Dr Fixit (4541 - 4550)

 

4541

‘me of my bike. I want our brother

to help me out.’ ‘The address to his shelter

I’d give you as he doesn’t live near,’

the cafe owner replied. He asked his boy to tear

paper and bring it to him with a pe

The address, phone line and name

of the native doctor the cafe owner

wrote and passed on to the new mourner.

He took it, read it and then they shook hands.

‘I’d get across,’ he said and blindly glanced

 

4542

at those around, ‘and whatever is the result,

I’d let everyone know.’ ‘Do you have malt?’

The cafe owner asked the kiosk attendant

and as she said, ‘yes’; with his hand,

he beckoned her to bring it to the fellow

he chatted with and asked him down to mellow

with the drink. ‘That bad boy made us shut shop

too early in the day. Relax. I’d drop

you at the native doctor’s home. You’d narrate

your matter to him and he’d investigate

                                                      

4543

‘and whatever is the best solution, he’d proffer.’

‘Thank you,’ the ill-fated man took the offer.

As he drew a stool near and sat down

nursing the drink, his face had a frown.

The cafe owner and his boy were busying

putting the place in order and when buzzing

was the computer system and the whoosh

of the ceiling fans did throw and push

the light things on the tables down on the floor,

our host took a seat near the exit door

 

4544

as he was eager to follow and perceive the end

of the tale of the stolen bike and our friend.

As our thoughts aligned, in same boat we did sail.

Was the crook loose or soon would be in jail?

When the computer finished booting,

the box for a client’s ticket showed and looking

at the one with him, he keyed in every letter

for the name and password but the latter

being wrong, the computer did ignore

the request. A second try made the monitor

 

4545

accessible to the client and the browser

took the client to every nook for an answer

to every question available on the Net.

We were eager to learn with our host, you can bet.

Our friend typed in the search box: ‘Pools Result’.

The past week’s result appeared – the cartoon of a vault

stacked with dollars opened by a man gloating

stared from the website at us and the stripling

dipped his hand into his pocket and brought out

a stack of white papers that he’d looked at

4546

and crosschecked the listing on the screen

before him. He clapped his head for his dream

of being a millionaire soon would’ve come to pass

but one bad number slashed it with a cutlass.

The number with two super clubs hadn’t drawn.

That number was in all the papers he’d torn.

‘Next time,’ he said, ‘luck would be mine

and I’d strike you like gold in a mine.’

Crookedmouthit looked at me and I did smile

wryly at him. ‘Learn to walk every mile

 

4547

‘of your dream like a hardened gambler,’

I said, ‘nurse it and constantly pamper

and I tell you, though a gambler gets broke

but your dream eventually you’d invoke

and touch it like the Statue of Liberty

standing aloft and erect in reality.’

Pram! A bike’s engine kicked into life.

‘Tell that guy to come,’ the sound like a knife

pierced our hearing and we turned to stare

at the guy running out but showing no care

 

4548

was our host as the pools result his spirit

had dampened. My aide and I dropped to our feet.

We rushed out and chased the roaring bike

as it moved towards the street for the ride

to find the home of the native doctor.

Our former host still stared at the monitor.

My aide felt really bad but I said:

‘Forget the broke guy, it isn’t late

as we’re still in the human enclave to learn more

about mbiam.’ Quite downcast our host swore,

4549

got up from the stool and staggered to the door.

I gestured to my aide. We moved on to explore

the human enclave. While on the pavement

as we marched forward, we had merriment

as our nostrils were filled with roses’ scent.

We searched for the source but our movement

had brought us to the area where high walls

demarcated the road and kids were kicking balls

or hitting them with bats and we could hear

their screams of sadness or joy. Quite clear

 

4550

was the sky but dusk was drawing near.

At a section of a wall, I saw the leaves of a pear

aloft it. We concluded the source of the scent

could be on the yard or basement

of that compound. But the scent deep in us evoked

memories – we were transported to where we’d poked

our limbs deep in the jungle and though a stretch

of concrete walls greeted our eyes and what was flesh

zoomed past on vehicles, we relived the jungle

for a moment until our nerves did jangle