1) Buchi has been waiting for Jonas to leave his mother's room so he can confront the man he hates. 2) When Jonas emerges, he kicks Buchi's head against the wall before storming out. 3) Iweka later returns home with a recording device and captures Jonas sexually and physically assaulting their mother. 4) The police are called and Jonas is arrested for rape, threats to life, and drug possession based on the evidence Iweka collected.

1. CAGED
Buchi has beensittingthere,staringatthe doorthat leadsto hismother’s room.He justcannot waitfor
Mr. Jonasto stepout,evenas he doesnotknow what to doto him whenhe finallyappears.Itcouldjust
be that he doesnotknowhowto go about whathe wants to doto thisman whomhe has grownto hate
so much. Buchi has learntwhenthismanvisitshismother.He has maintainedthis exactposition fora
verylongtime as he sitsto stare at himwhenhe comesout. Thisseemsto be the onlythinghisyoung
mindcan conceive. Unlike Buchi,Iweka,hiselderbrothercaresless.Iwekaisjusteight,twoyearsolder
than Buchi. He is hardlyat home.Nmeri hasa wayof sending themoutof the house eachtime Jonas or
any otherman isvisitingandhe gladlyleavesalways,whileBuchi staysput,hating.
Jonasseemstobe stayinglongerthanusual today.A loudshrill voice frominsidethe house joltsBuchi
whowas almostdozingoff toalertness. He jumpsdownfromthe settee andrushestothe door.He tries
to go aheadand pushit openbutrestrainshimself.He became veryrestlessashe keepshearinghis
mother’svoice,wailinghelplessly.Graduallyandunconsciously,he sitsdirectlyinfrontof the door.With
a mad rush,Jonas stormsout of the room, kickinghimoutof hisway. This kickingsentBuchi’shead
hittingonthe wall.
“Get out of my waylittle bastard.”
Withthe curtainhungon the mainentrance door,he wipesthe sweatoff hisface,adjustshishalf
rumpleddressandstormsout,slammingthe doorbehindhim. Buchi beginstocry,feelinghisbruised
headand tryingto locate the exactpointhe has beenkicked. Nmerisoonwalks outof the house ghostly,
wipingtearsand sweatoff herface withthe tipor her dress. Ina momentof unnatural,unconscious
silence,motherandsonare stuck,staringhelplesslyateachother.The one isleaningonthe door post,
sobbingherheartout while the otherissplutteredonthe floor,nursinghisheadandsidesintears.
The front dooropensslowlyandIwekaenters. He stops,rootedtothe door.In a moment,he observes
hismotherand youngerbrotherintheirsorrystate.Withoutsayinga word,he walksintotheirroom.
Nmeri gathers herself andpullsBuchi up,clutchinghimtightlytoherbosom.
Thishas beenhappeningtoNmeri andhertwosonssince herhusbandwastakenaway fromher bythe
cruel handsof death.Asa lorry driver,Chekwaswashardlyathome.There are occasionswhenhe stays
out forweeks.Duringthese times,Nmeri isalwaysfacedwiththe harshrealityof copingalone withthe
twokids.HavingmarriedChekwasagainstherpeople’swish,theyhave turnedtheirbackonher for
long.Jonas,an official atthe National Unionof RoadTransport WorkersthroughwhomChekwashas
beensendingmoneytohisfamilyseizedthisopportunitytotemptNmeri.Whenthe manwasalive,he
usuallytoldNmeri howbeautifulshe wasandhow a “sensible”manshouldnotallow suchabeautyto
stay alone withtwokidsfortoo long. He was the firstto run to Nmeri,announcingthe accidentthat
claimedherhusband’s lifeandofferingto“doanythingI can to make sure that youand your kidsare
fine.”Itdidnot take longbefore Nmeri evolvedintohis“bedmate.”Itlookedrosyatthe beginning.He
showeredthe kidswithgiftseachtime he visits.

