Wild West of the Heart
EIGHTY FOUR

The smell of the city blew right into her nose as she marched across the pavements. Never had she been prouder of being a Nigerian until that moment.

There were people. Hundreds of people, making their way through the traffic and blocking the cars-some whistling from their windows and others grabbing as many posters as they could. Signs and boards broke the winds as they headed south, echoing of a hundred voices in the air.

"Queer lives matter"

Silva looked to his best friend in that moment, and a smile crept to his lips. The second their shoulders brushed against each other, Mira whispered. "People showed" She hefted her arms in the air, holding the board with the words- QUEER RIGHTS ARE HUMAN RIGHTS.

There were a hundred other word combinations, including the ones that chanted FIGHT THE DISEASE AS A STATE and others as direct as STOP THE QUEER KILLINGS.

Silva drew away from her with the megaphone in his hands. The horns from the several vehicles behind them were like music to their eyes. Colors filled the streets, with people spraying across the bridges and the walls. And the sun was ecstatically glowing that specific afternoon-

-nothing could possibly go wrong. A majority of the country had watched the Guardian interview, and a few of them had seen the video, or read the article and they were here. They heeded to the call, and they came out to protest. But let's go back to where we left off.

SIXTEEN HOURS EARLIER

"Five more people across the country, discovered dead as of the last twenty four hours-with the same bible scripture placed in their palms" His partner, Wale tried to keep up to Dare's pace. He was headed out of the exit, putting on his blue tuxedos instead of his usual khakis.

And through the glassed door, he could see the roaring pub. There were officers that barred the entrance, holding back the journalists and Dare paused, heaving a deep breath.

"With the same thing painted on them?" He turned to Wale, and he stretched out the graphic photos in his hands. "All similar deaths, similar wordings but different handwritings and some halfway across the country. We had one in Jos, and two in Borno. One from Ogun, Ondo and Abuja. I've been able to compile them to the ongoing investigations. And i don't think it's just one person doing this" He added.

"I think it's a group" Dare pushed a lump down his throat, having established that a little earlier in his mind. But it still came as surprise to him. "And-" Wale called unto him just as he held unto the door handles.

"The press, they're going to ask about the protest tomorrow. A lot of people have already seen the news, and are already sharing their takes on social media" Dare gave him a firm nod. "I'll deal with it" He replied before walking out into the sun and the flashing cameras. There were a multitude of words thrown at him that he had to look away, sleekly slipping his hands into his pockets.

The police men that barred them a distance urged that they kept quiet, and in the next minute, everywhere went almost silent-leaving the chirping of the birds above them audible. Dare cleared his throat, looking to the correspondent on the furthest right. He nodded to him.

"How far have you gone with the investigations and are any of these claims true?" The lady stretched out her mic as Dare looked to the cameras. "There have been a lot of claims recently with the whole nation having an opinion on everything. I suggest you narrow down your questions"

"We all saw the Guardian interview earlier and it isn't the first time we see those same two people making atrocious accusations at the government. And sources tell us they happen to be of close relation to you" She had the next question on her lips and Dare took a moment to respond.

There was a smirk at the corner of his lips. "I know Mira and Silva, and i've heard this claims and the police department are doing their best with the information that they have that we have, trying to separate what is factual and what is not. However, i know whatever those two are saying aren't mere claims but outright events that have happened in the past few days" He replied, preparing to walk through the path the men had begun to clear for him.

"So does that justify the protests they plan on holding tomorrow" He turned around at that question. "And just how much would be a threat to the society if at all people show up in support of this movement?" As direct as she was, he could sense a stint of judgement in her voice. One that wasn't impartial. So he tilted his head just a bit at her.

"I know for a fact that people will show. And everyone has a right to hold a peaceful protest, it doesn't go against any law we have in the books" He continued before tuning his ears deaf to the rest of the questions thrown at him. He was directed towards the brown Mercedes Benz that waited for him in the lot. But before he entered, he took off his suit jacket, handing it to the man that stood by the door.

"Where are we going now?" Dare asked, adjusting his cufflinks before entering the car. "The governor would like to have a word with you" He closed the door, leaving Dare looking through the windows at the jeering press. His eyes fazed and behind him was the thought of thar one person.

NOW "Mira."

She threw her head over her shoulders as Silva leaned against the walls, beads of sweat building across his head. Her attention was drifted back to reality as the crowds encircled her. The sound of converses trampling against the ground serving a certain rhythm.

"You're looking for him huh?" Silva asked and she looked back and forth before letting her shoulders fall in disappointment.

Now he knew for the past hour, Mira had set her eyes in the distance in search of Dare who deep down she knew wouldn't show, no matter how much she wanted. Silva reached to pat her shoulders but then she held unto his pale hands, looking to his perspiring face.

