empty. She was in a dilemma as regards what the society would say about a fifteen year old girl in primary 1.

One fateful afternoon, Ransford sat Nimako down and talked to her about the fact that, 'The quality of a man is not what he has achieved but what he intends to achieve; Nimako, at the bottom of patience, one finds heaven. After all life is not about who takes the lead. The most important thing in life is to have a dream like you have and work towards it.' He went on to say that it would be unpardonable for her to allow the society to kill her dreams.

It is only death that can bring one's dream to an end and that age should never be a hindrance to one's success in life.

Nimako laughed and got inspiration from her dad's advice. The following day, she told her dad she was ready to go and start from primary 1.

The following day, Ransford took Nimako to Montessori International School to write her name. After some few tests, she was admitted to basic 1. She started school the following day.