THE RICH ALSO CRY: THE REST OF THE STORY SNIPPET 4

After a few weeks, the doctor informed Marianna her husband wanted to see her. Marianna looked confused at first as though she’d forgotten she was a married woman. ‘My husband?’ she said.

The doctor affirmed that, explaining to her he’d been coming to see her and waiting for her to get better s he could take her home. Marianna’s face then lit up as she then remembered Luis Alberto. The doctor was pleased she seemed to understand and she did; she remembered Luis Alberto, her past and their son. The doctor asked if her son had died, thinking it was the reason behind her severe nervous breakdown. Marianna dimly remembered what she had done with the baby; handing him over to a complete stranger and looked very sad again.

Luis Alberto stared at Mariana, remorse all over his face. Marianna’s eyes lit up  as he walked up to her, his arms going  round her. He asked her to forgive him for the terrible way he’d treated her; now realising it was all a misunderstanding. Marianna was only too happy to, very glad to see him again. As far as she was concerned, the ‘misunderstanding’ never happened.

 Luis Alberto told Marianna he left Mr. Duarte in charge of their project when she asked about his work in Brazil; he wasn’t leaving Mexico again. He assured her they will find their son very soon; pleading she shouldn’t worry about anything, she needed to get better soon.

As Marianna continued with her treatment and counselling, her doctor told her he had ordered a search for the ticket woman but advised her not to tell Luis Alberto she gave their son away; that would surely put a dampener on their marriage and end it for good. Marianna’s reluctant to lie to Luis Alberto but the doctor felt it was best she didn’t say anything to Luis Alberto about it for now, that wasn’t the same as lying. When their son is found, then she can tell him the truth.

Luis Alberto finally took her home when she was better; Ramona and Maria filled with joy at her return. A blonde woman was present and she was introduced to her; her name as Sarah, recommended by Don Alberto and Mrs. Elena to be their child’s governess. Thinking their son was now found, Marianna hugged him; very happy and anxious to hold their baby. The three women looked very worried as Marianna and Luis Alberto went upstairs. Sarah was sure there would be trouble once ‘the nut’ realised the baby in the nursery wasn’t their son. Ramona scolded her sharply; angry she was addressing the mistress of the house in such a disrespectful way.

Luis Alberto watched Marianna apprehensively as she bent over the baby in the cot. It wasn’t their son; to put Mariana’s mind at rest and help her stop fretting he had adopted a baby from an orphanage, a baby girl. The three women entered the room, watching Marianna as she held the child in her arms. Then Marianna stared hard at the baby, noticing the tiny studs in her ears... it wasn’t Beto!

Luis Alberto hastily took the baby before Marianna could drop it, begging her to listen to him when she started getting hysterical again, shouting that wasn’t her son. The baby was an orphan and he felt he could make up for their lost son by presenting her with this baby girl. Marianna had fretted for their son so much that he feared for her sanity. This was a baby to love and take care of but she didn’t want her...

Marianna didn’t want him returning the baby but she simply couldn’t forget their son either, crying out loud and blaming herself for giving him away. Luis Alberto urged her not to say that again, but Marianna kept crying as the baby’s crying was tormenting her. Luis Alberto begged her to take the child, certain the child will stop crying if she held her. 

As he spoke, the innocent baby girl stared up at Marianna and Marianna calmed down, taking her from Luis Alberto and rocked her in her arms, promising to look after her but she turned down the idea of formally adopting her.

Some days later, Marianna and Ramona went back to the same corner where Marianna had run into the ticket seller but of course she wasn’t there. Ramona is worried about Marianna but Marianna stubbornly vowed she wouldn’t rest until Beto was found, even if it took years.

Some years later...

Marianna, Luis Alberto and Ramona sing a happy birthday song to their adopted daughter, now named Marisabelle. Marisabelle blew the candles on her cake, to a round of applause. Marisabelle is hugged by her parents; Luis Alberto first then from Marianna but there’s a little hesitancy from the girl at first as though she felt Marianna wouldn’t hug her, but Marianna did, warmly.

Marianna loved her daughter but her  obsession for her lost son was still strong. 

THE RICH ALSO CRY: THE REST OF THE STORY SNIPPET 3

Weeping and half demented, Marianna wandered about and then she collapsed on the street. Some good Samaritans called an ambulance and she was taken away. Meanwhile, an exhausted Ramona returned home, unable to find Marianna whom she’d gone out to look for. At the Red Cross Marianna is very ill, refusing to eat anything given to her. The doctor urged her to think of the baby she’s expecting but in her dazed state, Marianna was cold, not wanting the baby to be born.  Left alone, she kept seeing Luis Alberto’s face and hearing his cruel words.

