Author: Simi Joel

SYNOPSIS

‘She’d quivered, fought, then screamed for help, but none came. When he was done with her, he’d threatened her not to tell a soul. This was her special birthday gift.‘

At first sight, Teni is only a woman working hard at her craft, doing good to others and looking forward to marriage. Then one afternoon, an innocent young girl walks into her office to tell her a story. There, the buried scars from Teni’s abusive past re-open. She’s laden with the responsibility of helping the girl and her family, but can she find the strength to do so? Ranti on the other hand has it all – a comfortable family, growing career, and a promotion ahead. Until she loses someone dear and reconnects with a former lover. Another chance at happiness is within her reach, but only if she can grow past her fears. These two women without choice, are thrust face to face with their past. Can they see beyond their hurts to embrace forgiveness? Would they put their professed faith to action? Can the things they both hold dear survive their separate journeys? Scarred is a story that poignantly depicts the struggles of two women as they try to navigate life in the face of the changing landscapes of their emotional lives.

REVIEWS

I was hooked from the cover design! I could hardly wait to open and read the book. And, I wasn’t disappointed when I eventually did. Simi sure knows how to get her T.A’s attention! I’m not a fan of African fiction. I don’t know why, so let’s not dwell on that fact but it didn’t feel like I was reading ‘Scarred’, it felt like I was featured in the plot and I finished reading in hours! Maybe it was the extensive use of imagery, or plot transitions and twists or perhaps, the relatable way in which Simi told a story of healing, hope and forgiveness, I might never know. But, enjoyed the book, I did, felt the emotions of the characters, I certainly did, didn’t want the book to end, absolutely! I feel like there’s more to the story though and perhaps, Simi’s gift is to keep telling these untold stories! A very good job, well done Simi, my fingers are now crossed for the next trick you have up your sleeves!

–Oluwadamininuola 

The novel “Scarred” authored by Simi Joel shares the captivating life story of two women Teni and Ranti; their fears, hurts, challenges, strengths, weaknesses and romance. I enjoyed every bit of this book as Simi stole my heart with every page I turned. Some pages made me cry, like literally brought me to tears, especially when Ranti lost her mum and when Teni told her mother-in-law to-be her story… Some pages made me laugh too. I could totally relate to the characters expressed in this book. I would definitely read more of Simi Joel’s books because her style of writing is superb, keeping your eyes glued to the pages of her book. Reading her book has added a few words to my vocabulary as well, for which I’m grateful. I recommend this book to anyone and everyone.

-Motilade

‘I received the book on my wife’s birthday, so I gave her to read first. In her own words, it’s a very lovely read…a lot of good work was put into it. For me, Scarred reads as a very personal memoir for the most part. The main characters are very relatable in a girl-next-door kind of way and yet the story cuts with a razor edge, that exposed hurts that dont come to the surface very often. It’s definitely a page turner.’

-Abu

Scarred is a beautiful story of friendship, love and healing. It has a very relatable story line of the sweet and sour experiences people go through in life which makes it a great read. Also, the brilliant use of words opens up your mind to imagine and feel each character in their element. Interesting, funny, romantic, emotional and more. This amazing piece by an even amazing Author gets a 5 star rating from me. 

-Busola

WATCH TEASER

Alighting from the bus, Kolade took out his wallet to pay the driver. He’d headed to the Ugo’s address immediately after his interview and was now at the junction that would lead him to the destination. There was no time to spare. As the bus zoomed off, he realized that he still had to either take a cab or walk to the house. He chose the latter and started his trek.

The street was quiet but for the occasional jogger or car that passed by. After about 5 minutes of walking, he arrived at the street, as shown on the signage by the side of the road.

He started counting the house numbers and soon arrived at no 4, a wide-gated and fenced compound. He walked up to the gate, cleared his throat and knocked. He paused to listen but didn’t get a response. He repeated this thrice, but nothing moved. He stepped back wondering if he was at the right house. It was then he spotted the white box on the wall. Of course! There had to be a bell.

He pressed the button, and heard an almost silent ding, but still no response. He continued pressing the bell until he heard a click. The gate opened and a security guard stepped out to meet him.

‘Yes, who are you? And what do you want?’ he asked.

‘My name is Kolade, and I have a delivery to make.’ He said with a confidence that surprised him.

