GRAPPLING WITH MALIGNANT HATRED

By OMOSEYE BOLAJI “To the last I grapple with thee; from hell’s heart I stab at thee; for hate’s sake I spit my last breath at thee!” Ahab, in the classic, Moby Dick The pigeons swooped down and flapped around majestically. They pecked at disparate morsels of food on the ground, jostling around with some frenzy as I watched them in desultory fashion. I had not come here at this particular park for some time. I savoured the ironically cold breeze. It was serene – but not for long! The first inkling I had that I was no longer alone here was when the birds suddenly flew away in an amazingly orchestrated manner! A man materialised beside me, a ginormous smile on his face. “Ntate! Long time!” he said. I stared at him now, and the penny dropped! It was a gentleman acquaintance I had not seen for at least four years, a rotund, amiable man. Now I could see he had put on even more weight. Immediately I also remembered that this man was always with a “twin”, a very close friend of his who was always by his side; a very tall man on the quiet side. I tried to remember the friend’s name... I failed. So I said – “Ah, Richard! Long time indeed. You have been more than scarce.” I smiled. And where is omo telele - the long (tall) man? I have never seen you without him in tow! “ Richard grimaced, a tragic expression suddenly etched on his face. He sat on the public bench beside me. “He’s no longer with us,” he said. “Joe (his tall friend) died a terrible death,” I winced “You see”, he went on. “You might not have known, but Joe had a sister that he loved very much. She was killed in a gruesome way by her boyfriend. It broke Joe’s heart, especially when the killer was somehow released from jail! The law system! Joe swore revenge, it festered with him. He wanted justice for his sister.” “So one day Joe went to the killer, and the mother of all fights ensued.” Richard shook his head. “It was terrible. There was blood all over the place. Both men died in the end. I lost my best friend.” There was silence. I thought about the Chinese saying, “Before setting out on revenge, you first dig two graves. I understood all too well what had happened. Actually, one of my books, Tebogo fails, is constructed around a similar theme. “Hmm, revenge,” Richard said. “It is a powerful thing that often leads to disaster.” I nodded. I thought of the classic book, Moby Dick, where Ahab wanted revenge on the awesome whale, Moby Dick; he hated it with all his heart, to the gruesome end - with virtually everybody on the ship dead because of this! C’est la vie?