Ramona and Maria are very worried about Marianna. Ramona decided to call the hospitals and the police stations.

At the Red Cross, Marianna was operated on and her baby delivered, a baby boy. As the hospital was overcrowded, Marianna doesn’t stay there long even though the doctor tried to get her to stay longer; she is frail and clearly suffering from a nervous breakdown.

Back on the streets again, Marianna carried her baby about. Again she kept remembering Luis Alberto’s words and seeing his face. Upset again, Marianna moved to sit on a park bench next to a woman in a shawl. The woman was a lottery ticket vendor and she was not having a good day, having not sold a ticket. She offered a cigarette to Marianna but Marianna absently turned her down. The baby began crying and the woman asked if she could hold him. Still looking blank, Marianna allowed her to take him; the ticket vendor cooing over him, exclaiming how pretty he was. Marianna stared at her, asking if she liked her baby. The ticket vendor said she loved children but never had any. Marianna said she could have the baby and the ticket vendor chuckled, thinking Marianna was joking- she said the baby would be a very expensive toy. But Marianna didn’t appear to be joking (actually it was due to her illness she was talking that way); she said the woman could have him.

The woman stared at Marianna, wondering why she was saying such nonsense. Marianna said she didn’t feel well so the woman asked if Marianna would like something to eat. Instead, Marianna asked her to look after the baby while she went to get something.

‘What’s his name?’ the ticket vendor asked, still rocking the baby.  

‘Alberto,’ was Marianna’s reply as she blindly wandered off again. ‘Just like his grandfather, just like his father.... his father...’

The woman rocked the baby, noting his name. ‘Little Beto,’ she cooed at him.

Marianna was sinking further and further into her acute depression as she began hallucinating again, his words echoing in her ears again.

The ticket vendor was astonished to see Marianna was gone, looking here and there for her; baby Alberto still in her arms. She decided to wait for her.

At home, Ramona informed Father Adrian Marianna was still missing. Father Adrian reproached her for not locating him in Rome about the situation as the order would’ve given her his address. But Ramona had been so anxious about Marianna that she never thought of it. She had already called the police stations and hospitals to find her but not information. She was very worried Marianna must have had an accident. Father Adrian felt that if that had happened, she would’ve been taken to a private hospital or the Red Cross- the one place Ramona didn’t call. Immediately, Ramona brought out the phone book...

The ticket vendor, Chloe, was still waiting for Marianna to return. Her friend Felipa-another ticket vendor- came up, surprised to see a baby with Chloe. Chloe explained what happened, not wanting to leave the spot to look for ‘the girl’ in case she suddenly came back. Felipa jokingly remarked that maybe the mother had decided to give the baby to her.

Marianna suddenly sees a woman with a baby and gets hysterical, claiming the child to be his. People gathered as Marianna started screaming.

Ramona had called the Red Cross and she’d gotten info Marianna had given birth there. To her amazement, Luis Alberto entered the house; unexpected and fully bearded. He had business in Mexico so he decided to use his free days. He asked Ramona to call Marianna down; he wanted to talk to her. (Monster)

Ramona nervously told him Marianna was missing and explained in detail how ill she’d been since his quarrel with her. Luis Alberto was very disturbed to hear that Marianna hasn’t been seen in three days but he still didn’t, or didn’t want to believe the baby was his after Ramona told him about his son’s birth. Ramona begged him to listen, Marianna wasn’t Esther- the baby was his. If he chose not to believe her then he should speak with Father Adrian. There was nothing between Marianna and Leonardo, she swore on Esther’s memory she wasn’t lying to him.

At the psychiatric hospital Marianna was taken to, she could only give the doctor her first name; she couldn’t remember anything else about herself. The only thing she said was about her ‘lost son.’ She didn’t even know where she was.

Father Adrian gave Luis Alberto a good talking to and in the end, Luis Alberto realised he had accused Marianna on the basis of past lies and betrayals from Esther. He was now going to look for her and their son and ask for her forgiveness. Meanwhile, Chloe the ticket vendor is looking after Beto as she called him but felt she might still run into his mother. Her neighbour and friend Lupita decided to pawn her chain and ring so they could buy the baby a crib.

