To all who aspire to rise above what it is. To all who gave me a helping hand. Gain for pain and Glory for nuts; I therefore present this timeless dedication to those that aspire to win in the chase for glory.
‘Daniel has had a fair share of life’s problems.
First, he lost his parents same day in an auto accident at the tender age of Nine his uncle came to pick him up from school that day instead of his mother who did that more often and taken to his house instead of his own father’s house.
‘The news of his parents’ death was told him three days after.
Daniel watched as his parents were buried the same day and he was as helpless as he could be. His age did not help matters too. Daniel had problems in elementary school which nearly tore him apart. He performed poorly and had a problem identifying color sets perfectly and had a false ulcer history, all these with the death of his parents in one day in an auto accident and being the only child of his parents was a burden on his neck.
Daniel could feel he had a big burden on his neck. His only succor was his talent of fine and applied arts and his succor in people he found in his uncle’s family; his new “foster family” and his friend in elementary school — Alfred.
He and Alfred grew up as friends and although Alfred gained admission into the university before Daniel due to he having to repeat a class in elementary school due to poor performance after the death of his parents which he got over with the help of his uncle’s family.
Daniel and one of his uncle’s son Lucas gained admission into the same university with Alfred. He and Alfred got admission to read Fine and Applied Arts as well, and Lucas to study computer science.
Daniel is happy and a bit surprised that the room he is posted to in the school hostel is Alfred’s’ room. The two continue their friendship in the school. Things go on smoothly in the hostel until Martina a hostel mate is shot and killed by some group of assailants who belong to a notorious cult group in the school and who are also students in the school. The police swing in. Not deterred, though, Daniel looks forward to setting up a foundation that will cater for single parents and orphans in the society.
Daniel attends an event organized on National Holiday, where he meets Michelle, a damsel that created another spring of emotions within him. And more importantly, Sir Pisa, one of the renowned artists in town who puts him through the path of fame and who sets him on the path to realizing his dream; to help people who are in his kind of past, connect with his kind of future.
“Hurry up Daniel!” Daniel’s mother yells softly from the living room where she had gone to pick up a file she had left on the dining table after she fell asleep when treating them the previous night. She had been preparing the budget for her department, the sales department at Buck & Fins Ltd, a stationery manufacturing company situated at about 3km from the flat she shared with her husband and only child, Daniel, when she fell asleep and left the papers on the table to come back to finish work on them early in the morning.
“Daniel!” She yells again and walks up to Daniel’s room, and says to him “you don’t want to keep me and your father waiting for long, we have to drop you off at school and then your father would drop me off at work today, and he will still have his work to meet up with.” She looks on at Daniel who appears moody and not yet ready for school and says to him with disappointment in her eyes “what is it, sweetheart? You cannot keep your father and me waiting for long. If you don’t get dressed soon, you would be late for school and your father and I would be late for work and it will be all because of you and you don’t want that to happen! Hmm? I don’t want to go to school today mom,” replies Daniel looking rather discouraged.
“What is it, sweetheart? Talk to mom.”
“My class teacher told me I cannot come out of high school with a nice grade. She says my spelling is poor and I have problems identifying color, she says I cannot compete with the other boys in the class, mom, am I that poor?” Daniel questioned with his young and innocent eyes gazing into his mother’s eyes as though trying to find the answers to his question right in her eyes written somewhere. “Oh! No dear” Daniels mom replied, “you are not that poor you know what? Your class teacher is only saying what she feels to encourage you to try harder,” Daniel’s mother adds and makes to continue speaking when Daniel interrupted “she says I would have a low IQ if checked; do I have a low IQ mom?” Daniel asks,
“No you don’t” Daniel’s mother answered him looking very affirmative. “You see Daniel, your father and I, after going through your school reports the last term, decided that we will employ the services of a private tutor while we also will always do what we as your parents would do to see that you improve in your academics
I am not saying you are poor in academics, no, you are not, but you see Daniel, you are not performing up to the standard obtainable in this modern day and age. But, we cannot have this discussion now. Get ready, get dressed, your father is waiting for us to come down to take you to school so we can go to work” Daniels mother encourages him, helps him get dressed, packs his bag and off they race to meet their husband and father. “Hi Daniel, I can see you are set to go to school, now let’s take you to school,” Daniel’s father says with a smile that seems to lift off a burden off Daniel’s shoulder, as his mother noticed. And off they went, out of the house, into the walkway, into the car and off to school.
At school, Daniel alights from the car bids his parent’s farewell and enters the school compound, straight for his classroom, waiting to hear what next his class teacher Mrs. Maroon would say to him about his performance in school. That day was the last he would ever see his parents as they were lost in a car accident before they even got to work.
They had dropped Daniel off at school and had made their way to work when they got to the red light and stopped.