The guard scoffed. ‘You have the wrong house, so get going and be on your way.’

‘No, I’m sure this is the right house.’

The guard moved close to him, then moved his hand to his hip. Kolade moved back but was still insistent.

‘Just call your oga on the phone and tell the person that someone wants to see her. I can say whatever I want to say on the phone, but I’m not leaving until I talk to your oga.’

‘There’s no one who would see you here, you have the wrong house. I said, you should get going.’

The guard was lying, he had to be, Kolade thought. But he couldn’t force himself into the house now, could he?

‘Go!’ the guard said for the last time before turning away from him.

‘Wait!’ Kolade shouted, but the guard ignored him and went back into the house. He whipped out his phone and dialed Ugo’s line hoping for a response.  Ugo picked up on the first ring.

‘Ugo!’ he shouted, ‘please don’t hang up! I’m at the address you gave me!’

‘What?’

‘Yes, and I have the bag! But they didn’t let me enter. What should I do?’

Ugo was silent, as if deciding if this was real or a prank.

He spoke finally.

‘Hold on.’ The phone started beeping but he waited. Soon after, Ugo reconnected on the call.

‘Better not be playing. Someone is coming for you now.’

The line beeped and disconnected, then shortly after, the gate opened.

A tall, slim, light-skinned woman stepped out and sized him up.

‘What’s your name?’ she asked.

‘Kolade, ma.’

She looked at her palm then nodded.

‘Where is it?’

‘What?’ The question left his lips before he remembered the bag he held. He handed the nylon to her, and he thought he saw her lips tremble. Right there, she opened it, pulled out the bag, and dragged the zip.

Kolade found himself looking around anxiously while she went through their motions. ‘Why was she doing this outside?’ He thought. ‘Couldn’t they go inside?’

She eventually brought out a small bottle, the length of which was about half a finger.

‘Ooohhh,’ he exclaimed, and she looked up suddenly, as if realizing that he was still standing there. She shoved the bottle back into the bag and turned abruptly to leave. She’d stepped into the compound but turned back, looked him over and walked up to him.

‘Thank You,’ she whispered, putting her arms around him in a grateful hug. Then she turned and went into the house.

He felt good. That was the only word he had to describe how he felt. Not excited, not heroic, just happy that he’d done something right. After a long look at the gate, he left for home.

On arrival three hours later, he turned the doorknob, before he inserted the key, his new habit of checking that no one had paid a visit in his absence. The door opened and he almost ran, until he heard Ahmed’s voice.

‘Kolade? Is that you?’

His friend was back!

‘Bro! Welcome!’ he responded excitedly before noticing that Ahmed wasn’t smiling.

‘What’s wrong?’ he asked.

Ahmed pointed at an envelope on the table. Kolade moved close. His mouth flew to his mouth when he opened it. Without control he started laughing excitedly and pumped his fist in the air.

‘Yes! Yes! Yes!’

‘You dey mad?’ Ahmed asked. Do you know where this money is from?’

Kolade ignored his question but asked him another.

‘Did you touch it? Have you counted it?’

Ahmed shook his head.

Kolade rushed to it and started counting the money. It totaled 180,000 naira in 1000 naira bundles.  

He immediately dialed Ugo’s number, but it wasn’t reachable.

Ahmed pulled a note off the envelopes back.

‘This should be for you.’

‘Thank you for saving my daughter,’ it read. ‘I’ll be in touch.’

Ahmed still watched him confusedly.

‘Kolade, what’s going on? How did you get this money?’

‘Sit down, sit down, I’ll tell you. But first I need to call my sister and mom.’

He dialed Sewa’s line and she updated him that their mom was to be discharged the next day. She hadn’t suffered any permanent damage from the stroke. They’d put her on a schedule for physiotherapy, and in a few weeks would be back on her feet. Kolade kept shouting in elation. He would return to Oshogbo the next day. For now, he had a story to tell Ahmed.

‘O boy, you won’t believe what has happened to me in the last few days.’

Kolade launched into the story of the past few days while Ahmed looked on disbelievingly.

‘Are you sure we don’t need to move?’ Ahmed asked when Kolade finished.’

‘Nah, we are fine now. I’ve done what Ugo wanted, so we are done. Today couldn’t be any better!’ Kolade pumped his fists in the air.