Luis Alberto finally tracked Marianna down and talked to her doctor. The doctor advised him not to ask Marianna about the baby just yet; Marianna’s dementia was probably caused by the baby’s birth- her condition could be post-partum depression. It was either someone has the baby or the baby died, hence the depression. Luis Alberto didn’t want to believe his son was dead but the doctor advised Marianna should be allowed to get well before she’s asked about the baby. 

DORA AKUNYILI- A GREAT LADY

When I became a blogger eight years ago; the posts I hated putting up were the ones about the death of people I admired. Only a few days ago I put up a post about Maya Angelou; now I'm writing  about Professor  Dora Akunyili who died today in India after a 2 year battle with cancer. I had no idea she'd been ill so this came as a very huge shock to me.

When she was the Director General of  NAFDAC (National Agency For Food and Drug Control), this lady took her job seriously; curbing the distribution and selling of fake drugs and unsafe and unapproved products and making sure the people participating in such a trade were dealt with. She was motivated, according to an interview, because her late sister Vivian was a victim of fake drugs; she had died from unknowingly using fake insulin to treat her diabetes. Hence, even with threats on her life- she refused to back down on those who kept making and selling such stuff; not wanting more innocent people to die from fake medication or unsafe products in the market. 

 After her tenure ended, she was appointed the Minister of Information and Communications in 2008.  

This is a very sad day for Nigeria. Professor Akunyili cared so much about making a positive difference and she did in many ways. She was an intellectual, a true patriot, and a role model.  Professor Akunyili believed in so many things and she had a strong sense of duty and responsibility. 

There are so many things one can say about this wonderful woman who has passed on to the world beyond. Nigeria has lost a great woman and this is truly a very sad day for us. But we have to accept the merciful Will of God. 

Professor Akunyili was the epitome of Fortitude, Virtue and Selflessness and she will be sorely missed by all who loved and admired her. God rest her soul in eternal peace.

Goodbye, great lady. 

"CREEPY DOLL" MOVIES

                                                                              

   THE CHILD’S PLAY FRANCHISE (1988-2013)

  Child’s Play came my way in Junior secondary school.  By a stroke of fate I watched Child’s Play 2 first but several class mates had given me the “low down” on Chucky- that it was a doll possessed by the devil. That wasn’t true of course; I found out in the first film later that he was a doll possessed by a serial killer, Charles Lee Ray; who dabbled in the occult and voodoo. Even if I watched it first and saw the parts where it was vaguely hinted it was Andy( Alex Vincent) behind the killings, I wouldn’t have believed it anyway- not after the dramatic scene where Charles (Brad Dourif; who also voiced Chucky from then on) took a doll out of its box and chanted some voodoo words and the camera close-ups on the doll’s face. The whole time I wondered when exactly would they finally believe Andy’s story and that scene was unforgettable- Andy’s mother Karen (Katherine Hicks) discovers the batteries were still in the doll box and Chucky had been moving his head and chanting, “Hi, I’m Chucky and I’ll be your friend to the end!” all that time... without the batteries. She is nervous and tests Chucky by lighting a fire and threatening to throw him in if he didn’t speak and surprise, surprise... he snarled at her in Charles’ voice; beats her off, bites her  arm and flees! One theme I saw there was scepticism, who was going to believe a story about a possessed doll? So many people in the movie were inclined to think Andy needed professional help. I played this movie on my laptop for my colleagues to watch in the staff room and they were spellbound; the Geography teacher said something like this could actually happen but every one else said ‘Rubbish!’

‘Ah, but evil is real; the devil is real but we have God’s protection,’ was the answer. Any how, Child’s Play made a huge impression in my country.

 I don’t know people’s opinions about Child’s Play 3 here but my brothers and I didn’t enjoy it as much as we enjoyed 1 & 2. We saw there’d been a several year jump since 2; Andy was now a teenager (played by Justin Whalen), people viewing him with suspicion and his mother still at the mental institution. Chucky decides to try his luck on a younger child and kills a few people here and there. Andy gets his first kiss and there’s a showdown where Chucky is ripped to shreds. I don’t know... it just didn’t have what 1 and 2 had, an aura of suspense.

Bride of Chucky was unexpected and a disappointment. Oh there was the violence but it wasn’t as dark as part 1 and 2 and Seed of Chucky was complete rubbish; half the movie was spent guessing if Glen (Chucky & Tiffany’s spawn) was a boy or a girl and the movie, like most horror movies, ended ambiguously. I remember thinking if Don Mancini should bring in a new Chucky story, he should at least let Andy be the one to kill Chucky once and for all. But with the way Seed of Chucky ended (the human Glen finding his father’s arm in a box); I gave up on the idea.

