THE BICYCLE
Bella had only one bicycle as his only special
possession.
He stays in a makeshift shed, a farmer, now old, once used as a barn to store his farm produce. The old man has a house of several rooms, he lives in two rooms and rents out the rest to tenants. The shed at the back of the house was no more in use since the farmer no more farm due to age, his grown married children now care for him. Bella is an orphan, his mother conceived in a moment of romantic weakness for a man who simply took advantage of her weakness to impregnate her. The man was poor. He moved his pregnant mum into his one room, tried caring for her until she gave birth to Bella. A year after he was born, his father met an untimely death. His mum was a petty trader with just a wooden stand for her goods by the roadside. She continued paying the one room rent and focused solely on caring for him. He was her only comfort after his father's death. Fortunately for them, the government had a free education programme in place from primary to secondary school only; just some minor payments here and there for parents. This helped Bella go through both primary and secondary education. A neighbour moving out of the neighbourhood to another place couldn't move with his old bicycle due to many load he had to pack; he gave Bella the bicycle. Bella was overjoyed and cared for it like a baby. The bicycle assisted in helping his mother move her goods from one place to another when there is a need for it.
As Bella completed his high school, his mother took ill and died afterwards. Neighbours buried her. Bella was devastated and would have lost his mind if not for the elderly landlord's wife who took him in and cared for him like a son. The landlord and his wife were old too, survived on house rent and whatever their struggling children give as support. Bella could not continue his education. The landlord's wife passed on after a while and the landlord's children relocated their father to their house in another state for proper care. Bella had to move out. He was already fending for himself. He continued his mother's trade, but improved on it. He has a bicycle. He goes to the big market far away in town, buys goods and brings them back to sell. The profit was not much, but was enough to help him feed and pay for evening classes in a school in preparation for examination into the university. He had no idea how he will pay for his tuition if he eventually pass and get admitted to the university. He couldn't afford house rent. He approached the owner of the old shed who obliged him and he moved his few belongings left by his mother into the shed. The landlord did not ask him to pay.
Bella actually did a good job with the spacious shed. He cleaned it well, partitioned it into both living room and bedroom and arranged it in a neat way to the best of his ability. He was allowed to use the main building's restroom and bathroom.
Bella cried alone in his room once in a while when he remembers his mother, sobbing quietly.
Each day Bella pedals his bicycle to the town to make purchases, he picks as lift, small boys or girls trekking to the town on their way to school. Some also go to the same market for their parents to make purchases, but had to trek to and fro due to poverty. Bella often gives one a ride each time he goes too on his bike. One day, while on the way to the town riding his bicycle, he noticed a rough looking woman, looking sad and struggling with load. She was coming back from the market, trekking to and fro. She will trek a while, stop to rest and then continue, then stop to rest. There was no question, she was weak. Bella was also returning on his bike filled with his own goods he has gone to buy for sale. Bella watched her from afar and tears dropped from his eyes, he remembered his mother. Bella stopped beside her while she was struggling to pick up her goods after stopping to rest. He came down from his bike and offerred to help her. Her name was Polina. She told him not to bother, but he insisted. The only problem was this, he couldn't transport his goods and that of the woman at once; he therefore removed his own from the bike, placed it with some artisans by the roadside for safety. He replaced them with the woman's goods, made extra room for her on the bike and pedalled back home. The woman was new in the neighbourhood. He took her home, helped moved her goods to her one room, before returning to go bring his own.
Polina had problems. Her husband of many years came into some money but immediately got entangled with another woman, lost all interest in Polina and threw her out. Her two kids were still young, 10 and 13yrs of age. They were in school at the boarding house and she couldn't bring them yet to visit until school is over. Best for them to remain there, ensures the father keeps paying their fees. She visits them too. The separation was sudden for her. She could only afford one room in this very local place and do some petty buying and selling to maintain her life. She was emotionally shattered by the separation that was unexpected. She felt weak and needed help. Bella noticed these and instantly became her regular help. He comes over to wash her clothes, clean her house, keep her company like he would do his own mother. He told her to stop going to buy, she should just sell at home while he goes to town to do all her shopping for her. He never asked for anything in return. She offers him food once in a while, this he eats with relish.
Months passed. One day Polina was at home selling, her two kids were with her on holiday. A car parked in front of her house, directed to her home by some people in her neighbourhood. Two well dressed men emerged from the car, greeted her and enquired if she was Polina the daughter of late Mr Michael. She answered yes, her father died long ago. They asked other questions to confirm she was his daughter and she answered them well. Now convinced she is authentic, they sat down and explained their mission. One is a lawyer, the other is a wealthy man. Her late father just bought some acres of land with all the title deeds in place, before suddenly passing on. He had not yet informed his only child, Polina, before dying. Her mum died before her father. She had no idea her father had a huge expanse of land somewhere. Well, the land had been there for years, fortunately, nobody tampered with it. The rich man needed a huge land for his factory, he represents a foreign manufacturing company that wants a manufacturing plant in Nigeria. The land and the location was perfect. He contacted a lawyer and they began to trace the owner of the land. Government record listed late Mr Michael as the owner and one Polina as his sole heir. Enquiry shows Mr Michael was dead, but his daughter is alive somewhere. They got her husband's address but did not meet him at home when they visited him. No one was at home to receive them. One of the neighbours she was close to while she was still with her husband and who had visited her here on several occasions with gifts saw them and gave them directions to her house when they stated their mission. They asked around in her neighbourhood and eventually got her.
Polina was overjoyed. The men noticed her condition and asked what happened to her. She narrated her life experience, weeping profusely. They comforted her. They brought out necessary papers for her to sign, drove her to the bank in town and instantly credited her near dead account with several millions of money, the appropriate amount for the land. The land had appreciated in value over years. Polina became an instant multimillionaire. They called a property manager for her on the phone. He immediately went over to see them. They asked him to immediately relocate her to a simple new 4 bedroom house in town well furnished and near to a new school for her children. They immediately bought the new house for her and left after all papers were signed. The lawyer instantly became her personal lawyer too and kept in touch with her, offering her help and advice anytime she needed it.
Polina moved to her new house with her two children and Bella. She took him up as her personal responsibility. He became just like a son to her. She opened a boutique that did well and had branches in different parts of the town, built more houses that she rented out. She became a major distributor for a drinks and food company supplying to many customers. She trained Bella up to masters degree while he also helps run her business. Bella had a mother in her and had high integrity in business management, the same course he studied.
After his masters degree, Polina set Bella up in his own private business, he got married and was a successful businessman.
Bella boomed.
What is the lesson of this story?
Copyright Tosin Oke
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