The Jailbird Episode 11 and 12 by Aaron Ansah-Agyeman Episode 11 It is Sunday, and the Central Auditorium of the Golgotha Heights International Church is filled to capacity, as usual. It is a huge church, a sprawling three-story edifice that rises majestically into the air with its finery and proud lines. It also has an underground pool area for baptismal...
The Jailbird Episode 9 and 10 by Aaron Ansah-Agyeman Episode 9 Chris sits down and quickly signs the spaces Joshua points out to him. Effe feels the emotions building up uncontrollably within her as Chris’ hand flies over the sheets as he appends his signature quickly. This is it then, finally. He is signing the divorce papers, cutting off the...
The Jailbird Episode 7 and 8 by Aaron Ansah-Agyeman Episode 7 Steve slips an arm around Effe’s stiff shoulders protectively and speaks with a chuckle to help ease the horrible friction that has sprung up between the two friends. “Hey, hey, hey, Elaine! That’s enough! Look we’re all a bit stressed here! Why don’t we call it a night, huh?...
The Jailbird Episode 5 and 6 by Aaron Ansah-Agyeman Episode 5 Junior, weeping uncontrollably, takes faltering steps after the sedan, making his shattered mother reach out for him. “My Prince,” Effe whispers sadly. “Please, don’t!” Junior shies away from her, his gaze fierce and accusing, and then he runs past her into the house. Steve bends and picks up the...
The Jailbird Episode 3 and 4 by Aaron Ansah-Agyeman Episode 3 The taxi stops in front of a very beautiful two-story building. It is located in a beautiful neighbourhood. The streets are well-demarcated and the addresses, precise. The houses are neat and well-arranged, testifying to the affluence of the rich people living in the neighbourhood. The lawns and hedges are...
The Jailbird Episode 2 by Aaron Ansah-Agyeman Barbara joins the main road towards Achimota, and she keeps casting furtive glances at Chris. Chris is reclining in the seat, head back, eyes closed, hands lying limply on his thighs, obviously lost in his inner conflicts. Barbara sighs with great compassion for him. A man cooped inside that horrible place for five...
The Jailbird Episode 1 by Aaron Ansah-Agyeman The sweetest music he has ever heard is the creaking sounds of the twenty-foot metallic gates of the prison sliding open. The tall well-built man steps outside, leaving the four heavily armed and muscled prison officials who have accompanied him at the gate. He stops just outside as the gates slide shut behind...
Day 45 of 45 Days 45 Days 45 DAYS © Aaron Ansah-Agyeman Doctor Anaman removes the stethoscope from his ears, folds it, and places it carefully on his desk. He looks quite shaken as he looks at Effe. Effe and Eyram watch him apprehensively as he blows air through his lips and stands up. Out in the reception, their parents...
Day 44 of 45 Days 45 Days 44 DAYS © Aaron Ansah-Agyeman Steve Hollison sits at the gambling table and watches his empty wallet. He has been drinking and gambling for almost two hours, and he is aware that he has lost a sizeable amount of money. He is wearing a blue shirt, and he cannot even remember where he...
Day 43 of 45 Days 45 Days 43 DAYS © Aaron Ansah-Agyeman It is evening. The taxi stops and Eyram, Elaine and Aunt Ruth get out of it. They approach the beautiful bungalow, and the front door opens and Rupert Henderson steps out uncertainly. He comes forward to meet them as Eyram pays off the cab. Elaine looks at Rupert...
Day 42 of 45 Days [responsivevoice_button] 45 Days 42 DAYS © Aaron Ansah-Agyeman Effe has never seen anything like it. The car that is in the parking lot of Eden Hospital is a cross between a sedan and a limousine. It is black and huge, with an exquisite sleek-edged design. It is the most beautiful car she has ever seen....
Day 41 of 45 Days 45 Days 41 DAYS © Aaron Ansah-Agyeman Effe rides the elevator to the ground floor. Eyram and her father are beside her. She has just been discharged by the new Administrator of Eden Hospital, Doctor Gabriel Anaman, and asked to take things cool and slow. She is still terribly worried. Mr. Ntim called her early...
