MY HUSTLE

The cold weather made me shiver. I took slow but alert steps to the junction. It was 12pm and I was going to meet a client; a stupid client that constantly disturbed my sleep with nagging phone calls. My taxi guy drove in front of me. 'Aunty where we dey go'. 'Golden Tulip Hotel'. I replied. We drove in silence as we always do.
I drank a pill of postinor incase the man has enough money to pay for RAW.
I also checked for my condom, lubricant, porn videos (all my working equipment) to be sure they were intact because i had packed with sleepy eyes. My phone rang, it was the man again, he had called three times now, 'the thing really hold am '.
'I am already close' I told him. I could imagine what he looked like, a big bellied, hairy, 50 something year old man with brown teeth, most of my clients fit that description. I didn't know the man, it was Kelechi, my friend, that gave him my number (I always replaced her when she wasn't around).
Something was itching me between my legs and my hand found its way down to my pussy. I scratched it and a bout of pleasure filled my body then it turned sore as I continued scratching. My pussy had been itching me since I slept with one of my Hausa client who paid for RAW. The man gave me an STD, even though I was taking drugs, my pussy still itched. That Hausa man was complete bad market and I made a promise never to sleep with an Hausa man without condom.
We drove into Golden Tulip and I said a quick prayer that the man would drop well because the last business I went for didn't pay well. The man said my pussy smelt like spoilt fish, so he gave me 5k and almost beat me up when I tried to jack him for the rest of my money.
The receptionist was sleeping over the counter, I didn't bother to disturb the poor girl, so I climbed upstairs.
He opened the door, I was right about the big belly, hairy, 50 something year old, but this one had white teeth. He offered me Hennessy and I gleefully accepted. I had to be intoxicated to sleep with the man, he was so ugly. In a few minutes we started business, first I had to strip dance for him, give him BJ, then have sex. His bill was 35,000. Sex- 20k, BJ- 10k, Strip dance- 5k. He nodded and unlike some useless clients I used to have once in a while he didn't price.
I woke up the next morning with a slight headache, last night was like a fog in my mind, the details were scattered in bits. I was alone in the hotel and the 50 something year old man was nowhere to be found. I jumped out of the bed anxiously. I checked the wardrobe and nothing was there, he had left. My handbag was no were to be found, my phones, and everything I came with was gone. Anger seared through my veins. I had been robbed. He drugged me and raped me, then he robbed me. I crashed on the hotel bed and buried my head inside a pillow. What kind of bad luck was following me? After two years in the business I still ate from hand to mouth.
That day I really understood the meaning of 'Ashawo no be work' after trekking a 30minute journey to my house. That day I decided no more 'Osho free', nothing like that would ever happen to me and I knew the right person to ask for help. So I had my bath and left for Nneka's house. Nneka was a big girl who drove three cars, as I stepped into her house I was filled with self disgust. See my fellow girl's house, she had a gateman, a chef and a house girl and to think that we started together in that cramped apartment where I still live was heartbreaking.
'Belinda' Nneka screamed from the verandah of her duplex. 'Neky baby' I hailed back. She ushered me into her well furnished air conditioned sitting room. She offered me Hennessy and the events of last night crawled in my mind like a tiny poisonous snake. A tear escaped my eyes as I narrated my story to her. ' I am sorry bel bel' she said.
She went upstairs and brought a bundle of 1,000 bills and handed it to me 'Nneky, I don't want fish, I want you to teach me how to fish' I told her. She stared at me for some minutes before she said. 'I will tell you all this only because we started together from the scratch, and you are my Paddy'. She swore me into secrecy before telling about BABA OWO, her juju man. She said he gave her powers, different powers, first a power that can detect if a man has money to spend, another power that would make a man do anything you want him to do. All the while I was wide mouthed, I was short of words. 'So are you ready' she asked and I nodded 'but there is a price' she told me 'What is the price'. She didn't tell me, she asked me to come back after my menstrual period with two pads soaked with my menstrual blood. I was skeptical for some minutes but I was desperate.
It was as if my period pitied my frustrated life, two days after the visit, it pumped out. In three days I had two fully blood soaked pads. I visited Nneka, we visited BABA OWO.
How we got to the shrine, I can't remember because we went at night and I slept through out the journey, when I woke up. I was in the shrine, how I walked to the shrine I didn't know, everything was hazy. The shrine smelt of chicken blood and smoke, it was so dark that I could barely see anything, I clutched Nneka's arm. 'Calm down, there is nothing to fear' she reassured me. The BABA OWO came out of nowhere and unlike the normal babalawo's I see on T.V this one was not old at all, he was about 30 years old and he wore a pair of jeans, like a lagos girl that I am I thought 'This people won scam me' . He exchanged pleasantries with Nneka and asked 'is this the friend you were talking about. 'Yes' she nodded. I handed him the Pads and he asked us to seat down, he went inside and came out naked, stark naked. He told me to undress my self and I did. He said some incantations and gave me my pads back 'eat them' he said. I stared blanky, trying to process what he just said. 'Eat what' I heard myself saying 'Just eat it' Nneka whispered to me. 'But..' She cut me off. 'Eat it, there is nothing there'. I chewed slowly as my belly churned and nausea hit me. I felt so disgusted and sick. After a while he stopped me and handed me a bowl and a razor blade. 'Use this razor blade to make 30 cuts in on your tongue. Do not swallow the blood coming out of the cut. Spit them into that bowl. If a drop of blood goes down your throat, you die.'
'I can't do it' I said to Nneka.
'I did it, so you can, abi do you think having that kind of power is easy' she said to me.
'I can't cut my tongues 30 times after eating my menstrual blood. Do you want to kill me'.
'What did you think we were coming here to do? Party? Madam I did all this things I didn't die, I am alive and rich. I want to help you'.
'Keep your help to yourself' I said as I stood up leave.
'Young lady, you want to die?' The Baba asked me.
I couldn't reply that kind of question.
'If you can't cut your tongue 30 times there is another alternative' he said. My bones relaxed a bit. 'What alternative'. 'Can you live with three worms on your head for the rest of your life'. I didn't understand what he meant, I didn't want to understand, the mention of 'worms', 'head' and 'rest of your life' was enough to make me scream 'NO' . I stomped out of the shrine in anger and stomped into an empty space in fear. 'You can't leave here without his consent' Nneka said from behind 'Just cut your tongue. Do it fast. It would pain you but it would heal and you won't ever have to suffer again'.
I walked back into the shrine, took the razor blade and started making deep marks on my tongue. Blood flowed from my mouth into the bowl. Tears blinded my eyes. A big lump built in my throat, my heart squeezed. The pain went to every part of my body and I felt like I was going to die. After the 30th cut I slumped on the floor, physically and emotionally drained . I was too weak to cry. The only thing I felt was hatred towards money. Nneka helped me up. 'You did it' she grinned.
I didn't eat for one week, I only took liquids, by the time my tongue had healed and I was back on my feet, it was time for operation 'Kill Men'.