  Donatus walked quietly into his compound without responding to the greeting of Henry who was the one that had opened the gate. His face was expressionless and tired-looking. He stood aside and waited for the young man to finish locking the gate.
      "Henry," he called.
      "Sir?", Henry answered, running over to meet him.
      "Where is Timothy? Go and call him for me."
      With that, he walked straight to his front door while Henry ran off on the errand.
      Minutes later, Timmy strolled into Donatus' parlour. He found the man seated on a couch and reading a newspaper.
      "You called me?", Timothy murmured gruffly.
      "Ehen Timothy. Why have you not been picking your mother's call? How many times has your mother called you?"
      "I got my reasons," Timmy shrugged carelessly.
      Donatus eyed him in silence and shook his head in pity.
      "Anyway, your mother wants

  Caro and her chubby potential benefactor arrived at their final destination at dusk. It was a gigantic compound in a quiet and ultra-modern environment. When they stepped past the gate, Caro was awed by what she saw. A modern three-story mansion, several expensive-looking cars, a fountain, a little garden and a swimming pool were among some of the things her eyes first caught on and she couldn't help but stare at them open-mouthed. The woman laughed and patted her on the back.
      "Surprised, eh? I told you I wasn't used to those miserable means of travelling, but a friend of mine took me to go see another friend and one thing led to another. The end result was that I had to make my way back home without a car. At first, I thought I would manage just fine, but... you know how that turned out. Come on, let's go in," she said, pulling the still awed and dumbstruck Caro by the hand.
   

  Caro, after leaving Beryl, had trekked very little and enjoyed much. For the first time in her life, she had five thousand naira all to herself, in no one's house and under nobody's supervision. It occurred to her to indulge herself a little, so she purchased sardines, corned beef, soft drinks and everything else that she had always looked forward to eating all her life.
      Within a few days, she had broken several records and consumed things she never would have hoped to consume if she was still in her father's house. Running away had a lot of perks, to be sure.
      For once, she could spend freely and without thinking too much, even giving some change to beggars. Though her birthday was still many weeks away, she felt like treating herself like a queen. It was wonderful how easily you noticed beautiful things when you have money. To make things more splendid, she had not encount

Donatus walked quietly into his compound without responding to the greeting of Henry who was the one that had opened the gate. His face was expressionless and tired-looking. He stood aside and waited for the young man to finish locking the gate.
      "Henry," he called.
      "Sir?", Henry answered, running over to meet him.
      "Where is Timothy? Go and call him for me."
      With that, he walked straight to his front door while Henry ran off on the errand.
      Minutes later, Timmy strolled into Donatus' parlour. He found the man seated on a couch and reading a newspaper.
      "You called me?", Timothy murmured gruffly.
      "Ehen Timothy. Why have you not been picking your mother's call? How many times has your mother called you?"
      "I got my reasons," Timmy shrugged carelessly.
      Donatus eyed him in silence and shook his head in pity.
      "Anyway, your mother wants you to come home. Your father just came back from the hospital."
      "What's that got to

Chapter 12