His phone rang so he picked up. The conversation lasted barely two minutes. As he dropped the call, he swiped quickly on his phone to open his email. His eyes scanned the screen quickly, before he collapsed to his knees, his head in his arms. Ahmed rushed to him.

‘What’s wrong?’

Kolade handed the phone to Ahmed, who collected it. He read the email out loud.

‘Dear Kolade, congratulations on your success in our selection process for the role of Business Analyst.’ He stopped reading.

‘You got the job?’

He nodded affirmatively.

‘Congratulations Bro!’ Ahmed laughed for the first time since his arrival, then pulled Kolade up. Lagos had finally smiled on Kolade. He crashed unto the couch in a mix of emotions.  

In the space of three days, he’d had a near death experience, saved a dying child, got the confidence that landed him a job, and made profit from his side hustle. He laughed out loud at the final thought.

Still seating, he proceeded take off his clothes, feeling desperate to be unrestricted. He took off his pair of trousers first, and a black wallet fell to the floor. He’d stared for a moment, realizing that he’d forgotten all about the wallet that man gave him in the morning.

He reached for it opened it to find a note and a phone number.

‘My name is Obinna,’ it read, ‘and I have an offer for you. Call this number, let’s make a deal.’

Without hesitation, Kolade tore the note and dumped it in the bin. The wallet looked nice enough, so he kept that. No way was he going to make another deal. Maybe they needed to take Ahmed’s advice after all and move to a new place. After this drama he’d just been through, he wasn’t ready for a replay.

One deal was enough for a lifetime.

THE END

Ugo faced Sege, one of his two closest and trusted security aides. But their conversation had a bad taste to it.

‘Boss, I honestly thought you were the one who instructed us to go to Osogbo. I challenged Chike after, but he insisted that the instruction came from you. I had no idea that he was doing it all on his own.’

‘So, where is Chike now?’ Ugo asked.

‘I don’t know boss, I’ve tried his line multiple times, but it’s switched off, and no one has seen him around.’

Ugo sat on the nearest chair and rubbed his bald head in anger. He hadn’t yet sent anyone to Osogbo but Chike had on his own traced Kolade there. He’d been the one feeding his stepbrother information all this while?

‘Did the boy have the bag?’

‘No, he didn’t. He didn’t have the address either. Chike made sure to ask.’

Ugo sighed in relief. He needed to move his family ASAP, lest they get Kolade to actually give them the address and lead them to his wife and daughter.

‘Boss?’ Sege called. ‘If you don’t mind me asking, but what’s going on. If you had a job that needed utmost discretion, I was right here, so I could have done it. I’ve been here for years and never failed you.’

Ugo looked at Sege straight in the eye. He still didn’t know if he could trust any of them, but Sege was right.

The business he now owned first belonged to his father who’d grown from renting one shop in computer village to owning shopping complexes and other string of businesses including barbing salons, supermarket chains, and importation services. He’d built political and international ties while grooming both Ugo and Obinna. When it was time to choose a successor, he’d picked Ugo over his elder brother. It had been a clear choice because Obinna had never been serious with any of the businesses he’d been given to manage. Obinna had displayed outrage after his father made the announcement. To pacify him, their father gave Obinna full ownership of one of his businesses, but this did nothing to assuage his anger. Upon their father’s death, he’d launched one legal battle after another with Ugo. Although all the cases ruled in Ugo’s favour, this only fueled Obinna’s anger, and he’d sworn to get his revenge.

Two months after the last legal battle ended, two of Ugo’s supermarkets had caught fire. Another month passed and his sister-in-law was killed by a hit and run driver. He’d immediately moved his family away to another apartment under the guise that they were abroad. He visited them once a month under the guise of an international trip, so none of his people knew. Unfortunately, his daughter fell gravely and strangely ill about 2 weeks ago. He’d told one of his business partners who was a doctor in China. The man had helped him source a treatment that he promised would work. But it wasn’t time for his monthly trip and to avoid raising any suspicion, he’d decided to hire someone else to deliver the drug. This was where Kolade came in. Now, everything was messed up due to Kolade’s naivety and dishonesty.

***

Kolade went into another fit of panic when he felt the hand on his shoulder. He whimpered but didn’t struggle. There was no point. The street was dark, sparse, with nowhere to run to – not that he could outrun the bulk man in suit who stood above him as he turned.