Soon it was the orange light and then the green light, which at the same time sent the red light on the road at the right-hand side on. Daniel’s parent’s ignited their car, however, a big truck conveying frozen fish, which already was driving at high speed, drove past the red light at the other and rammed into the private car of Daniel’s parents Mr. Marcque Job and Mrs. Shellina Job, which was the first car in their lane. And it resulted into an emergency which resulted in Mr. and Mrs. Job being rushed by an ambulance to a hospital, where they were pronounced dead two hours later, as a result of the brain hemorrhage and shock they had suffered due to the accident which was rated fatal. That day after school, Daniel waited to see his parent’s car drive into the school compound and his parents alight from the car and he running into the waiting and outstretched arms of his parents and looking straight into the eyes of his father; a tall soft-spoken and gentle and also into the eyes of his mother; a slim (for she had shed some l2pounds 2years after giving birth to Daniel), caring and a strong spoken woman after about 40 minutes of waiting the school compound now nearly empty with only very few students and teachers still left: ‘the students all still waiting for their parents or guardians to come for them. The teachers still having some reports to fill in are left in the school compound.
Suddenly a black jeep pulls into the school compound; it is different from the green SUV that Daniel’s parent’s cruises in. Daniel takes a second look on the car and he recognizes the car, its Uncle Mathews car; ‘it has the resemblance of Uncle Mathew’s car;’ he murmured to himself.
He had had the chance of visiting Uncle Mathew with his father and mother, a couple of times in the past and the car that had just moved into the school compound looked every inking like uncle Mathews. The car door opens and a tall innocent looking man steps out of the car and wounds his head round slowly within the school compound as though looking for someone. “That’s Uncle Mathew; I wonder what he is doing here. He must be here to see me; maybe mom and dad sent him to pick me up” Daniel muttered to himself and he hastily makes way to meet him; “Hi Uncle Mathew!” Daniel waved to him “good afternoon” Daniel greets him “Okay; Laddy I have to take you home right away” he said opening the door for Daniel. Daniel inquires about his father and mother and why they had not come over to pick him up. “You see uncle, I was already considering picking a bus home, still have some money left.”“Well, you see Daniel”, said Uncle Mathew, “you need to get home, freshen up and have a nap and oh! Sorry, I was late to pick you up, but I think the time is right and now is the time for you to grow into a man”“I don’t understand,” Daniel slowly and calmly interrupts. “Well then let’s get to the house and I will tell you what I mean”. When they got home and alighted, Daniel asked with surprise in his eyes “But uncle this is not my house, this is your house”. Oh Daniel, I have been asked to bring you to my house” Mr. Mathew quickly replies and moves straight in with Daniel following, satisfied with the reply from Mr. Mathew and straight into the waiting arms of his wife, Mr. Mathew embraces his wife and asks Daniel to make himself comfortable in the house: Of course, Daniel knows he can always be comfortable whenever he is in Mr. Mathew’s house.
He remembers having to run to and even pass the night at Mr. Mathew’s house which is not far from his whenever he runs away from his own house after breaking a rule. At night shortly before bedtime, Mr. Mathew and his wife Mrs. Helen came into Daniel’s bedroom and told him the news of the death of his parents.
Daniel could not believe his ears after they told everything that happened. He cried and murmured many words to himself; he counted his fingers, bit his fingernails and did all sorts of movements on the bed. Mr. Mathew and his wife consoled him, asked him to be calm, and that he can live with them as their son. They had two daughters- Esther and Ruth and a son- Lucas and promised to help him overcome his academic problems as they were aware of them.
Daniel Job partially got over the shock of the death of his parents, adapted to his new home: with the other Job’s (his uncles’) and now leaving his life as a quite happy young man.
Daniel Job, now out of high school as a graduate with not very good results, however, good enough to secure him a spot in higher school, he chooses to study Fine and Applied Arts at his new school, after managing to beat the cutoff mark. Although having improved in his ability to spell (he had with the help of his uncle who he sees as his father been able to improve quite well) Daniel, still had one very big challenge which he still had to deal with, identifying colors. Sometimes he gets confused in identifying color combination. He loves Fine Arts very much and he also loves painting, drawing, crafts work and even making up other people. Yet he knew he had to strive to improve in his ability in identifying color combination. Not that he was so color blind that he can’t see color. He, however, had a lot of faith in his love and passion for the arts. He still has in his possession all of the sculpture he had made, the ones he had made with his help of his parents, whom he sees as his role models, even though now of blessed memory. He also has in his possessions, the paintings he had made while living with his uncle Mr. Mathew and his family. Daniel is highly skilled in artwork; he makes the use of materials like wood, sand, metals for his crafts. He had learned those while in elementary school in the juniors, from his best friend the whose name was Henry. Daniel and Henry had been best friends in elementary school, Henry had known of Daniel’s impediments in spelling and color identification and also of his love for Fine and Applied Arts. Henry himself, in elementary school, was already a very good artist, he could draw, paint, make-up, was skilled in crafts work and also was a good goldsmith. Henry had gotten contract offers, outside the school for some work requiring the service of a goldsmith, which he gladly did on weekends and use the proceeds support himself through school. Henry was at an early age, taught by his father who was a well-known professional in Fine and Applied Arts. So no wonder, at an early age, Henry was very skilled in Fine and Applied Arts, even though Henry exhibited some natural artistic tendencies, at a tender age Henry’s parents were not rich, so he didn’t have all the toys that the other kid had and played around with and he did not live, like the other kids in elementary school lived, like being brought to school and picked up from school during closing hours in private card, he would go to school with a bus and take a bus back home, sometimes he treks back home from school. Back in elementary school, Henry had always boasted to the other kids and his best friend Daniel that he will grow to become one of the best artists that ever lived. While that seemed to amuse other kids, Daniel had always kept those words to heart; he loved Henry more and decided in his heart that he was going to keep Henry as his friend forever. Daniel, just like his mother, kept matters to his heart and for a very long time. He could remember events that had taken place, sometimes this ability brought him misunderstanding with his peers at school who accuse him of being malicious.