 Then came Curse of Chucky; Don Mancini returning his story back to its dark roots. The viewers are introduced to Chucky's new main victim Nica (Brad Dourif's real life daughter, Fiona Dourif), got to see an important part of Charles’ past and then... oh joy!!! We see  grown up Andy at long last (a now 32 year old Alex Vincent) aiming a shotgun at Chucky and saying, ‘Play with this!’ and pulling the trigger. 

Will there be a new one? If so, I hope Andy is in it again; let him be the one to end Chucky’s circle! 

                                                             MAGIC (1978)

I dimly remember Anthony Hopkins’ (I didn’t know his name at the time) 1978 movie Magic where he played a disturbed ventriloquist “dominated” by his dummy, Fats (charming name by the way). I’ve been scared of ventriloquist dummies since then; it’s almost like they have a mind and a life of their own as opposed to puppets. And Fats is very memorable, he was the creepiest craved figure I’ve ever seen. No wonder the initial trailer  was pulled away from T.V, apparently it was far too creepy and children at the time were having nightmares because of it.

Magic is described as a horror love story and it was adapted from William Goldman’s novel of the same name (he wrote the screenplay as well). Fats, the dummy isn’t possessed like his much later counterpart Chucky; it was more like Corky (Hopkins) was possessed by Fats. A ventriloquist provides the voice of the dummy and chooses it personality- it could be childlike, solemn, funny or cheeky; Fats was quite insolent. What was the odd connection between Corky and Fats and why did he choose to give Fats such a personality to begin with? Apparently, Corky has multiple personality disorder; Fats is his supposed to be his instrument but he was actually a means of unleashing his ‘other’ personality - a dominant, homicidal personality who controls him. Yeesh... sounds somehow like The Ventriloquist in the Batman comics!

Like Psycho, his ‘other personality’ is jealous of Corky’s lover, Peggy. Corky imagines Fats ‘telling’ him to kill and he does; his agent and Peg’s husband. He and Peg have a fight and Fats ‘orders’ him to kill her. But Corky, who we can see is really mental, commits suicide instead; to save Peggy and I guess himself ...from Fats’ ‘influence’.

Peggy has a change of heart and goes looking for Corky; but her voice has creepily changed to a female version of Fats’ voice... to this day, I still don’t understand why. Psycho’s ending was easier to understand than Magic’s. 

                                                      PINOCCHIO’S REVENGE (1996)

First off, I don’t like the title because I felt children who saw this would probably see the character Pinocchio from the actual kids’ story in a negative light from then on. And the movie’s plot is a real head scratcher; at the end of the film we (my family and I) couldn't draw a proper conclusion.

A lawyer, Jennifer (Rosalind Allen) gets hold of a wooden doll (or is it puppet?) that was buried with a boy and his father was executed for the murder but the lawyer felt the man was hiding something important that could’ve cleared him. The lawyer’s daughter, Zoe mistakes it for a present for her and takes it for herself; talking to it like she talks to her dolls. But then things start happening to people who upset the child... a bully is pushed in front of a bus, her mother’s boyfriend is injured then later killed. The child says Pinocchio did it, but the viewers don’t see him do it. We see scenes of her talking to Pinocchio and he answering back but a video tape at her therapist’s office of her doing so with no one else around, it  glaringly showed the child is talking to herself!

Zoe’s babysitter ended up beaten to death with a poker, again we don’t see who is doing it.

The climatic fight in the house; Jennifer sees Pinocchio with his strings cut and standing in the room... she runs for her life , he catches up with his knife in hand and they struggle and at the last minute she body slams him and he crashes onto a glass table. But hold on, it’s not Pinocchio... it’s Zoe lying there. Zoe is placed in psychiatric care; she doesn’t look nor speak to her mother and Jennifer still believes Zoe wasn’t the one who attacked her that night nor was responsible for the killings.

Like I said, a head- scratcher. What really happened?

Was the doll possessed by the devil? The accused child killer...  if it was truly the doll who killed his son, he obviously kept quiet about it because of course no one will believe it. But, why did he bury the doll with the boy in the first place if it was responsible for the murder? Was he possessed by the doll or simply insane?

Who pushed the bully, who killed David and Sophie; who did Jennifer really fight with that night; Zoe or Pinocchio? Did Zoe have hidden mental problems or did the doll drive her insane, like it probably drove the child killer insane?

What happened to the wooden doll in the end?

The movie was just left like that, with the viewers trying to decide who the real culprit was. 