‘I think you dropped this,’ the man growled, stretching an unfamiliar black wallet to Kolade.’

‘No Sir,’ Kolade shook his head in disagreement. ‘It’s not my own sir, it’s a mistake, I didn’t drop anything Sir.’

The man’s fingers dug painfully into Kolade’s shoulder blade as his eyes took on a sinister look.

‘Boy, you would take this wallet from me if you don’t want any trouble.’

He hadn’t lowered the hand holding his shoulder nor the one stretching the wallet. Kolade didn’t want any trouble but judging from the events of the past few days, taking that wallet could mean even more trouble. The man holding him didn’t leave him with much choice, so with trepidation, he collected the wallet.

‘Thank you,’ the man growled again, patting him twice on the shoulder before lowering his hand. Kolade looked at the wallet in his palm, debating whether it would be wise to open it now.

‘Sir, what am I to do with this?’ he asked, looking up, but the man was gone. Kolade looked hurriedly around, but there was no trace. He stood in the same spot for a few minutes, and as he stood, he felt his fear and anxiety seeping away. He’d made a decision to complete the end of his bargain with Ugo today and nothing would change that. He couldn’t go on living in fear. With resolve, he shoved the wallet into his trouser pocket without opening it, then hailed the next bus that stopped in front of him.

He hardly paid attention to any of the conductor’s theatrics nor the arguing passengers as they drove to Lekki. He instead went through his job notes, memorizing and rehearsing his answers to the interview questions he’d come to know like the back of his hand. He alighted at his bus stop and walked the remaining distance to the company’s office, while still role-playing the interview.

His entry into the building, to his being ushered into a medium sized conference room was a breeze. But he never let go of the nylon with him. Soon he was seated at a table with a bottle of water placed on it. The table had five chairs each on both sides. He was seated on the middle chair on one side. A few more minutes passed, then a woman and man in crisp suits walked into the meeting room. He stood and stretched his hand in greeting. After exchanging pleasantries, they sat opposite him.

‘How are you doing today, Mr Kolade?’ the stern-looking man in glasses perched on his nose reminded him of his father. It brought some comfort to him.

‘I’m very well, thank you, and you?’

‘I’m well too, thanks. Let’s go straight into it. We’ve looked at through your CV, and your qualifications match what we are looking for. However, the evaluation from your last interview didn’t quite match our expectation. So, the team and I decided to have another conversation with you before making a final decision.’

‘Thank you Sir.’

The woman spoke, her voice sharp.

‘Mr. Kolade, how would you rate your ability to work well under pressure? How would you display your ability to keep focus on business goals in the middle of a crisis if it arises?’

Kolade fought hard not to laugh as the images of the past few days flashed through his mind. He’d survived a mob beating, a house thrashing, a gun to his head and travelled twice in the space of two days. Yet he was in a suit and tie, like there was nothing wrong with his life. If that wasn’t surviving pressure, he didn’t know what else that was.

‘Mr. Kolade, is something funny?’

He shook his thoughts away and composed himself.

‘I’m sorry ma, I was only browsing through my plethora of experiences to select the one that would most fitting to answer your question.’ He then went on to pick a random answer from one of his volunteer experiences. The rest of the interview went on without incidence, and as Kolade shook their hands at the end he felt more confident and hopeful than he’d ever been.

FINAL EPISODE DROPS 10TH, MAY 2020

From the hospital balcony where Kolade stood, he listened distractedly to his sister, who’d been talking for some minutes. It was the day after his arrival. Although he was present with Sewa physically, his thoughts were still with his mother who was sleeping peacefully in her ward. The doctor had said that the worst was past, and she would be discharged in a couple of days. She’d also called his mother lucky, and strong. She was right, his mother was a fighter, everyone who knew her would agree to this. And despite being unmoving on a hospital bed, she’d still tried to encourage him.

‘Oko mi,’ she’d called him fondly, ‘I’ve made my peace with this world, so don’t worry about me. You have yourself and your sister to take care of, so do just that. If this is my time to go, I’ve made my peace with it.’ His mother had meant to be reassuring, but her frail voice only worsened his worries. She and Sewa were all he had in this world, and he wasn’t ready to make peace with losing either of them. Holding her delicate hands in his had almost broken him. He felt like a failure watching her suffer right before his eyes, helpless to do anything about it. She’d always been strong, from his teenage years when they’d lost their father, raising her kids single-handedly, while suffering in the hands of his father’s family who took everything he’d owned away from them.