They would call him names like, cat: They would say he kept a list of wrongs done to him. But Daniel was not moved, he knew that would not kill his chances of becoming who he had always dreamed of and just as his father had always told, he would stand in front of the mirror in his room every morning as soon as he wakes up from bed and speak positive and encouraging words to himself calling his name repeatedly. At a point all Daniel seemed to care about was his best friend Henry, who in elementary school, put him through Fine and Applied Arts and helped him master the art of drawing, painting, molding and sculpting.
At the elementary school, Henry’s parents moved and so Henry had to be relocated to another school where he continued to high school so Daniel and Henry lost contact, but Daniel still held Henry close to his heart and he wished to see him again. However, things progressed since then and Daniel had gotten admission into the university to study Fine and Applied Arts. School starts in 2weeks time and all students both old and new had been duly informed to report to school before the resumption date; at least three days before the date, particularly those who will live in the school hostel, whose application for the accommodations in the school hostel had been granted. And to this group Daniel belonged. He would be leaving Mr. Mathew and his wife Helen with their son Lucas (who had come to be fond of Daniel and who had actually passed his high school with high grades and had gotten admission to study computer science at the same university as Daniel) indeed all the people in the neighborhood where Mr. Mathew lived, including, of course, a pretty little girl; the daughter of his Uncle, 4years old Martha. Daniel now seventeen is gladdened as Lucas (sixteen years of age also) would be going to the same school with him. Even though they are going to stay in different hostels Mr. Mathew had gone to the school a couple of times prior to resumption date to meet with the registrar, Professor Bink to finalize the registration of both Daniel and Lucas and each time he went, he went with Daniel and Lucas. At the same time, Daniel and Lucas familiarized themselves with the school environment and even got to know their different rooms before time. Mrs. Baker, on instructions from the school registrar, Professor Bink will take them on a tour of the school and its facilities. Daniel hostel block number was 444; he was made to understand that already. The room is a special one in that only one person already lives there a second year Fine and Applied Arts student and he would be the second person who will be a member in that block. Every other has a minimum of three people occupying them and his has just one with his coming going to make it two; ‘that one guy must be special to have this one block all to himself, he would have to share it now though’ Daniel thought to himself of course he could think that way more so when Mrs. Baker had also told him that the university authorities had decided not to assign that block to more than two students; And Daniel knowing that he would be coming to school and moving into that hostel with much baggage, he was all the happier for the information by Mrs. Baker; not that he had too much baggage to scare the daylight out of him if that room were to be assigned to three or four or even more people, he was coming to school with one box of clothing, but aside that, he had other special temporarily personal effects as he would call them. These are the drawings, paintings, sculptures that he had made and preserved over time from his childhood years from elementary school these items were his consolations.
Whenever he remembered all he had been through, the loss of his parents in one day in a car accident (his worst nightmare) at a very young age; His loss of contact with his all time best friend Henry who had taught him the skills he needed to go through in his career path and who he says understood him more than anyone else after his parents and his uncles family. Daniel Whenever also he remembered his spelling impediments which he had at least gotten one foot out of, thanks to his Uncle Mathew and his hard time identifying color combination in elementary school in which Henry helped him to at least raise his shoulders above the water, Daniel can only get glued to his works of art that nobody else touched them or things get quite uneasy. Daniel hoped to release his works to the public soon. Daniel wished to see Henry again. He wanted to get to do a joint work with Henry, he only wished Henry was also looking for him wherever he was or might meet him in school, Daniel fantasized since there are very few universities about 3 of them in the country that are licensed to offer Fine Applied Arts full time to students, and this university happens to be one of them, “maybe I might bump into Henry here, I hope he is in school anyway.” Daniel fantasizes further, but he quickly dismisses the thought.