Moonlight Tryst Part 1 By Chukwudi Eternal Udoye

Chukwudi Eternal Udoye, popularly known as Cuebitze, is a multi-talented Nigerian known for creativity. Chukwudi based in Lagos and have contributed much to the life of people through his creative mind.

Cuebitze obtained his degree at University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN) from the Department of Fine and Applied Art.

The winner Of Soul Afrik in 2016, dwells much in photography and have shared most of his adorable works on social medias with different captions which include, "Creative soul" and "Everyday people".

 
Not limited to that mentioned above, the multi-talented young man took to Facebook to share the first part of his words construction (story) titled Moonlight Tryst Part 1.

Speaking with Umahiprincesblog, he said, "a tryst is where lovers meet. Moonlight tryst came as a result of where the lovers in the story not only met but met something else".

Cuebitze also used the opportunity to express the disappointment encountered from Soul Afrik after emerging the winner of the competition held  in 2016.

He said, " i didn't receive anything from Soul Afrik, they never paid till date, after i won the competition.

Here is the part one of the Moonlight Tryst: 

P . E . R . H . A . P . S

“I will poison you myself if I ever find out that you’re homo, and I mean it Ikem. You better not be homo oh! Because the way I’ve been seeing you with all these male friends, especially these ones that looks like girls, that keep twisting their waists and shaking their buttocks when they walk, I am afraid they may have initiated you into their nonsense cult and nonsense lifestyle. I repeat myself Ikem, if I ever find out n’ibu homo, I will personally poison you. Ngwa si m n’iru zuzupuo kita”.

I sprang up from sleep, panting and sweating like I’ve been trying to outrun Usain Bolt in a hundred meters race. A quick glance at my table clock revealed it was 4:3am. I’ve had another of those terrible dreams. Dreams and daydreams that have become my waking alarm and sleep lullaby. Dreams that were once my reality, which time has indelibly inculcated into my being. They have been with and haunted me like forever. But all that was about to change.

I walked into the bathroom, bent over the sink and washed my face hurriedly, as if that would help revive my mind from the memories of the nightmare still hovering subtly in my head. But the dream was always there – in my sleep and when I am awake. The dream has become my reality. I pulled-off a purple hand towel from the bathroom’s mini hanger and dried my face while standing in front of the large mirror that hung at the back of the door.
 

“You’ll be fine Ikem”, I whispered, staring into the mirror. “You’ll be fine”.
I walked backed into the bedroom and slipped my frail body back into my big wooly bedspread.

7:30am

I was already at the bus stop waiting to board a bus to my place of work. Few scenes from last night’s dream flashed randomly through my mind. I closed my eyes and shook my head. They dissipated. I tried to focus my mind on the wok I had for that day, but the struggle was real. I just couldn’t concentrate on anything at all. I didn’t love my present job, and never had imagined I would end up there for any reasons whatsoever. But I had to take it in bid to make ends meet and for some other personal reasons. Man must survive; that was my drive.
 

I and other commuters rushed quickly to grab a seat as a bus pulled over. I got a seat by the door and had barely made myself comfortable when I caught sight of a woman walking back from the bus to the bus stand. She looked frail and aged. Her sight broke my heart for reasons I couldn’t place a hand on at that moment.
“Give her you seat”, a mild considerate part of me whispered. “Don’t dare it” my other side yelled in my head. “If you do, you’ll be late to work, and you’ll be sacked, and you’ll find it hard to get another job, and you’ll suffer dearly for…”
“Shut the fuck up”, I yelled in my head at the last voice, before it could finish up what it was saying. “I will give my seat to her”.
 

“Mama! Mama!! Mama, come and seat here,” I called out to her. When she turned and saw me motioning her to come and take my seat, her face lit up with a beautiful smile. She look looked five years younger as she shuffled towards me. I stepped down from my seat-space on the bus and helped her up to take her seat.
“God bless you my pikin,” she said softly with teary eyes. “Yes Mama,” I said as I turned and headed towards the bus stop.
 

“Bros, come make I lap you now”, someone called out to me from inside the bus. I turned around and caught a quick glance of him, and then wondered why I never noticed him in the first place. “This one is fine,” I muttered to myself while still keeping a straight face. “Where you go stop?” he asked with an inviting smile.
“Roundabout!” “Oh, that even better. I’ll stop before you. So you can have my seat-space when I get down”.
 

