The forgotten good deed

Image source: https://unsplash.com/photos/scale-with-a-heart-on-the-lighter-side-and-coins-on-the-heavier-side-concept-of-economy-health-love-and-priorities-3d-rendering-rS5dBzmDKgY

While in a commercial vehicle, returning home after the day's work, my phone rang. It was my younger brother calling from Owerri where he was living.

"Hello Uko", I answered, thinking it was his usual call for greetings, and to say he wanted to hear my voice. He was fond of calling regularly.

"I'm in police custody", he said.

I was taken aback! "For what?" I asked. It was the last thing I wanted to hear.

"You have to come down immediately to bail me at the police station.

"What happened?" I asked again so as to get a clearer view of the matter.

"We were arrested for public disturbance offence. I'll give you the details later. Just come down first", he persuaded with a tone of urgency in his voice.

"You know it's late already. I'll have to make it first thing in the morning".

"I wish you can come immediately so I'll not sleep in the police cell".

"I wish too. Just be patient. From here to Owerri is about 40 Km, and it's very late now. Tomorrow morning, you'll see me there".

The next morning, very early, I took off to Owerri. He was even surprised to see me coming so early. I signed the bail bond and he came out.

"So, what actually happened?" I asked again.

"It was part of my landed property that someone came to claim", he started, and continued, "As we were arguing, it led to a quarrel, in fact, a fight that attracted the police".

"You didn't need to physical fight over such an issue. It's a court matter", I replied.

"I know but, the man was very violent and insulting. At a point, I couldn't endure him."

"I must get back now because, I've been very busy lately. You have to take the matter to court. Look for a lawyer for that". With that instruction, I left.

He called me two days after, saying he got a reputable lawyer but that his charges were quite on the high side, beyond his pocket. I advised him to ask the lawyer to charge the matter to court straightaway, and tell him I'll come soon for us to discuss how to pay him in installments.

I went back to Owerri in a few days time. Face to face with the lawyer in his chamber, we started taking. I noticed the way he was looking at me. It was as if he was calculating something.

Surprisingly, after a while he called out, "Senior".

I looked at him, at my brother (who was sitting by my side), and took another look at my back, thinking he was referring to someone else.

"You're Senior Ariba?" He asked and stood up from his seat.

In our secondary school days, "senior" was how we addressed students who were ahead of us in class.

I started to feel that he must have known me in school. I looked at him, trying to recall his face. Tried as much as I could, the picture of his face in the school failed to appear in my memory.

It was getting to 40 years since we left school besides, by calling me "senior" meant he was my "junior". Above all, I was the deputy senior prefect which meant his chance of being very close to me was slim. This was because, a prefect was a powerful personality in the school back then. In fact, a prefect was the law by himself, with a lot of powers to enforce discipline among the students.

He disclosed how I saved him from the hand of some senior students that wanted to rope him into an offence that would have earned him a serious punishment, if not a suspension.

It was a case of one of the unruly senior students who, after throwing a pebble at the French teacher wanted to hang the offence on the poor junior student's neck. The lawyer narrated how I stood firm behind him to save him.

As he was talking, I began to catch a glimpse of his image and, the incidence in the long past started flashing into my memory.

We then started talking about our secondary school days, reliving the past and, leaving the main purpose of my coming at the sideline.

To cut a long story short, the lawyer said it was his turn to pay me back for what I did for him. In the end, he didn't charge us his professional fee. We only had to pay a token for fueling his car on any day the case came up in court.

The case lasted for two years, during which the lawyer was able to secure my brother's land.