The Mortician…
THE WRITER
ALEXANDER AKOTO ADJEI
THE MORTICIAN
(Nii Dromo The Mortuary Man)
EPISODE 17
One morning as I made way to my workplace, I saw someone who made my heart skip a beat.
This person I was talking about was a replica of no one but my one and only sweetheart, Tilly Koranteng.
Her car came to park next to the taxi I was seated in. There was thick traffic, and so we were virtually standing still.
I doubted if it was her though but as I tried calling her, I noticed she had rolled her the windows up and was playing and enjoying music in her car so no matter the amount of noise I made she wouldn’t hear my voice.
I wanted to make the driver follow her car but I realised there were some other passengers seated in the car. And I was disappointed when I saw her blue-black Sonata drive away from my sight helplessly.
My joyful mood for the morning diminished as I made way to my office.
My senior colleague saw how moody I was and confronted me about what was eating me up. I couldn’t hide anything from him since he was like a father to me who helped me out with advice anytime I was in a dilemma.
He laughed at me after I told him everything before he started advising me, the first question he asked me was:
What if the lady I saw only resembled Tilly and that she might be just a look alike of her?
Secondly, what if it was her and that she had moved on in life and was by now married to someone?
After these questions he again gave me the hope that if truly she was my Tilly and that she was back in town I would definitely set sight on her again since Accra was big but yet small so I should cheer up.
I looked at Mr Obed Narh, my senior colleague, cheerfully and told him that was grateful for his help.
From the very first day I met him he had a way of solving any puzzle I brought before him maturely and my respect for him increased every rising day.
The day was slow with just little to do so I went to sit under a shade and started dozing off and in no time, I had a dream.
Indeed, was true that “what was in your mind and sight accompanied you to dreamland.”
I dreamt of meeting Tilly at the beach with that rich brat but when she set sight on me, she ignored the guy and jumped into my arms.
We were making out when I heard a tap on my shoulder. I faintly opened my eyes and realised Mr Obed Narh standing in front of me.
I was angry inside me but I couldn’t display my anger simply because he called me when I and Tilly were just about to have sex. But come to think of it why did people coming in to destroy my happiness with Tilly?
I couldn’t get her physically when she was around before she travelled outside and now that I had cornered her in my dreams also see the mess that has just been created.
Mr Narh told me a dead body had been brought in from another hospital and because of the current electric elapses almost all the mortuaries in town were having problems with their fridges.
As a result, the body had been transferred to our mortuary so I should come and take records of the body before we took charge of it.
I saw a familiar face amongst the people who brought the corpse but hey when I was wearing my mortuary uniform and on duty, I did not know friends or family members.
I just delivered my services diligently.
Carefully, I came to check the body and when I saw the name on the forms, I called Mr Narh aside and told him we could not accept that body.
He asked why we couldn’t accept the body because he knew we had some empty spaces left in the cold room and some of the fridges. I told him that the dead man lying down was the reason why I was working here at the mortuary.
He was that man I spoke to him about, the man who wanted to end my life simply because I exposed him of embezzlement in the accounting firm.
Mr Narh screamed out that so this was the pig who made your life miserable?
He left me and went back to the people who brought the body and told them that the place was full and that we could not accept any more bodies again.
One person from the people who brought the corpse made a silly comment which triggered the beast in Mr Narh and for the first time I saw the other side of my senior colleague.
He told the guy that they always walked about flexing muscles and pretending as if tomorrow belonged to them and if he cared to know this was the final place every dead body would be brought before he or she was buried.
But for the pride and silly comment the man just made they should carry their corpse back home and if they liked they should deposit him in their big freezer in their home.
An elderly woman who came with them went on her knees to plead for mercy and told us that they were ready to pay anything we charged them because they had combed every mortuary in the city, and everywhere they went this place was the last option that was given to them.
She said if we did not help them out, they did know where else they could get help from.
Mr Narh took a deep breath as he saw the elderly woman kneeling before him.
He helped her on her feet and told them to wait whiles he contacted his boss inside and that was me he was referring to.
He smiled and told me that it was my time to also retrieve the money I spent to get myself cured when that man tried ending my life so I should name the price tag for the people for a day if they could afford.
I smiled back at Mr Narh as I made my way to the people who stood outside waiting for me.
I immediately recognised the face I told you about as my former lady boss, and she also recognised me but kept her composure.
So, I told them that if we were going to accept the corpse, they brought we would charge them 200 cedis per day and that was the only thing I could do to help them.
And if they couldn’t afford the bill, they knew the way to the exit.
Were they having a choice as at that moment?
The family people of the man pleaded with me if I could beat the price down but I had no listening ear for them.