Day 40 of 45 Days 45 Days 40 DAYS © Aaron Ansah-Agyeman Effe opens her eyes slowly. She is lying on a big bed in an air-conditioned room. She knows instantly that she is in the Executive Ward of Eden Hospital. Sunlight filters in through the huge tinted glass windows because the Venetian blinds are pulled and tied back...
Day 39 of 45 Days 45 Days 39 DAYS © Aaron Ansah-Agyeman The beeper on Effe’s desk chimes, and a moment later the voice of Auntie Joyce, her Secretary, comes over the intercom. “Doctor Ayeh to see you, please. Here on appointment.” “Oh, yes, send him right in.” A moment later, the door opens and Gilbert enters. He looks wan...
Day 38 of 45 Days 45 Days © Aaron Ansah-Agyeman 38 DAYS Steve steps out of his office. It is 2:30 a.m. He is unshaved and looks haggard. He locks his office door and walks to the elevators. It descends rapidly and stops on the tenth floor. It opens and a young doctor enters. His name is Gilbert Ayeh, one...
Day 37 of 45 Days 45 Days 37 DAYS © Aaron Ansah-Agyeman It rains almost the whole day. Effe stays in her room almost the whole day, thinking. She is happy and sad at the same time. Happy that she is pregnant at last and sad that the love of her life, the one who she has fallen in love...
Day 36 of 45 Days 45 Days 36 DAYS © Aaron Ansah-Agyeman Effe stands in her bathroom. She is naked, and she stands halfway in front of the huge mirror. Her stomach is incredibly flat, save for a little bulge under her navel. She runs her hands gently over her tummy, and then she looks at the seat of the...
Day 35 of 45 Days 45 Days 35 DAYS © Aaron Ansah-Agyeman It is morning. Ken Kedem turns into the huge and well-demarcated parking lot of Eden Hospital. Sitting beside him is Ivy Kedem, and in the backseat, are their daughters. Eyram is going to buy some clothes and other things for Junior and Henderson Junior. Effe is unusually quiet,...
Day 34 of 45 Days 45 Days 34 DAYS © Aaron Ansah-Agyeman Rupert Henderson kisses Junior on the cheek. The baby giggles and gurgles with delight, and Rupert hands him over to Eyram. “Sorry I wasn’t here yesterday to check him out, Eyram. But he’s fine. A very mild infection that’ll clear by tomorrow or the next,” Rupert says with...
Day 33 of 45 Days 45 Days 33 DAYS © Aaron Ansah-Agyeman Mrs. Ivy Kedem closes the door and leans against it. She closes her eyes tightly, sighs deeply, and then walks forward slowly into the luxurious living room. She drops her handbag on a chair and sits down warily. She hears footsteps from the stairs and looks up slowly....
Day 32 of 45 Days 45 Days 32 DAYS © Aaron Ansah-Agyeman It is a cold basement. The walls are solid concrete, with no windows. Stone steps lead upstairs to a door. There is nothing else in the room except a rickety standing fan, a water closet and a single 100-watt bulb that burns in the concrete ceiling. The basement...
Day 31 of 45 Days 45 Days 31 DAYS © Aaron Ansah-Agyeman Effe descends the stairs early in the morning. It is just a few minutes past six. She hears voices from her parent’s room, and a moment later they both emerge, dressed for the office. They pause and look at her. “Effe, my darling. Glad to see you...
Day 30 of 45 Days 45 Days 30 DAYS © Aaron Ansah-Agyeman Effe’s door opens and her father, dressed in a smart three-piece black suit, enters. He sees his daughter sitting at the window, staring out. His heart beats with anger at Chris Bawa when he sees that his daughter is still hurting badly. She had not gone to...
Day 29 of 45 Days 45 Days 29 DAYS Effe sits up slowly in bed. She had gotten in late the previous night. After Chris left, she had wanted so much to go and search for him and explain the situation to him, but as always, her work had been an urgent factor she could not ignore. She had surgeries...
Day 28 of 45 Days 45 Days 28 DAYS © Aaron Ansah-Agyeman There is a loud pounding on Effe’s door. She wakes up and looks at the time sleepily. It is just past four in the morning. She groans and reluctantly gets out of bed. She is very tired and sleepy. She walks to the door in her negligee and...
