BLOOD IS THICKER THAN BLOOD

He is your brother, not just your brother, your twin brother. You shared the same womb at the same time, suckled the same breast at the same time. Was it not plausible that you die at the same time, in the same space, breathing the same air - just the way you came into life. You feel like all the life in you has dried up at once. You feel like a tree in a dessert, because life holds no meaning for you. The only thing you believe in - Love. Has left you, because of you. Yes! He died because of you, and in some way, you think, you killed him. If only he had listened, a little longer, been a little more cautious, maybe he would be here, with you, in Somali, saving lifes.

It started with the 'Igbo', not the normal one, this one was darker, and stronger. Mayor called it 'Skunk', but you preferred calling it Igbo; Skunk made it sound dangerous. Mayor, your mother's younger brother, used to bring it home from work. All of you; you, Chimezie and Mayor, would go to the back of the house, and like ants gathering a cockcroach that has fallen on its back, three of you would gather around the Igbo. Chimezie, knew how to wrap it perfectly; He knew how to do everything perfectly. He would spread the rizzler - which was like a special kind of paper - pour a certain amount of Igbo in the middle, then he would wrap it, slowly and carefully, after which he would lick the end with his tongue, so that his spit would seal it. He used to say wrapping Igbo was an art, and you agreed with him, because you used to try, but you always failed to make the tip thin and pointy like Chimezie's. Mayor taught you and Chimezie how to do so many things aside smoking Igbo. He taught the both of you, how to drink kai kai. But, of all the things he taught you and Chimezie, the one you were good at was stealing. After smoking Igbo, the three of you would go to the market, were people swarmed in and out. Mayor, who somehow knew where people kept their purses or wallets, would tell you 'Chidozie, see that man, the one wearing blue. He has money in his back pocket, go and collect it. You know how I taught you'. You would nod obediently, because Chimezie had collected his own, and nothing happened to him. You would walk gently, fear gripping you legs. On getting to the target, you would take a deep breath, you would think of Chimezie the perfectionist, your twin brother who did everything better than you, then as always you would try to be better than him at this one. And, you were better than him, at picking peoples pockets. You always did a clean job. Using just two fingers, your middle and index finger, you could lift any kind of purse or wallet from any kind of pocket. At last, you too had found your art.

It wasn't too long before Mayor took you and Chimezie to work. His office was an uncompleted building at the towns outskirts. He had three co-workers, Jumbo, Yaya, and Sniper. The first day you met them, you almost bolted in fear; especially Sniper. He had too much of everything; he was too dark, too tall, too fat. His eyes were too big, and he was too scary. But it was Sniper that was by far the kindest. You remember that day you were scared, and couldn't pull the trigger on a policeman that was chasing you. That was the day they took you and Chimezie on your first mission. Sniper did it for you, he shot the man in the back of his head with his own gun. Even though the mission was successful, when you got to the office that night, Mayor was furious. He had given you a hard slap at the back of your head, and said 'So after spending my time teaching you how to pull a trigger, you couldn't shoot an ordinary policeman. So you want to die abi. I have told you several times, this game is for the fit, not for babies'.
You had cried that night. You cried because of that policeman. You cried because you had disappointed your Uncle Mayor. Chimezie crawled next to you and hugged you. He made you a promise, he said 'If you don't want to kill, I will kill for you. Whenever we go on a mission, and you have to shoot, but can't shoot. Just call my name, and I will come and save you'.
You never needed to call him on any mission, because as time flew past, you became stronger at heart. On missions, you would shoot anyone that threatened your life. You and Chimezie, became very rich. The biggest and most notorious armed robbers in Enugu. Sniper retired, so did Uncle Mayor, Yaya and Jumbo. You and Chimezie had your own gang - Fidelis, your cousin joined the both of you. Nnamdi, your childhood friend was also initiated. You and Chimezie built a house for your mother in the village. You decided never to get married. You had Chimezie, his love was enough for you. Moreover, a woman would ask questions. You hated questions you knew you couldn't answer.

Your life was moving in the best way possible, until you went on that mission that changed your life. It was the mission that was supposed to give you the money you had always wanted. You planned as usual, smoked plenty of Igbo. Your guns were in the right places, your team was on top of their game. You hugged Chimezie, as usual. If you had known, it would be the last hug, You would have held on longer. But, you didn't.
It was mid afternoon when you entered the bank, walking casually. Your guns were neatly stacked in your pocket. The banks metal detector couldn't detect your guns, because Nnamdi had paid the bank a visit the previous night. Chimezie strolled in next, then Nnamdi, then Fide. You said a silent prayer, that you didn't have to kill anyone. You entered inside the bathroom, and wore your mask, so did Chimezie, Nnamdi and Fide. Everything went as planned. You waved your gun in the air and calmly told everyone to lie down and keep quiet, they obeyed. You saw some shivering, some peeing on their clothes. You had outgrown feeling pity for your victims. Nnamdi and Fidelis, got busy throwing money inside the big 'Ghana must go' bag, while you and Chimezie, made sure no one moved. It took 30 minites to get everything done. It was when you were set to go that you heard the police siren, they were bursting in on you and your gang. You were scared. There was a back door, all of you exited through the back door. The police sighted you, and they began to chase you, you ran inside the car and Chimezie sped off. Two police vehicles were behind, you wished he would drive faster, but you didn't say, so he wouldn't panic. You could hear your heart drum out of your chest. Chimezie said he had to park the car, because there was a check point in front, and he was sure the police had alerted them. Nnamdi was crying, Fidelis was blinking hard and fast - the way he behaves when he craves Igbo. You all jumped down from the car, and ran inside a thick bush. The police was closing in on you, you didn't stop running. Your legs vibrated in pain. You heard gunshots but you kept running, there was no one in sight, and you didn't care because you were scared. Then, you heard a voice, calling out for Chimezie, you didn't know if it was Nnamdi's or Fide's, fear had contorted the voice. A few seconds later you hear a gunshot, and you hear Chimezie, screaming in pain. You heard him call your name, then you heard another gun shot. And, in your heart, in your bones, in the blood that flows through your veins you knew that Chimezie was gone. The air became stifling, the clouds became darker, and you felt the trees crashing in on you. You fell to your feet and began to cry, because you knew that Chimezie ran back to save you. You knew that he thought you were the one calling out to him, and like he promised years ago 'Just call my name and I will come and save you'. He did come to save you, only that it wasn't you, It was Fide that the police had caught, it was Fide that called out to Chimezie, and he ran back thinking, that once more you were 15, and needed him to save you, thinking that he couldn't leave his brother to die. In the blink of an eye, Chimezie left you...in a world that no longer made sense to you.

Now, you are in Somali, spending all the money you stole on sick children. You will never hold a gun again, and for Chimezie's sake, for God to accept his soul in heaven, you will travel round Africa, helping sick and impoverished children. And, every night before you sleep, you hear his voice, that one last time he called your name and you wish you had died with him.