2. Thenone day, he comesinand meetsthe motherandchildreninthe sittingroom, seeingamovie.On
seeinghim,Iwekastandsandleavesthe house withoutsayingaword.Asthoughit had beenrehearsed,
Buchi alsogets upand walksintotheirroom. Jonaswas shocked.
“What is the meaningof this?”
“Welcome.”
“What is well inthiscoming…?Whathave youbeentellingthem?”
“Nothing…Itoldthemnothing.”
“You toldthemnothing…?
Infuriated,Jonasdropsthe nylonbaghe came withon the table,pullsNmeri upandroughlydragsherto
the room she sharedwithherhusbandwhichhasnow become Jonas’Chalet.Nmeri screamsandbegs
himto take it easyon heras he wasclearlyhurtingher.Hervoice musthave gottenBuchi’sattention.
He comesoutof theirroomand draws close.He lackedthe will toopenthe doorand attack this
stranger,thisman that wantsto force himself intotheirlate father’sposition.He stays,pinnedtothe
door,helplesslylisteningtothismanlashingawayon hismother.
“…I’ve done all these foryouand yourlittle bastards!Youdare not turn themagainstme!”
“Bastards? My children?
“Your childrenmyfoot!Can youtake care of them? Canyou provide theirneeds?No…youcannot!Ido
it.I have beenseeingtoyourneedsandtheirstoo.I demandrespectfromthem!”
Nmeri hasstartedsobbing.
“Look,I have not come here to be entertainedwithyourcrocodile tears.Untie thisstupidwrapperand
getset please.Ihave workstodo inthe Park.”
Aftera brief pause of duringwhichit lookedlike he wasundressing,Nmeri begshimtoletgo,stressing
that she is“not in the mood.”
“Not inthe mood?How dare you! Oh,so youthinkI can allow my laborcome to naught?Something
mustbe wrongwithyou.Come on…”
Nmeri letsouta shrill cry.Jonasis clearlyforcinghertothe act helplessly.Takingineverythinggoingon,
Buchi beginstocry. Aftera while,there isasuddensilenceandheavybreathing,thenshufflingof feet
and cloths. The door whichBuchi isnowleaningoncavesin,forcinghimto fall backwards. Jonaswalks
across himand barks at him.
“What are youdoinghere,little wizard?”
As he advancesto the door,he remembersthe baghe came withandgoesfor it.

3. “Because of your disrespectful act,there willbe nofoodforyou today.Letyour harlotmotherstepinto
the streetand getyoufood.”
On thisnote,he stormsout. Nmeri walksout,apparentlyembarrassedonrealizingthathislittle sonhas
witnessedthe incident again.She summonsthe courage topull himupand holdhimclose toher.Iweka
walksin,studiesthemandgoesintothe room.Nmeri laterapologizedtoJonasforthe children’s“bad
attitude”andpromisedtoworkon them.First,she devisedameansof sendingthemoutof the house
wheneverJonasiscomingaround.However,thingswereneverthe same again.WhereasIwekawould
gladlygoaway,Buchi neverbulgesandthe sightof himintimidatesaswell asupsetsJonas. Asa result,
the pressure hasalwaysbeenonNmeri asJonaswouldalwayscome in,force herto the bed andsubdue
herwhile little Buchi helplesslyparticipatesfromoutside.Thishasgone onforquite some time.
The followingmorning,there isconfusioninthe house asIwekahasgone “missing.”He saidnothingto
Buchi withwhomhe had sleptandthe motherhadnot seenhimeither.Gradually,the daydrawsclose
to duskand there isno signof himanywhere.Asthere isnoneighbortocry to, Nmeri hasthe only
optionof goingto Jonas.Thoughhe mightnot be all togetherhelpful,she justneededsomeonetotalk
to. Since herhusband’sdeathandthe seeming“promiscuouslife”she startedliving,neighbors,
especiallywomenhadloathedherwithpassion.Asthough he wasjustwaitingforthemtoleave the
house,Iwekaappearsfromnowhere.Stealthilyandhurriedly, he goesintohismother’sroom,clutching
somethingunderhisworn-outshirt.He sooncomesout,opensthe maindoorand relaxes,feeling
obviouslyaccomplished.He simplyexplainstothe motherandbrotherthat nothinghashappenedto
him.He accompaniedhisfriendonanerrandto somewhere andsince theyleftearly,he didnotwantto
disturbthem.Nmeri cautionshimonthe wayhe goesaround withfriends,remindinghimof how poor
theyare andhow helplessshe is“shouldanythingbadhappentoyoutwo.”
Unusually,Iwekarefuseshermother’spleatogoand playwithhisbrotherand friendsinthe sands the
followingday.He simplywalkedintothe room, takinghislittle brotheralong.Nmeri wasconfused.
Somethingominousmustbe inthe offing. Jonasnoticedheruneasinessashe enters.
“What is happening?Where are the children?”
“I am fine…we are fine.Please sitdown.”
“Sitdown?As yourgossip mate?”
“Please PapaObum…we needtotalk.”
“Oh, younowwant to remindme of myfamily?Well,whateveryouhave tosaycan wait.Let us go
inside.Ihave urgentdeliveriestomake.”
“Deliveries?Whatare you…”
“Shut up!”

