Beggars Tale

CHAPTER SIX

I couldn't stop thinking about Amina's sudden disappearance, I wondered if some ritualists had taken her, or some hoodlums had attacked her, there where so many what if's. I just didn't want to imagine it. But the only way I could find out was if i confronted Hafiz. I had to know when last he saw her. What had happened, I had to know if I was going to be of any help at all.

Even though there was the likelihood of him coming with more boys and attacking me again as nedu had presumed, I was going to take my chances to find Amina.
I wore a trouser and a long sleeve shirt this time around. I didn't go with my purse, just put my transport fare in my pocket, left my blackberry behind and I took my nokia torch. I was ready for any outcome. But wasn't hard finding Hafiz at the park to my surprise.

My paranoid mind imagined he would have had boys everywhere waiting for me. But instead I found him with his mother under the bridge. Immediately he saw me, he got up and walked hurriedly towards my direction. I increased my walking pace but finally stopped when I heard him pleading. At first I didn't want to, I thought it was some trick but his pleas sounded quite convincing.

"Aunty I dey very sorry for yesterday" he said ruefully as he fell to his knees.

"I think say na you carry my sister, she talk say you been wan take am, I dey very sorry please"

I felt a little relieved. Angry still, but mostly relieved. At least now it was all clear I didn't take her we could work together and find out who did.

"So you know who carry am?" I asked.

"some guys like that"

"Ah ahh! Wetin she do them?" I screamed

"nothing na me" he said bowing his head.

"Wetin you do them" I asked highly disappointed but not surprised, Hafiz was a rascal after all.

"I thief their money"

"Ugh!! Hafiz why nau, why you go thief people money" I asked him sadly and then he narrated the story.

Hafiz had stolen some money so he could pay for another shelter he would squat in with his family, should in case the demolition take place sooner than expected. The owner had threatened to reject his offer if he didn't pay in cash sooner than later, his mother had told him they would find another place but he knew nowhere would be as safe.

He had asked some of his friends to help him out with the money but none of them had that kind of money. He continued doing odd jobs for people to see if he could at least get half of the money. But the pressure to pay the money or lose the place had escalated and Hafiz had began to get frustrated. He remembered he had overheard some tout boys at one of the building sites where he did menial jobs talk about some money they had stolen, a huge sum apparently. There was really no crime stealing from thieves, and he was only going to take just the amount he needed,Hafiz had thought.

He had promised his mother and Amina that he was never going to steal again after he was caught the last time and was almost beaten to death. He remembered Amina had cried hopelessly that day as though she was the one going to die, so he promised her. But had broken that promise now and put her in danger, the thing that hurt the most was that she had absolutely nothing to do with it, this was all on him.
The issues was that Hafiz needed fifty thousand naira and I didn't know what to do. I didn't have fifty thousand naira and the only people I could ask for that kind of money were Zara or Chinedu or probably Nma but nobody really had money during the exam periods. I could have afforded to give Hafiz fifteen thousand naira, but Hafiz couldn't get the rest of money and there was no way we could have called the police. I had my exams to think about, Nedu was still leaving, I still hadn't processed that and here I was figuring out a way to save this little girl who had been taken for just fifty thousand naira supposedly.