They did a quick caucus meeting before they accepted to comply with the amount I gave out.
I said to myself “)twea, every day for the thief one day for the master, today you see say I am the one laughing last”.
I filled their report and demanded their police report before the corpse was conveyed into the cold room.
Per my calculation the body was going to be kept in the fridge for 74 days because back in their hometown they were observing purification and ancestral homage.
Therefore, no dead body was brought to their hometown for 90 good days.
I smiled to myself and murmured that I wished the 90 days of the purification exercise even started that day so that the money I would take from them would be more.
They gave part payment of the total cost and promised to come and top up the next day to see if we had placed the body at a very good place for them.
I gave them my word and promised to keep a very close eye on their corpse.
When they we about to leave I called my former boss to wait behind for me to ask her some vital questions about the corpse they brought whiles the others made way to the car park.
I pleaded with her not to get mad at me as to the way I received them but before I went any further, she told me not to worry my head because if she was in my shoes, she would have done worse.
But the surprising thing to her was why and how such a brilliant accountant like me would end up at such a place.
I told her how things became hard for me after I tried many companies for job but never got any.
Well, a man got to do something to put food on the table at the end of the day so she had to just understand me even though she didn’t like my job.
Before she left my presence, she asked if I was still interested in the offer her company gave to me some time ago now that my worst enemy was no more alive.
I gave her a broad smile and said a capital “NO” to her offer.
Hw3, why on earth would I leave such a lucrative venture and go and sit somewhere and do calculations on monies that had been spent already or been spent in the process?
I loved my mortuary man job and I wouldn’t trade it for any other job not even the presidency.
After my former boss left, I went to see Mr Narh and told him everything that happened.
The truth of the matter was that the mortuary charged 20 cedis per day if a dead body was brought to the normal fridge mortuary, but if relatives wanted the corpse to be kept in the cold room it was 40 cedis.
I had gotten 900% interest on the corpse that was just brought.
I brought my profit out to share with Mr Narh but he bluntly refused to take a pesewa out of the money I gave him.
To him he said I had earned the money and moreover I should use it to settle my medical bills during my sick moment.
Wow, in this 21st century did we still have people who were not greedy and looking forward to share anything you got out of a deal?
Well Mr Obed Narh had just given me an answer to that question.
As I sat down the name of the person who helped me secure this job at the mortuary came to mind, Maame Adwoa Nyamekye.
Gosh, since I got the job and moved from the slum, I had never gone to visit her and neither had I gone to show appreciation to her and her husband for granting me the opportunity to get this lucrative job.
I decided to pay them a courtesy visit during the weekend so I planned towards that course.
A day before I went to visit them I went to the bank to withdraw enough money because I had plans to do a little provision and grocery shopping for their family and add a little envelope to it to show my appreciation for what they had done for me in the past which had brought me this far.
As the saying went, “who much is given, much is expected”.
From the bank I passed by the mall to do my shopping and the moment I got to the mall car park and stepped out of the taxi I hired that same blue-black Sonata which I saw some days ago with Tilly driving passed by me leaving the mall to God knows where.
I sat in the taxi again and told the driver to chase after the car to everywhere the car was going.
The moment we got to the highway the taxi started to dance “shoki.”
Dear God, the car wouldn’t just move any further!
Oh God, how was I going to get a car or stop a car in the middle of the highway because the least mistake you made the better your chances of being knocked down by an approaching vehicle.
Another chance of getting close to see my Tilly had been shattered thanks to this one-gallon taxi driver.
I regretted not having my personal car for that moment so my next target was to get my private car came top on my to-do list.
Did Nii Dromo treat the families of the man well by taking more than the actual price been charged per day at the mortuary?
Small small the tortoise will come out of its shell. Accra is big but small and the golden fish also has got no hiding place in the fish pond.
To be continued………………………… #Yeb3toaso
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An Akoto Alexander Mindset©
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I am Akoto Adjei Alexander, a Christian. A product of Abetifi Presbyterian Senior High School, Abetifi-Kwahu. I am in my late 20’s and the last born of the boys my parent brought to earth. Basically, I am a fiction/scriptwriter who loves to write about nature and the realities of life. I do a little of Graphics Design, I do MC’ing of events somethings, a Motivational Speaker and a Relationship Talk Expert
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Guest Writer: Alexander Akoto Adjei :: THE MORTICIAN :: EPISODE 16
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[/stextbox] [insert-comment-form] Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2019 Aaron Ansah-Agyeman
If it’s ur Tilly why then is she not looking for u whiles she is back.
Ok ooooo,let’s find out
Hmmm interesting….I just hope is really Tilly u’re seeing……