© Joshua Books

(INTRO)

A near description of my present state can be found within a line in Kofi Awonoor's "song of sorrow" :- '...returning is not possible, and going forward is a great difficulty"...

I have had my own fair share of cruelty. Do they not say it touches every man's roof? I mean life's cruelty, just like the rain. But still, I wonder if everyone has had its bittersweet taste. It has become like a meal for the deceptive nourishment of my body, and like a medicine for the healing of my broken pieces of fortune.

My name is Ntemuse and I am far in a deep thought. How did I get here? This has been a constant rhetorical question which of course I cannot seem to get an answer. You can guess that I do not have where to go from here. For me, the affairs of this world are truly like chameleon feaces, and I have indeed stepped on it.

From infancy, schools of thought have reasoned in attempts to describe my personality. Many think I am intelligent and smart while others think I'm too assertive and cocky. Within me, I know just one thing about myself and it is the fact that I am a near loner who is a little bit poor in taking concrete decisions, though empathy and principles have always been the root causes. Not entirely my fault what I have grown to be; the infancy and boyhood creed has always been on integrity hence, its metamorphosing into anthem, catchphrase, and behavior.

With a degree in a reputable course under humanity, I have found myself in far and near places, hunting for means of livelihood right after graduation almost a decade aback. What should a poor boy do? He finds himself growing old as days go by...he has his family which he loves so much and places at heart, plus he needs to get married and raise his own family...

The story of Ntemuse you are about to read will be a juxtaposition of both fiction and non fiction. It intends to instill into the readers, some morals impulses. Inwardness and its counterparts are many at times at loggerhead with each other; the id, ego, and super ego are still very much at work; happiness, peace, and contentment are priceless, and anyone lucky enough to have it all must place supreme value on them.

While others are basking in comfort, happiness, freedom, stardom, and affluence, life on the other lane has been really difficult and unbearable to some others.

Will Ntemuse's story inspire you? Just find out in the next part.