Day 27 of 45 Days45 Days 27 DAYS © Aaron Ansah-Agyeman Elaine cannot stop crying.She is devastated. She is with Doctor Anaman and her friends. The shocked doctor has just finished explaining to her how she had ended up giving birth to Dr. Rupert Henderson’s son.“I’m sorry, Elaine,” Doctor Anaman says kindly. “I’m very sorry. That’s how it happened.”Elaine cannot speak,...
Day 26 of 45 Days45 Days 26 DAYS © Aaron Ansah-Agyeman Effe wakes up with an effort. It had been a wonderful dinner with Chris the previous day, and although she had enjoyed herself so much, she had not been able to get rid of the sight of Elaine’s ‘strange’ baby. She had told Chris about it, and he had...
Day 25 of 45 Days 45 Days 25 DAYS © Aaron Ansah-Agyeman It is late evening. Effe sits in her office and gently massages her neck. She had carried out two complicated surgeries earlier, and she is tired. But she is happy. The previous day had been one of her happiest. She feels like a teenager all over again. She...
Day 24 of 45 Days45 Days 24 DAYS © Aaron Ansah-Agyeman Effe parks her car and gets out. It is 3.00 in the morning. She had tried the previous day to come and look for Chris, but just as she finished dressing up a call had come through from Doctor Ameyaw; there had been a serious motor accident, and she...
Day 23 of 45 Days 45 Days 23 DAYS © Aaron Ansah-Agyeman Effe turns on her side restlessly and her eyes fall on the bedside clock. It is 5.00 a.m. It occurs to her that she needs to leave her parents’ house very soon. They had been a great help during her ordeal, but she feels it is now time...
Day 22 of 45 Days 45 Days 22 DAYS Effe is driving her mother’s car. Sitting beside her is Eyram, who has a paediatrician appointment with Dr. Rupert Henderson. Eyram casts speculative glances at her sister. Like it has been the case for so many years and is peculiar to twins, she can feel her sister’s inner pain and...
Day 21 of 45 Days 45 Days 21 DAYS © Aaron Ansah-Agyeman Chris wakes up and lies on his back. He is quite spent, and he is luxuriously tired. His heart is joyfully happy. He remembers them having the sweetest breakfast he has ever tasted, courtesy of Mr. Katoto. He remembers them starting kissing in the living area, getting naked...
Day 20 of 45 Days 45 Days 20 DAYS © Aaron Ansah-Agyeman Effe’s gloom persists as they drive along. She sits huddled in her seat, slipping in and out of dozes as Chris drives. She is a good surgeon, and always delivers more than her best efforts when she dons surgical gear and picks up surgical instruments. She is a...
Day 19 of 45 Days 45 Days 19 DAYS © Aaron Ansah-Agyeman Chris drives Effe to the Ameyaw-Eden Clinic. She asks him to pick her up in five hours, and then he leaves. She operates on three patients. The first two were comparatively easy, involving tumour removal and moulding two titanium legs for a millionaire who had lost both legs...
Day 18 of 45 Days 45 Days 18 DAYS © Aaron Ansah-Agyeman Dr. Rupert Henderson finishes knotting his tie in front of the dressing mirror. He takes his coat from the wardrobe door and puts it on. He turns and sees Barbara still sleeping. She is lying on her back, and he thinks of how beautiful she is. Her short...
Day 17 of 45 Days 45 Days 17 DAYS © Aaron Ansah-Agyeman Steve Hollison stops his car in front of the Love Bed Hotel. The hotel is located in an obscure part of Weija, and because of its remote access, many people, especially adulterous men and women, patronized it a lot. Steve blows the car’s horn once. A moment later,...
Day 16 of 45 Days 45 Days 16 DAYS © Aaron Ansah-Agyeman Jonathan Afful lies on his expensive matrimonial bed and stares at the expensive ceiling. A beautiful woman is lying naked beside him. Her name is Amanda, a twenty-year-old companion from the Lustful Lips Private Club. It is not the first time Afful has been with her on the...