COURAGEOUS SURFER : BETHANY HAMILTON

 I read Bethany Hamilton's story in Reader's Digest some years ago. I saw a photo of this pretty young woman holding a broken surf board and to my horror saw she was missing an arm. That was when I read her story thoroughly.

Bethany was 13 when she lost her arm to a shark while surfing that fateful day, October 31, 2003. What moved me was she didn't even panic, she described how she remained calm as the people with her helped her back to shore and did what they could to the bleeding stump before taking her to the hospital. I can only imagine how her father (who was at the hospital that day for a knee surgery) must have felt when he was told his child had been attacked by a shark!
In the article, Bethany talked about how she was itching to go back to surfing as her dream was to be a professional surfer; which she is now. She got a lot of support from her family and friends and drew her strength from God, being a devout Christian. She  didn't sit around and mope about her lost arm... no! She was soon back in the water and taught herself how to surf with one arm. Looking at her arm in the photo, I knew she couldn't possibly wear a prosthetic arm in or out of the water because the bite was far too high up and I again marvelled at her courage and determination to conquer the waves and not let what that shark did to her stop her from fulfilling her dream. Who would go back to the water after such a trauma? Bethany did.

I watched the movie adaptation of her book- SOUL SURFER last month and I had to reach for my hanky at the footages of the real Bethany Hamilton surfing, beating the waves. With determination, she also had faith in God and thanks to Him, she's alive,  still surfing and a real role model.
Her story is moving and inspirational and the whole time I read it, I didn't see her as a victim. I saw a very courageous young woman and may God continue watching over her and leading her to victory.

AND STILL WAITING... AND STILL PRAYING #BRINGBACKOURGIRLS

It's now June. Protests in Nigeria and in several parts of the world still go on for the rescue of the Chibok school girls who were abducted by Boko Haram on the 14th of April 2014; 4 more have escaped but the remaining terrified girls  are yet to be rescued. It's not just about the girls; the bombings and the killing of innocent people are going as well. Recently, 9 people were killed in a church in Borno by the terrorists and it's been reported that some of the kidnapped girls have fallen ill due to malnutrition. But what are the options will be used to get them back since force cannot be used and how long is this nightmare going to continue? Of course, force cannot be used- it would surely endanger the girls  but what is going to be done??? That is the question surely on the minds of the grieving parents and everybody campaigning for their release.
Every day we keep our eyes and ears peeled out for good news but news remain bad; the girls are still out there, more bombings and killings and now, the police has banned protests in the capital.

Police have banned #bringbackourgirls protests in Nigeria http://t.co/95VnRpEAqp pic.twitter.com/aa9jlgFrn3
— NowThis News (@nowthisnews) June 3, 2014

WHY?

The demonstrations, it was explained, are becoming a security threat to the capital's citizens. Apparently, anyone could just easily blend into the protesters and set off  bombs. Point taken but at the same time, the FCT police cannot expect the protesters to just take it like that and they aren't since they are taking it to court on the grounds the ban is illegal.
Whatever methods that will be adopted for rescuing the girls and put an end to Boko Haram at long last, the prayers continue. As for them, we all plead in the name of God... and Humanity.

LATEST ON VITALII SEDIUK

According to several sources, 'The Hollywood Pest' who has now been fired from his job at 1+1 (and it  serves him right since he did more of upsetting celebrities and making a fool of himself than doing his job properly), will not serve time in jail for his latest 'prank', instead he's been officially banned from all  Hollywood events and given three years probation, made to do community service plus a year of psychological counselling. About time he was given that!
Vitalli Sediuk keeps maintaining that he's not crazy, he just thinks differently. Please... what do you call sticking your face under an actress' dress, attempting to kiss an actor, pressing your face on crotches, jumping over a barricade to hit an actor on the face AND running around in  a G string on a catwalk during Fashion Week, yet another event he crashed... you call all that normal? But hey... anything to get noticed right... you don't care what you do as long as your not so funny antics are reported!

Personally, I don't believe the freakazoid is going to behave himself; he seems so cocky, so overconfident and full of himself. And, I suspect, he's  not entirely right in the head which is why I'm glad he's going to get some counselling. Behind his creepily warm smiles, hides a guy who has mental  issues. He claimed his 'pranks' are for fun and he doesn't mean any harm well, he needs to know that it's not fun for the celebrities he's been annoying. He doesn't seem to have actually learnt his lesson but maybe, just maybe the court ordered counselling will knock some sense in that thick skull of his.