4. He dropsthe briefcase he wascarryingon the table and roughlyferries Nmeri intothe room.Aftera
while,IwekacomesoutwithBuchi.Theylistenastheirmotherargue,fightanddragwithJonas.Iweka
smilessatisfactorilywhile Buchi alreadywasclose totears.He goesweaklyanddejectedlytothe
positionhe hasalwayssat.Today’sepisode seemsmore violent,more brutal thanithaseverbeen.
Iwekaopensthe briefcase andexpressesasilentshockoverwhathe sees.Hurriedly,he closesit,drags
hisbrotherintotheirroomand makesaway withthe bag.
Hell wasletloose whenJonascomesoutandfindsisbag missing.He goesinand dragsNmeri out,
pummelingherandyellingatherto provide her “little bastards”thathave stolenhisbag.
“The contentof that bag can ruinyour entire generation.”
Nmeri goesintothe boy’sroomand returnswithBuchi whodeniesknowledge of where the bagis.
“I will goand come back now.I will getthatboy.I will kill himandyoutwoif anythingmissesfromthat
bag.”
He stormsout as Nmeri slumpsintothe chairintears.Iwekasoonreturnswitha man whoisnow
carryingJonas’bag. He introduceshimself asInspectorKolawole.Nmeri fallsonherkneesandbeginsto
weepandbeg.
“Please leave mysonandtake me.It wasmy fault.I senthimto steal the bag.Please take me.”
“Calmdownwoman.Calmdownand holdyourself.Everythingshallbe sortedouthere andnow,once
and forall.”
In a moment,Iwekagoesintohismother’sroomandreappearswithasoundrecorderwhichhe givesto
Kola.Kolaexaminesit forawhile andhitsthe playbutton.It tookverylongbefore anysoundcomes
alive andthe Inspectorwasforcedto pushit forwardbefore theystartedhearingsounds.Itcaptured
everythingthathasplayedoutbetweenNmeri andJonas.Nmeri wasbemused. She neverimagined
anythinglike thiscouldhappen.Clearly,Jonas’voice washard:“Iwill kill you,Iwill killyouandnobody
will doanythingaboutit.Nobodyknowsyou.Iam the onlyone youand your bastardchildrenhave and
youmust submittome anytime,anyday!...openyourlegs!...”
InspectorKolastopsthe recorder.He bringsout hismobile phone andmakesacall,orderingfor“a van
and twoarmedmenimmediately.”He thenfacesNmeri whoisnow wailinguncontrollably.
“It istotallywrongof you to have allowedthistogoon. You shouldhave spokenup.There are a
thousandandone institutionsoutthere thatwouldbe willingtolistentoyou.Youhave succeededin
exposingthesechildrentoa dirty,harshlife.Itwill affectthembadlyif somethingisnotdone urgently.
Meanwhile,youhave some smartkidshere. Theirmatesare inschool learningthe brightsidesof life
while theyare here wallowinginthismess.Youhave notbeenfairtothemno matterhow helplessyou
wouldclaimtobe.…Let’s endthiswhole mess.”

5. He goesintothe boys’room,leavingthe bagbehind,justasJonasand a hefty,stoutman badgesinto
the house.He is suddenlytakenaback,seeingNmeriandhertwosonsand hisbag on the table. Calmed,
he grabs the bag, opensitand immediately,Kolacomesoutandpointshisgunon them.
“Mr JonasNdukwe,youare underarrestfor rape,threatto life andpossessionof harddrugs.Youhave
the choice of stayingquietasanythingyousayor do now may be usedagainstyou inthe court of law.”
The soundof Police sirentearsintothe suddensilence asJonasoffershishandstobe cuffedandled
away withhisaccomplice bythe Inspector.Still intears,Nmeri clutchesonherchildrenpassionately.