"Silva, you don't look so good" She whispered, collecting the megaphone from his other hand as well. "I don't feel so good" He damped his forehead with a handkerchief before he pulled away. "Go, Mira, i'll be fine. The stage is yours-" "Enough is enough" Came the chants from behind her, the passion mixing with the soot in the air as they marched further away from their abode and into the mainland. There were hundreds of people, divided into small familiar groups and Mira brushed her shoulders through them-

-headed towards the front. "Enough is enough" She chanted along with them, letting go of her grey hoodie. She hefted in the air the board in her left hands. "Today, we take a stand!" She exclaimed. "Today we fight for change" "We fight for our lives, and we say to the injust killings of our people" The crowds quieted as Mira climbed the back of the truck. "We want change. We want peace" She yelled, looking over the hundreds of heads before her, amongst whom were models, musicians, influencers. Hassan Madu.

There were people with their faces painted, and arms are tattooed with a red colored cross. There were people with speakers and people that shared food and bottled water.

Mira paused, looking to the cars that horned from behind, cars that waited for the crowds which were never going to clear. She took in a deep breath. "Sometimes, you have to go to the very extreme to be heard" Her voice lowered. "And this is the extreme" She said just before a firework shot in the air, coloring the skies with a loud bang. There was another which reflected in Mira's eyes. Everyone looked up at the red skies with the words- END AIDS. Time had suddenly suspended as Obi looked to Hassan who was beside him. He looked at her placard which said, HOW MANY MORE PEOPLE HAVE TO DIE.

Everyone around him, with a different one or the other. He was in the center, turning around but somehow remaining in the same spot. "Here we are, fighting for our lives" Her voice fell upon his ears just before a hand held unto his. He was whisked back to the present as he looked eyes with Madu. "Are you okay?" She whispered and he nodded with a pretty convincing sigh, and it wasn't exactly a lie. He actually was.

Perhaps he was just overwhelmed, being a part of something this huge. This was the first ever Nigerian Queer Protest and he was here, It felt sublime yet historic. And once the crowds begun to move in front of him, he braced himself-ready to shout the loudest. "Enough is enough—"

TWELVE HOURS EARLIER

"I don't think we ever really fight for what we want" Obi said, looking above his semi-finished placard. He had somehow mastered up enough skill to draw a portrait of a man that had zip for lips, and bruises against his cheeks. He held the spray-can in his hands before looking to Madu. She was in the process of setting up her webcam after seeing the trending news-she just knew she was going to be a part of something as huge as a fight for freedom. "What do you mean?" She asked.

His eyes immediately went to the book he had now finished reading and he just shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know, it's like being Nigerian, sometimes we just think we have to settle with whatever is being thrown at us when initially we were never those kind of people" He said. "We used to be bold. Fearless and filled with courage"

"But along the many years, something changed. Something happened like some sort of reset. I look to tomorrow, and i pray that maybe for that day, we would summon that courage back. That boldness we once had. That we can't just sit and suffer in silence" He looked to his art which was somewhat based on that statement.

He began to spray the letters beneath the portrait and when he was done, he stepped back. All Hassan did was nod, realizing that some part of what he actually said was true.

"Let me see" She whispered, pointedly to his card and he blew air against it from his lips before hefting it up. Madu looked to him with a proud smile on his lips. "Silence is death" She read aloud the inked words. "It's good, Obi" "It's really good"

"It's actually just there" He shrugged before putting it away. "No, Obi. You should give yourself some credit" She said to him. "Somehow you're the only one that is oblivious to how much talent you have. How good you are. And you spend your whole life cheering for other people, when are you going to cheer for yourself?" That question struck his heart as he pushed a lump down his throat.

"I'm just saying, Obi. I'm just saying" Her voice went low before she switched on her speakers and camera. She went live to her hundred thousand followers on Youtube, all over Nigeria and she flashed a smile, waving at the monitor. "Hi icons-" It was what she called them and Obi smiled, realizing how far he had come, from watching her as a ten year old kid to her sitting in this very room. "As most of you have heard of the protest that would be coming up tomorrow" Her eyes went to the increasing number of viewers that quickly skyrocketed to about three thousand.

"I would be in attendance, fighting for this good cause. And i urge you, most especially the fans that have been here from day one" Her eyes went to Obi and then back.

"You know how important this is for me. And for a community who has done nothing to deserve the hate they face on a constant basis, which has now transitioned into murder. Tomorrow, join me alongside hundreds of others as we take a stand to say enough is enough" She continued.

"Enough to the gross way we are being treated, enough to the silence about a disease that is eating us all. Killing us all. Enough to the way things have always been done. We say enough is enough and we urge change" Madu said as Obi sighted Silva bending over the trash from the windows.

He arched his brows, just before Madu called unto him.

"Obi."

"Would you like to show them your work?" He grinned, hefting up the placard in his hands and sitting into his bed. He was shy, and a very pale pink. "Icons, meet Obi. They are who i wish i was when i was young" Madu smiled back at him. It was the first time anyone ever referred to him as anything other than a boy and it felt good, for a change.

To be continued...