Day 15 of 45 Days 15 DAYS © Aaron Ansah-Agyeman Effe wakes up with a little moan and sits up in bed. She had had a nightmare! She had seen Chris lying in a pool of blood! She looks at the bedside lamp. It reads 5.00 a.m. She picks up her phone. There is no missed call, and her...
Day 14 of 45 Days 45 Days 14 DAYS © Aaron Ansah-Agyeman They are having a family dinner. Madam Ivy has whipped up a most sumptuous palaver sauce with goat meat and boiled yam. Ken Kedem says the prayer, and when they begin to eat it is just like old times. Eyram, relieved and obviously happy, is perhaps enjoying dinner...
Day 13 of 45 Days 45 Days 13 DAYS © Aaron Ansah-Agyeman Effe sits on her bed. She is fully dressed in a most fetching cream skirt suit with short sleeves. Her make-up is minimal, and her jewellery consists of a matching chain, earrings and a bracelet. She looks very lovely indeed. There is a knock on the door, and...
Day 12 of 45 Days45 Days 12 DAYS © Aaron Ansah-Agyeman Effe lies in bed and yawns. It is morning, and she is surprised she had slept until morning. She has not cried during the night as usual. She hears her parents raised voices downstairs and wonders lazily what is going on. She gets out of bed and stretches....
Day 11 of 45 Days 45 Days 11 DAYS © Aaron Ansah-Agyeman The courtroom is quiet now. It had been quite emotional at first when Effe arrived with Joshua Darkwa. Steve, looking quite miserable, had met her in the corridor. He wanted to speak to her, but Effe had been too distraught to speak to him. She had been convinced...
Day 10 of 45 Days 45 Days 10 DAYS © Aaron Ansah-Agyeman He drives her to the Ameyaw-Eden Clinic first and waits whilst the cast is removed from her elbow. Later, he takes her to her parents’ house. She hands him a white envelope containing his rental charges, and then she smiles at him. He looks at her for a...
Day 9 of 45 Days 45 Days 9 DAYS © Aaron Ansah-Agyeman Effe is amazed. The Jamaica Resort is bigger than she originally envisaged. There are supermarkets, restaurants, a spa, beautiful gardens, bars, a sports complex and recreation spots. There is even a little zoo where she spends some time admiring a dancing flamingo and some proud peacocks. She sees...
Day 8 of 45 Days 45 Days© Aaron Ansah-Agyeman 8 DAYS Effe wakes up in the most comfortable bed she has ever slept in. Her eyes fall on a luminous clock on a quaint bedside table with a glass top. It is 10:12 a.m. She turns on her back and yawns. She remembers dimly being in Chris’ taxi for many...
Day 7 of 45 Days 45 Days © Aaron Ansah-Agyeman DAY 7 Effe opens her eyes slowly. Her head hurts really badly. She is in a very comfortable bed. She moves her eyes and sees she is in a hospital ward. The room is amazingly beautiful. The curtains are pristine sky blue. There is a little fridge, a small cabinet...
Day 6 of 45 Days 45 Days DAY 6 It is evening. Effe drives through the beautiful silver gates of her matrimonial home located in the serene neighbourhood of the Airport Residential Area. It is a beautiful sprawling house. She is surprised to see two other cars parked beside Steve’s car under the visitors’ canopy. She recognizes the Toyota...
Day 5 of 45 Days DAY 5 ©Aaron Ansah-Agyeman It is night. The club is full. An all-girl music band is playing. The five women in the band are wearing just G-Strings, nipple tassels, white stockings and black long-heeled shoes. Girls wearing only panties are dancing in glass booths around the interior. Some well-dressed men are around the booths, watching...
Day 4 of 45 Days 45 DaysBy Aaron Ansah-Agyeman DAY 4 A group of doctors and nurses are gathered around a patient. The overhead lights are bright. In pans are a variety of complex surgical tools. Around the room are beeping machines and monitors. The patient being operated on is a little boy of just two years. Effe Kedem Hollison,...
Day 3 of 45 Days 45 Days by Aaron Ansah-Agyeman DAY 3 It is two o’clock in the morning. Effe is in her old room in her parents’ house. She has not slept the whole night. Her pain is very great indeed. The television is still on, showing a serial on the Telenovela channel. On the floor are an...