I hesitated for a while, caught up momentarily in thoughts. If I had to get to work earlier, this offer was worth it, but how do I risk sitting on the laps of a cute stranger. Already my body had started experiencing some strange imbalances at the thought of it. My mind had started drifting and fantasizing. “No, and thanks a lot bro. I’ll wait for another bus. I can’t stand the thought of inconveniencing you,” I replied him with a fake smile. “No problem then. I appreciate what you did for this Mama. It really touched my heart in a different way”. “You’re most welcome,” I said nonchalantly as I strolled back to the bus stop, my mind, invaded with all manner of thoughts. The very few minutes it took the filled bus to leave, our eyes had meet countlessly, and I knew what would follow. I never ever like what always followed – Never! Well, I often denied what followed, even though I liked it.

8:20am

I alighted at my destination from the bus I had boarded afterwards. The roundabout wasn’t as busy as I had expected it to be, especially on a Friday morning. My workplace was few yards away from the bus stop. Work resumes by 9:00am. So I had some time to myself to stroll calmly to the office and do my morning reminiscing, without fear of running late. As I strolled closer to my workplace, a feeling of emptiness suddenly came upon me. It felt like I had lost some weight that moment. I ignored the feeling and walked into the main entrance leading to my workplace proper. As I climbed up the stairs I realized I hadn’t heard a usual sound I often heard and enjoyed while climbing the stairs. “Goosssh! My keys! My fucking key were gone.”
 

My mind raced back to the rush I had trying to get a seat-space in the first bus.
“Could it have dropped there without me noticing it? Did it drop in the bus or on the floor?” I thought. The thought of my keys having dropped on the later made me very uncomfortable, so I tried to think up a new way by which I must have misplaced it. Maybe someone, one of those park touts might have picked it while trying to pick my pickpocket me.
 

“Shiiiiiit!” I fumed. “You’ve never been this careless Ikem, Never! How the hell did this happen,” I muttered to myself. Perhaps I did not lock the door to my apartment, and the thought of it scared me silly.

As I scuttled through the corridor leading to the renowned INK & PEN AD-AGENCY, I tried to calm my mind down, which was still running berserk with thoughts, over the loss of my keys. I struggled to flush out a lot of them, especially the thought of having left my room unlocked. The thought scared me a lot, and made me feel naked – like the thought of having one’s bath on a busy bus-stop, on a Monday morning.

Immediately I stepped in, a familiar voice echoed lightly, from the far end of the large hall which the company often used for its conferences and meetings,
“And why are you just coming to work?”
 

The large hall suddenly fell into grave silence and all heads turned towards the door. No! Not the door. Towards me. “I am asking you Ikem. Why are you late for the meeting? “I’m sorry sir. I’m sorry I came late. But I wasn’t aware a meeting was scheduled for today”. “Really? You didn’t get any email from the secretary, did you?” “No sir. I didn’t. I check my mail frequently, but I’ve seen no email with regards to the meeting”. “Did you check your spam?” “Sir?” “I asked if you by any means, did check your spam.”
 

The look on my face in reaction to Mr. Donald’s question sent the whole staff into a session of hysterical laughter. I was a bit confused as to both why my colleagues were laughing and why Mr. Donald had asked me such question. Mr. Donald my boss, fair-skinned like me, average heighted, intelligent, gentle, hardworking, with a very witty sense of humor, joined the rest of the staff in the laughter feast. If anyone had worked in that moment, it would be difficult for them to spot out who the owner of the company was, if asked. Yes, Mr. Donald was that simple a man.

I tried to put up a smile to shield them from spotting the taint of embarrassment written all over my face, as their laughter died down. It was then it suddenly dawned on me why they were even laughing. And as soon as I realized this, a wide grin stretched out upon my face, replacing the fake smile on my lips. Mr. Donald had asked me if I checked my spam mailbox, while all I could hear was if I had checked my ‘sperm’.
 

“No sir. I haven’t checked my spam”. “You need to do that regularly as well. Or you need someone to help you out with that? I can be of great help if you ask me to”.
Staff bursts out into another round of laughter. “Ermm… Thank you sir, but I’m sure I can check my spam myself”. “True, we all can. But sometimes we need help. It’s easier and sweeter”.

