A short story written by Foxyflow….
OLUKUNLE THE GAMBLER (A short story)
Kunle used the back of his palm to wipe off the
sweat that had formed a bead on his head. He
was in deep thought as he looked at the cards
spread before him. Each was covered. To win
N500 with N50, he had to flip the king over.
Now he doesn’t know if a king was among the
cards spread before him. You can’t just tell if
the gamblers he was playing against were
honest. Okay, no gambler is honest so scratch
that.
“Guy you dey waste time, abi you want make
another person play win?”
One of the two gamblers asked him. He was
short, stocky and had a huge chest. On his face
is a deep scar just below his eyes. He had been
in a knife fight before. His partner was slim and
lanky but he had this evil aura around him. His
eyes were stone dead. Talk about a dead man
walking. Now Kunle was at odds to play against
these men.
“Make another person play then.”
Kunle retorted.
Like magic, a dude which Kunle had paid little
attention to sauntered over to them.
“I go like play.”
Kunle looked at him. He was putting on a blue
long-sleeve shirt which he tucked in neatly. His
shoes were shiny like he just left the shoe-
shiner’s shop.
“How much own.”
The short guy asked.
“100 naira for one thousand naira.”
The long-sleeve dude replied coolly. This
sounded too good to be true. Kunle’s attention
was brought back by the card setter.
“You see this king? Look am well well. Oya I don
turn am.”
He started moving the supposed king quickly
in-between two other cards. Then stopped
when he was satisfied that he had hidden it
clearly. Kunle could swear that the king was at
the center of the pack.
“Oya show me.”
And viola, the long-sleeve dude pointed to the
card at the center. It was turned over and right
there was the king. Before Kunle’s eye a
thousand naira note changed hands.
“Oga you get luck o. You go like play again?”
The short gambler asked. The long-sleeved
dude nodded his head. Right there another
shuffling of card took place, again this dude
won another thousand naira. It was just too
good to be true.
“Oga play 500 naira take chop 5000 naira na.”
The stoney eyed lanky dude requested. Kunle
couldn’t bear it anymore.
“Make I first play.”
Kunle interrupted. Now the guy winning did not
argue. He moved for Kunle to take his spot. This
was surreal.
“Oga, make I try that 50 naira own.”
Kunle requested. Flip, flop, flip, flop… Five
hundred naira smiled it’s way into Kunle’s
pocket. Kunle’s heart was beating with
anticipation. He had only fifty naira before and
now he has five hundred and fifty naira. He did
not waste time before going for another one.
Soon kunle had two thousand naira in his
pocket. The stoney eyed dude that was silent all
through the game came up with a suggestion.
“Guy, play for two thousand naira to win twenty
thousand naira.”
The world paused for Kunle. His mind went into
a calculative mode. If he should win 20
thousand naira now, he would have enough
money. That roasted chicken that mama Peter
sells and the ever chilled bottle of beer sold in
Mama Ada’s shop would be a nice combo. Then
he can also buy a pair of new shoes, get a hair
cut, buy body spray and even give Ayipo, his
akamu selling girlfriend more money to invest in
the business.
“Oya now.”
Kunle was set. The crowd which had gathered
because of his previous screams were hailing
him.
“Bring the two thousand naira first.”
The short guy demanded unlike the first four
games he had played. Unthinking, Kunle
handed the money over. He waited with baited
breath as the card was shuffled. This time the
short dude did it faster and longer. Kunle was
undeterred. His eyes kept following the card
until…
“Why you press my nyash?”
A female voice sounded beside him. Just one
second of losing concentration.
“Oya point the card.”
Kunle pointed with confidence. The card was
flipped open.
“Oh noooo”
The crowd went wild. It was the wrong card.
Cold sweat broke out on the forehead of Kunle.
The dream he just dreamt came crashing down.
“I wan go fifty naira own again.”
The card was flipped again, this time faster.
Kunle ended up losing. His stomach tightened.
He just knew he would sleep hungry that night.
To make matter worse, he still had a great
distance to trek.
As Kunle moved sadly away, he looked behind
him to see the long-sleeve dude laughing and
returning the money he had won. Even the girl
whose buttocks was pressed was also laughing
with the gamblers.
Kunle swore never to gamble again. But right
there in front of him, a voice screamed.
“Drop your old shoes and stand a chance of
winning brand new ones.”
Kunle stared at the tattered shoes on his feet.