‘Bro Kola,’ Sewa’s call jolted him, ‘mummy would be okay,’ he looked up at her when she placed her hand on his shoulder. ‘You shouldn’t feel guilty about any of this,’ she continued. ‘Don’t beat yourself into a knot, we all know that you’re working hard, if that’s what’s troubling you.’

Kolade looked at his sister briefly, then pulled her into a long hug.

‘Hey!’ a male voice boomed from somewhere behind them, and he jumped. Sewa also withdrew sharply from his arms, immediately looking around for the source of the shout.

‘Bros!’ the man shouted again, ‘please I need help’. His eyes were desperate. This man wasn’t a threat, Kolade surmised before running towards him.

‘Bros please help me get my mother out of the car.’ He pointed at an elderly unhealthily obese woman sitting on one of the seats and staring into space. A wheelchair was beside the car. Kolade nodded at the man, who went in through the other side of the car. After a few minutes, they lifted her into the wheelchair. The man thanked Kolade profusely before wheeling his mother away. Kolade turned to look at the balcony with his hands raised in a thumbs up at his sister, but she wasn’t there.

‘Sewa?’ he called, before looking around. He didn’t see any sign of her, so he jogged into the hospital to check the reception.

‘Sewa!’ He shouted louder this time, his mind racing with morbid thoughts.

‘Bro Kola?’

Her voice called from behind. He turned around and sighed with relief.

‘Where did you go?’

‘Not far, I only went to get some snacks,’ she replied.

‘Okay, but please let me know before you disappear like that again.’

She nodded, and they walked to the balcony again.

‘I haven’t asked about your job search because I didn’t want to stress you, but have you heard back from any of the companies you interviewed with? Sewa asked.

Kolade checked his phone instinctively before responding.

‘No, I haven’t, no call, text or email yet. Turns out the paper used to wrap boli on the street is more important than my certificate.

‘Ah ahn, bro Kola, don’t talk like that. I’m sure it’s only a matter of time.’

He shrugged but stayed silent. His phone beeped with a notification, but he still didn’t move.

‘Do you want to check that?’ Sewa asked.

He reluctantly raised his hand and swiped at the phone screen. He froze for a moment before slowly falling to his knees.

‘Bro Kola! What’s wrong?’

He waved the phone at her speechless. Sewa collected it, read the message displayed and squealed.

‘You just got a return interview invite! Congratulations!!’

She hugged him as he stood. Squealing again, she re-read the message.

‘It’s tomorrow, by 8am!’ she exclaimed.

Kolade snatched the phone from her.

‘Tomorrow 8am! That can’t be right!’ But Sewa was right, and his heart crashed.

This meant that he had to leave today, he had to leave his mother behind.

As if she’d read his thoughts, Sewa spoke.

‘Bro Kola, mummy is fine. She’s only under watch and would be released in a few days. Uncle Sunbo already settled the bills so we are fine for now. Please don’t pass this chance. It may be the break you’ve been looking for.’

After many more words, Sewa finally convinced him to leave. His mother was still asleep, so he’d left a written note for her. He planned to come back in two days. His trip to Lagos didn’t differ much from his first trip. Hours later, at about 8pm at night, he stepped into his compound. This time when he got to his door, he first turned the knob, before slotting in the key. It didn’t give way until he turned the key, easing his palpitating heart that his visitors hadn’t returned.

But his ease was short lived as the rest of his night was spent in fitful sleep. He woke up twice, jolted awake by nightmares of Ugo standing over him with a gun. He eventually stood up by 4am, sweating with fright. He had his bath, wore his trademark suit, picked his documents file and stepped out of the house an hour later. Just before leaving, he went over to his landlord’s apartment to retrieve Ugo’s bag, and put it in a black nylon. Today, after his interview, he would fulfil his end of the bargain he made with Ugo.

As he resumed his trek down the street, he sensed someone watching and following him. He looked back a couple of times but didn’t see anyone in the lifting darkness. He hastened his steps till he got to the main road. There were a few other people moving around already which gave him some comfort, so he slowed down. A few minutes passed, and just as he made to hail an Okada, a firm hand grabbed him by the shoulder.