Everyone’s laughter skyrocketed. One of the staff fell down from his seat, still laughing. No single person in the hall was spared – all slain in the spirit of laughter. Not even the holiest of us, one Sister Jane, a ‘jimjim’ christian, was spared. No one else but my boss, Mr. Donald, is capable of spearheading and spurring such moments. He actually happened to be one of the main reasons I have refused to quit my job, even though I had thought about quitting over and over. He had become not just my boss and employer, but also a father and role model. He has taught me scores upon scores of things I may never have learned elsewhere.
“Come here Ikem. Come give me a hug. Everyone has collected theirs, remaining you”. I walked up to him and he gave me a warm bear’s hug. He was a large man.
“Go have your seat now”.
 

As I walked to take myself a seat, I realized I was the only one casually dressed, since it was Friday, and Friday was our casual dress day. I was startled.
“Don’t worry about your dressing son. Had it been your checked your mail, I’m sure you’d have absolutely complied. That I know too well about you, so don’t feel out of place. But for the records, always make it a point of duty to check your ‘sperm’, after checking your main inbox”. Everyone laughed again, this time, lightly. “Yes sir. I will adhere strictly to that”.
 

“Good. I really missed all of you, and I am happy to be reunited with you all after my vacation. I’d be with you until next week Thursday just to assess a few things myself. Don’t panic. Nothing is wrong. I am deeply grateful to every single person here, for making it their point of duty that this company progresses in an amazing way. Every of your effort is recognized and appreciated, no matter how small or minute you may think they may be. I appreciate all of them and also you. And very soon, I promise, I will surprise you all. And no single person will be left out.”
Someone started clapping after Mr. Donald’s speech and we all joined in. he motioned for us to quiet down and the claps subsided and came to a still.
 

“What brought me here today precisely, is because I want to introduce someone to you all. Someone you’d be seeing more frequently than you’d see me, because I am almost two-hundred year old at the moment, and sure do need a replacement”. Everyone chuckled. Mr. Donald continued. “He’d be helping me out with the company’s inventories, and I would love you to give him all the support he’d be needing, like you gave me. And trust me, you’d prefer him to me. He’s very dear to me not just as my son, but he is my friend and partner. Help me appreciate my son, Barry. I call him straw-Barry and I’d explain why someday.
 

Everyone began to clap, hoot and whistle as an average heighted, hot, sexy, fair skinned human, walked into the hall from one of our offices where he’d been. Was I dreaming? No! This was reality. My hand had clamped together on seeing him. My mouth slightly agape, and my eyes widened in sheer surprise. This can’t happening.
 

“Alright. Alright,” Mr. Donald called out, trying to quell down the excited staff.
“This is Straw-Barry, I mean Barry, my son. You’d get to know him better pretty soon. Please ignore his soft looks. Beneath, he’s could be very hard when need be”. “Daaad!” Barry exclaimed. Staff laughs again.
 

I tried to hide my face by bowing slightly and avoiding any lure to look his direction. Of all the days to have forgotten my face cap, it was today. Why?
“Have you got anything to say to these beautiful friends of mine, Barry?”
“Well, nothing much Dad. I’m just overwhelmed by the love they’ve just shown me. You know I’m a little nervous in front of people, but somehow I’ve been able to overcome that to an extent”.
 

“I understand Straw. Just say something to them. If you can’t cook up anything, tell them about your last sexual escapade and with whom”. Everyone bursts into laughter again. “Ermm… well, good morning friends”. “Good morning Barry,” everyone echoed back in reply. “We all know what is right. Sometimes they pop up spontaneously and we doubt if they are really worth doing. Just go ahead and do it and let the moment have it on records. No good done is a waste. You’d be glad later that you did. Thank you”.
 

The whole staff and his Dad applauded and cheered him up. Barry’s speech was brief by apt – as smart as he looked. “Alright, that would be all for now. We can all go face our businesses for the day, and remember, lunch for everyone today is on me, and it’s compulsory,” Mr. Donald summed up.

While everyone walked away to their various offices to commence work for the day, Barry walked up to me, smiling. “Hello. It was you right?” he inquired still smiling. Every word I ever mustered that moment, all seemed to have fizzled away as I stared into his eyes. It was happening again. My fears have started growing, once more.

It was 9:45am.