***THE END***
OLUKUNLE THE GAMBLER (A short story)
Kunle used the back of his palm to wipe off the
sweat that had formed a bead on his head. He
was in deep thought as he looked at the cards
spread before him. Each was covered. To win
N500 with N50, he had to flip the king over.
Now he doesn’t know if a king was among the
cards spread before him. You can’t just tell if
the gamblers he was playing against were
honest. Okay, no gambler is honest so scratch
that.
“Guy you dey waste time, abi you want make
another person play win?”
One of the two gamblers asked him. He was
short, stocky and had a huge chest. On his face
is a deep scar just below his eyes. He had been
in a knife fight before. His partner was slim and
lanky but he had this evil aura around him. His
eyes were stone dead. Talk about a dead man
walking. Now Kunle was at odds to play against
these men.
“Make another person play then.”
Kunle retorted.
Like magic, a dude which Kunle had paid little
attention to sauntered over to them.
“I go like play.”
Kunle looked at him. He was putting on a blue
long-sleeve shirt which he tucked in neatly. His
shoes were shiny like he just left the shoe-
shiner’s shop.
“How much own.”
The short guy asked.
“100 naira for one thousand naira.”
The long-sleeve dude replied coolly. This
sounded too good to be true. Kunle’s attention
was brought back by the card setter.
“You see this king? Look am well well. Oya I don
turn am.”
He started moving the supposed king quickly
in-between two other cards. Then stopped
when he was satisfied that he had hidden it
clearly. Kunle could swear that the king was at
the center of the pack.
“Oya show me.”
And viola, the long-sleeve dude pointed to the
card at the center. It was turned over and right
there was the king. Before Kunle’s eye a
thousand naira note changed hands.
“Oga you get luck o. You go like play again?”
The short gambler asked. The long-sleeved
dude nodded his head. Right there another
shuffling of card took place, again this dude
won another thousand naira. It was just too
good to be true.
“Oga play 500 naira take chop 5000 naira na.”
The stoney eyed lanky dude requested. Kunle
couldn’t bear it anymore.
“Make I first play.”
Kunle interrupted. Now the guy winning did not
argue. He moved for Kunle to take his spot. This
was surreal.
“Oga, make I try that 50 naira own.”
Kunle requested. Flip, flop, flip, flop… Five
hundred naira smiled it’s way into Kunle’s
pocket. Kunle’s heart was beating with
anticipation. He had only fifty naira before and
now he has five hundred and fifty naira. He did
not waste time before going for another one.
Soon kunle had two thousand naira in his
pocket. The stoney eyed dude that was silent all
through the game came up with a suggestion.
“Guy, play for two thousand naira to win twenty
thousand naira.”
The world paused for Kunle. His mind went into
a calculative mode. If he should win 20
thousand naira now, he would have enough
money. That roasted chicken that mama Peter
sells and the ever chilled bottle of beer sold in
Mama Ada’s shop would be a nice combo. Then
he can also buy a pair of new shoes, get a hair
cut, buy body spray and even give Ayipo, his
akamu selling girlfriend more money to invest in
the business.
“Oya now.”
Kunle was set. The crowd which had gathered
because of his previous screams were hailing
him.
“Bring the two thousand naira first.”
The short guy demanded unlike the first four
games he had played. Unthinking, Kunle
handed the money over. He waited with baited
breath as the card was shuffled. This time the
short dude did it faster and longer. Kunle was
undeterred. His eyes kept following the card
until…
“Why you press my nyash?”
A female voice sounded beside him. Just one
second of losing concentration.
“Oya point the card.”
Kunle pointed with confidence. The card was
flipped open.
“Oh noooo”
The crowd went wild. It was the wrong card.
Cold sweat broke out on the forehead of Kunle.
The dream he just dreamt came crashing down.
“I wan go fifty naira own again.”
The card was flipped again, this time faster.
Kunle ended up losing. His stomach tightened.
He just knew he would sleep hungry that night.
To make matter worse, he still had a great
distance to trek.
As Kunle moved sadly away, he looked behind
him to see the long-sleeve dude laughing and
returning the money he had won. Even the girl
whose buttocks was pressed was also laughing
with the gamblers.
Kunle swore never to gamble again. But right
there in front of him, a voice screamed.
“Drop your old shoes and stand a chance of
winning brand new ones.”
Kunle stared at the tattered shoes on his feet.
***THE END***
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