Games Life Plays

With an unimaginably brute force, I kicked open the door and rushed towards the drawer. I was in pangs but that was a secondary issue. This key had to be found or else we'd lose access to documents that proved our ownership of 600 acres of land Chief Bamba was trying to sell to a mining company. We needed concrete proof and that was the only thing my late father left behind.

"What is wrong with you?!" my younger sister yelled at me out of shock.

"I am after a key. Baba left a safe behind and I can't find its key. Without it, we lose custody of our land," I retorted, holding myself back from exploding out of frustration.

"What?! The same parcel of land for which Baba was assassinated? Why is the chief so keen on ensuring that his death amounts to nothing?"

We had been living in Asasease for generations as a family, I remember Baba telling me this. A forlorn suburb in the Eastern enclave of Ghana’s Western Region. Ours was the most luxurious mansion around. A gigantic five storey house that stayed soulless and haunted by sorrows.

I had been ransacking the room for nearly an hour to no luck. The usual rhythmic migraine set in while I searched. Dizzy, I paused to take a rest. I had been ill for months now and with every passing day, I felt closer to death than ever. While resting, a call came in from my doctor's office. He needed to see me urgently, he said. My test results were in and I could tell from his tone that the end was near--my end.

Apparently, the colorectal cancer had spread widely across my colon and if not attended to within 24 hours, I would die. Devastated and not knowing what to do, I sat to think it through. The dilemma now was either I keep on with the search and save our land before it’s lost to the mining company within 24 hours or I leave my pursuit and go get chemotherapy as it’s the only proposed antidote to my deadly predicament.

It was either I leave behind a heroic memory for my family or I fight for my life and watch our inheritance go to waste in a matter of a day. Death had always scared me and I couldn't stand the thought of losing my life just to be a hero.

Without a shred of doubt, I let my family down. I halted my search and rushed towards the hospital, my only source of refuge and hope. There I was, the coward who would choose to live than fight with his last breath for the only remaining family legacy. I settled for life, an antidote, the only viable option.