Chapter 3: Chapter 3
Miriam Obie was a knockout. Such was her beauty that it made men crazy. She was a shrewd business mogul, and the affluent supremo of her husband’s multi-billion-dollar empire. Miriam was well-known for her wealth, elegance and wisdom. Yet with all the affluence, beauty and fame, Miriam was not a fulfilled woman. For the women of Abagana, the story of Miriam’s arrogance and misfortune have always made a delightful story, more than her beauty and wealth. There were whispers that she cast an evil spell on her husband, Frank Obie, who they said was tied to her apron strings. For those that disliked her the most, Miriam was nothing more than a vamp, born with a silver spoon. And she became luckier when she married Frank Obie − the wealthiest man in Abagana.
However, what the people did not know was that Frank and Miriam earned every penny of their lives together. As the elders say, everyone who is where he is today, started from where he was yesterday. That saying was true of Frank. He was a man that did not have the head-start most of the young men his age had. His palm kernels were cracked by him and not by a benevolent spirit. It was for this reason that his progress towards making it in life was slow and painful.
Frank and Miriam fell in love while they were very young. Frank was only a boy then. He was raised by his uncle, Nathaniel. Uncle Nath as he was fondly called loved Frank very much. It was he who trained him in school. Frank grew up hating indolence, and was an industrious lad that farmed with his mother in the village. He helped her in selling her farm produce in the markets of the neighboring villages, all at the expense of his education. It was because of his hard work that he and his mother survived after his father, Cosmas, died at home after a long-drawn battle with a strange ailment. There was no money to take him to the hospital for treatments, as a result of which he died at home from a strange swelling, after several unsuccessful treatments from Nwadibia − the famous herbalist of the seven villages. Frank’s father’s death was shameful. The shamefulness of it made him hate poverty – the disease which he believed was grievous than the ailment what killed his doting father. It was after his father’s death that Nathaniel took Frank to Abagana to live with him.
When Frank met Miriam, she was a member of the school debating club. Unlike Frank, Miriam was from a rich home. Her opulent and supercilious air was the envy of her classmates. Frank fell in love with her because of her peerless beauty and self-confidence. So it was with fond memories that Frank always remembered the childish but sweet love story of the day he summoned courage to confess his love for Miriam. It was on a Friday afternoon after school dismissed. Miriam was in the awning, waiting for her father’s chauffeur when Frank came to her.
‘I want to tell you I care very much about you,’ he said.
‘Why do you think what you feel matters to me?’ Miriam had replied him. ‘If I care about you should it matter so much to you?’
‘Not really. It’s just that I really think that mine may be different from yours,’ Frank replied, avoiding Miriam’s steady gaze.
‘If you think yours is different, what kind of care do you think it is?’ Miriam asked him with a blank face.
‘I only mean to say that I...’ Frank stuttered; his voice unusual to him.
‘You mean to say you love me?’ Miriam asked him. Frank nodded his head stiffly. Miriam looked at him and burst out laughing.
‘And why do you think I care if you love me?’ she asked him. ‘You’re poor, and you cannot even take care of yourself. How do you think you can take care of me?’
‘I know I am poor, and do not have money. But I am the cock that is crying out not for it to be released, but for the world to hear its pain,’ Frank said. ‘I am relieved I’ve been able to confess my undying love for you. If you give me a chance, I swear that I’ll work very hard and make you very happy.’ And true to his words, years after they finally got married, Miriam could still remember that blessed day with great hilarity and fondness. The last time she met Stan – Frank’s best friend – and told him the funny story of how she met Frank and agreed to marry him, she told him it was Frank’s vision and grittiness that forced her to marry him.
‘All right, you shall hear from me tomorrow,’ she told him as she climbed into the car. The next morning when she sent Frank a letter on which she wrote: ‘Yes, to your love!’ Frank’s joy knew no bounds. They swiftly became inseparable lovers. Their love waxed stronger by the day, until it blossomed into a happy marriage.
Frank and Miriam were well-known for their wealth and influence in Abagana and beyond. While Frank was the owner of a multi-billion-dollar business empire, Miriam ran the business with him and had borne Frank two beautiful daughters – Jessie and Martha. They were a happy family, until Miriam’s sudden inability to conceive again lingered for ten solid years. Frank became troubled and desperate for a male child that would succeed him and inherit his great wealth. If he had no heir, of what use was all his wealth and success? It was for this singular reason that Frank’s blissful life with Miriam turned sour. To end Miriam’s woes and grant Frank his heart desire, Martha, their beautiful and beloved daughter was sacrificed to pave the way for a male child. At last, everything looked perfect. Frank would have his wish; Martha would embrace her unkind and cruel fate; and Miriam would snap out of her pain and disillusionment. Then Martha met Reverend Grace’s adopted son – Moses − and everything tumbled apart.