Read Online Taduno's Song by Odafe Atogun - Free Book Online Page B

with my guitar that would tell them that I’m trying to hide something.’
    â€˜And if you keep going about with your guitar they’ll keep following you and asking questions about you. And the neighbours will begin to see you as trouble. And they could decide to evict you.’
    â€˜But this is my house! I bought it with my own money, in my own name!’ Taduno sounded desperate.
    â€˜Only you know that . . .’ Aroli hesitated, ‘and probably me. Remember, you once mentioned to me that you no longer have the documents to show you own the house.’
    Taduno remembered Lela’s warning and fear crept into his eyes. ‘What will happen to Lela if I get arrested?’ he lamented.
    â€˜We must avoid that until you discover your voice. Your voice is your identity, it is your bargaining power.’
    â€˜I must find TK urgently.’
    â€˜Find him. But stop going about with your guitar.’
    He detected a trace of hostility in Aroli’s voice. He threw him a sharp look. Aroli was the only person who knew his secret. He wondered if he would betray him. After Aroli had left, he went to check his mailbox. Only the letter he had written to Lela was there.
    *
    That morning heightened his fear.
    Judah came to warn him too. ‘You must be very careful, Uncle Taduno. A stranger came to ask questions about you yesterday. Everyone thinks he is secret service. But nobody knows why he is interested in you.’
    â€˜Thanks for letting me know. Aroli told me about it earlier.’ He looked away so that the boy would not see the troubled expression on his face.
    â€˜I’m sure Uncle Aroli must have told you. I thought I should come to tell you also, so that you will take more care.’
    Taduno nodded. ‘Thank you. I will be more careful, and there is nothing to worry about.’ He turned to the boy with a reassuring smile.
    *
    Refusing to take Aroli’s advice, he went out with his guitar that morning and extended his search to all the popular bus stops in Lagos. Some of the people he talked to knew TK, but no one had seen him anywhere that day.
    To his alarm, he discovered that there were many more policemen and soldiers than usual on the streets. They trained their guns on everyone, waiting to release fire at the slightest excuse. He wondered if the presence of the uniformed men had anything to do with him, or if the government was about to declare a state of emergency. He wondered if the man from secret service was on his trail.
    As he made his progress through the city he kept throwing furtive glances to see if anyone was showing unusual interest in him. Because he threw looks at everyone, everyone threw looks at him too. And they wondered at him, at his strange guitar that stirred their conscience in an inexplicable way.
    *
    His shirt and trousers were torn and soiled by the time he got to TBS by late evening. As usual, a mammoth crowd milled about without purpose. He moved this way and that way, searching faces until darkness fell and all thatremained was the rump of the crowd. As on the previous night, a gentle breeze fanned the square.
    He played his guitar for several hours, surrounded by the homeless men whose hearts he delighted with his music. He played with total concentration; with a passion that rolled back the years. A round of warm applause greeted him when his music came to an end. And then the applause died down, and night became still. Somehow, he knew he would find TK soon. But he was not prepared for the miracle that would follow.
    *
    One by one the homeless men began to disperse to their sleeping positions, thoroughly thrilled by the music they had heard, filled again with some sense of life and hope. Taduno had his eyes closed, savouring the night peace that had taken hold of the square.
    Soon he could hear loud snoring as the men were felled by sleep, one after the other. He listened to their snoring with his eyes closed. He listened, imagining