It was a nice breezy morning and Kweku Hima, the Systems Manager of Marine Energy felt the need to pray… it was not often that he gets the urge to pray…

“O God, my Father who is in Heaven, I pray to you this morning to forgive my sins. This is your humble servant Kweku Hima, or Koo Hima, a former employee of 3Brothers Ltd. I’m now forty-one years old and used to be the man who never lost in town. Please forgive me for my womanizing past. I pray that you make me your only begotten son and never forsake me. O my lovely father, God bless you and please, bless my dear beautiful wife, Judith and I to stand firm against the Devil and his agents. O dear God, you are so romantic, so magnificent. Thank you for listening to me this morning. In Jesus name, I pray, amen.

He stood up reverently from the bedside, racking his brains for a prayer-supporting Gospel song and he was singing Kofi Kinata’s Things Fall Apart in no time…he sang and sang till he was revitalized.

He quickly had his bath, dressed up and joined his wife in the kitchen for breakfast

“Ah, there you are,” Judith said warmly.

He made himself comfortable on the chair by the dining table, was served his breakfast of Trish Tom Brown a friend introduced his wife to, toasted bread, and scrambled eggs.

Done with breakfast, he kissed his wife goodbye, lingeringly,  smooching her in the process, and left for work.

Driving to work, he saw that he had ample time in his hands, but since he had a Tool-Box meeting that day, he stepped on the pedal a bit as he drove through the streets of Takoradi.

Tool-Box meetings are a sort of safety meetings that are held to brief members of staff on safety measures,  precautions, best practices and related issues. it also offers a kind of rapport amongst them and to review their safety and accident record.

Driving along in his sleek iron-grey Lexus, listening to Christian worship songs on the radio, the DJ started playing Ekwueme, his favourite Nigerian gospel and he mentally kicked himself for not remembering that song when he sang at home.

Soon, he was at work at the Takoradi Harbour Business Area as it wasn’t too far from his Windy Ridge Residence.

He expertly parked his car and gazed in wonder with pride at the beauty of the place. It had an electric Gate that opened and closed at the touch of a Switch. It had a series of prefabricated offices that were arranged in a Horse-Shoe Formationwith the parking lot in front of the offices.

As soon as he parked his car, he went to the designated area for the meeting which also doubled as the recreational room. It was already full with both Senior and Junior staff members when he got there.

“A B C,” he shouted.

“Always Be Careful,” they responded.

Accidents Big or Small?” he said.

“Avoid Them All,” they shouted back.

“Safer You,” he roared.

“Safer Me,” they roared back and cheered.

Koo Hima spoke about the lapses in adhering to all safety protocols and the need to do everything by the book. In about an hour they were done with the Tool-Box meeting.

 He walked towards his Office, greeting colleagues along the way, sharing jokes here and there. He entered his office and rejoiced in his heart about how lucky he was.

His office had a large black-topped table that had a computer monitor with all the modern accessories., an intercom, a fridge stocked with drinks, a 35″ TV with DSTV, an AC unit, a ceiling fan, and his own washroom area.

No sooner had he gotten busy than his intercom buzzed.

“Hello?”

“Mr Hima, you have a visitor,” the receptionist said.

“I’m busy, who is it?”

“She says she’s Adiza.”

Kweku Hima paused, unsure of what to do. Adiza used to be a girlfriend of his, but she sent some crooks to pummel him mercilessly when he failed to give her money she was demanding for some supposed pregnancy. He almost lost his life that day, something he was not going to forget in a hurry.

“I wonder what she wants now,” he said, “Ok, send her in.”

There was a faint knock on the door, and upon his bidding, she entered. She walked hesitantly into the Office, but though still beautiful,  she had lost a bit of weight and looked dishevelled. She stood in front of him, not sure what to do next.

“Please sit. What can I offer you?”

“Nothing, please,” she said in a low voice.

Nevertheless, he stood up, went to the fridge and brought her a can of Malta Guinness. He then looked at her silently while she looked back, on the verge of tears.

“How may I help you?” he asked her.

“I came to see you.”

“I know you came to see me but what for. How may I help you?” he said impatiently.

“Please, I need some help and I’m wondering if you could help me with some cash to sort myself out,” she told him.

“And how much is that?” he said harshly.

“About two thousand Ghana cedis. I’ll pay you back, I promise.”

“I see. After setting your goons on me you have the audacity to walk into my office to ask for a loan. What if I had died that day. Would you still have come here to ask for money?” he growled, on the verge of losing it

“I’m sorry,” she said and made to leave

“Don’t.  Just tell me what you need the money for?” he inquired.

“As you know already, I’m a trained Hairdresser and I’m trying to set up my own container salon but I’m stuck at the moment,” she explained.

“Okay I hear you, you’ll hear from me in about a week.”

“Aw thank you, thank you,” she said and went round the large table to where Koo was seated attempting to give him a hug.

“Don’t you dare,” he warned.

She stopped short, apologized to him and hurriedly left, leaving the untouched Malt drink behind.