***

The Past.

The year was nineteen ninety six and the location was the "Wild Street Ale House" — a quite popular bar in Abikiali. Abikiali was one of the major cities of the Nomé state — the country, Kolontou,'s largest state.

Abikiali had the country's biggest university, the "Kolontou University of Science and Technology (KUSOT)" and so, that made it the epicentre of all things youthful and fun. Talk about the popular bars, the biggest hotels, the theatres, etc. Almost every business flourished in the city. All thanks to the university.

On that evening, the "Wild Street Ale House" bar was filled with hundreds of conversations which were shared in loud voices, all battling with Angelique Kidjo's Wombo Lombo that filled the atmosphere. Wombo Lombo was one of the greatest Afropop hits in 1996 so Olamide wasn't surprised it was still played at every bar, club or party.

The shouts from the crowd on the dance floor when the song began playing sealed everything off. The song was still loved. The crowd was young, the majority of them were university students — full of life and full of youthful exuberance. A few of them were adults, mostly male, who were either there to feast on the young university ladies or to simply run away from their responsibilities in the house and drown themselves in alcohol.

He fought his way through the warm, mostly sweating, bodies to order a bottle of Club Premium Lager at the counter. That was when he saw her. The most beautiful creature he had ever seen. For a second, he thought he had seen a goddess. Her rich dark skin like an onyx was completely flawless.

She had black hair of wool and her head held high. A second look at her then he realized how wrong he was to compare just her skin tone to the onyx stone. Her personality was an epitome of what the stone stood for — to dispel negative energy and promote emotional well-being. He felt whole just looking at her — her beauty was exceptional. If the gods were real, he thought to himself, then this girl was their masterpiece. She could have graced any billboard or magazine cover, but she was better than those two-dimensional models on any of the fashion magazines one could think of.

She was dressed in a pair of black High-waisted Jeans and a white crop top that made her boobs stand out — they were nothing like any of the boobs he'd stolen a glance at before. He smiled as he got closer to the counter. He took a seat right beside her and asked for his drink. As the bartender got his order together, he turned to her and made his first move.

"Let me guess, he stood you up? " he said the second he turned.

She smiled, although a little shocked, as she tried to take a good look at whoever made that comment and also to find out if it was directed at her. It was.

"I am actually here alone." She replied. He met her gaze with the smile of one who knows the upper hand was his. This was the time he finally got to use all those "wooing" tactics he has learnt from his friends who were on top of the game.

"Wait, what? A beautiful girl like you shouldn't be alone at a bar like this." He added.

"You make it sound like a bad thing when you put it that way. I actually decided to come here alone. Don't make it sound sad." She folded one leg over the other and took a sip of the beer in front of her.

"Alright if you say so but I hope you don't mind if I keep you company? I happen to be here alone as well." He asked, praying she wouldn't say no.

"I don't mind. It's not like I can ask you to leave the bar. It is a free world." They both laughed.

"I am Olamide by the way."

"Nia, call me Nia."

And just like that, the spark between these two young souls ignited. They talked about everything and anything that night and they soon realized they had a lot in common. They both loved almost the same things and hated almost the same things. They both loved poetry, mostly Négritude poetry and a few of Shakespeare's. They both loved art and believed the Ndebele house painting was one of the greatest forms of art in the world.

To top it all, they both loved dancing and so when the song playing in the bar changed to the 1963 hit, Malaika by Fadhili Williams, they knew it was time they hit the dance floor together.

The song "Malaika" was one of the greatest songs to have ever been recorded by a Kenyan artist. "Malaika" is a Swahili word for "Angel," which was commonly used to refer to a beautiful lady.

~

Malaika, nakupenda Malaika

Malaika, nakupenda Malaika

Nami nifanyeje, kijana Mwenzio

nashindwa na mali sina we, ningekuoa Malaika

nashindwa na mali sina we, ningekuoa Malaika

~

When Olamide heard the song, it was like the very chords of the song have been injected into his bloodstream. The loud tune from the speakers tingled him and made him start moving his body. He got down from his seat, held her hand and said, "Can I have this dance, Malaika?"

Nia smiled and followed him to the dance floor.

~

kidege, hukuwaza kidege

kidege, hukuwaza kidege

nami nifanyeje,kijana mwenzio

nashindwa na mali sina we, ningekuoa Malaika

nashindwa na mali sina we, ningekuoa Malaika

~

Nia's movements poured with a stunning precision that took every person on the dance floor's breath away. They could literally see her soul becoming one with the music and her dance moves released her emotions. Olamide went with the floor and seconds later, everyone else had stopped dancing just to stare at the duo creating life on the dance floor.

That night was just one of the best memories they shared together — memories they both loved reminiscing and would give everything to relive them.

One of these memories was their first night together as a couple.

It was two years after they first met. The year was nineteen ninety Eight and they'd both graduated from the University and found themselves in the jobs of their choice. Nia worked as the Editor for the local newspaper, Abikiali Daily. Olamide was also a junior accountant at the very University they both graduated, Kolontou University of Science and Technology (KUSOT).

They were both young and were now starting the actual journey of life so these jobs were enough for them. To be fair, most people of their age would never get employed at such places just a year after graduation.

When the idea of marriage came to their minds, both their families agreed to it because they were young and almost successful. It gave the families the hope that they would be fine after marriage, besides if that was the only way to get them not to commit any sin, they were all in favour of the marriage. So they got married.

Back to their first night together. The night after their marriage. In the dim-lit room, their fingers caressed each other's skin as if afraid a heavier touch would break each other. They touched each other with care. They became one, one mind with one goal and purpose, each completely drunk with love for the other. Their lips fitted perfectly as if they were meant for each other. Moving against each other, feeling each other. Olamide grabbed the back of Nia's neck, kissing her as she whimpered in pleasure.

At that moment, their lives became the words from the quill of a poet, the paint on the canvas of an artist and the melody of the song the songstress sings. Just by drenching each other in love, another memory was made.

Then came the afternoon Nia found out she was pregnant. She was at work that afternoon when the doctor called her. She had had the test earlier that week when she suspected she was pregnant. She didn't tell Olamide about it of course before taking the test but when the result came with the good news, she called him while still screaming in excitement. Just as she expected, he was also very excited about the news that Nia could hear him cry on the other side of the phone. At that point, they felt anything else couldn't be better for them.

They spent the night at a fancy restaurant Olamide had reserved just for them. They celebrated the good news with wine and food with Angélique Kidjo's version of Malaika playing subtly in the background. It was solemn and perfect for the moment.

***

***

There you have it guys! Another update!

Total word count: 7,682
A chapter more to hitting the milestone for Round 2.
I hope I do make it with just a day left. 😶

~*~
Chapter edited by RubaiaMQ