Go and tell the girl, the girl whom I love,

Go and tell her mother she sees me no more,

If I die in the battlefield, I die forever more,

Now every British soldier is fighting for the King…

Nii Amarteifio sang to himself as he sat in front of the blue kiosk that served as a store for provisions. It was one of those mornings when very few customers passed by, save for the schoolchildren on their way to school, and he kept himself entertained with some of the songs he and his fellow servicemen used to sing in those days of the war.

“Mr. Amarteifio!” a couple of schoolboys who always passed by the store called out as they made their way to school.

He waved back at them eagerly. A group of five young boys under the age of 10, they often passed by the store to buy pens, pencils, and erasers. When they started patronizing the goods in the store, he introduced himself as an old soldier. This obviously got them excited, and since then, they had made it a point to always say hello to him whenever they were on their way to school, and when they were done for the day. Especially considering he occasionally gave them stories of his time at the war front which wholly captivated them.

“How are you all doing?” he called back to them.

“We are fine, thank you!” they all chorused.

“Good, good. Pass by when you close, okay? I’ve got another story to tell you this afternoon!”

“Yes, please!” the youngsters responded excitedly. “We shall come right after school closes.”

“Good, good. Study hard, okay?”

“Yes, please. Bye-bye!”

Nii Amarteifio smiled as they walked on. The glee on their faces whenever he told them of an upcoming story was one of the highlights of his day, one of the very few things he looked forward to in this life.

Nothing else is working for me in this life. I might as well make the most of these moments, he reasoned to himself, as he had done numerous times.

Indeed. The pay from serving as a storekeeper was nowhere near good enough, his three kids were not in school, and his wife’s constant requests for extra money as well as her pacifist disposition towards their present condition and her over-dependence on the Almighty for everything annoyed and frustrated him to the uttermost. He was in need of as much joy as he could possibly get.

Especially considering Naa Anyema was up to her gimmicks once more, voicing out her passionate disagreements with the latest developments in town.

The Ex-Servicemen’s Union had officially announced that they would be embarking on a peaceful demonstration to the Castle, where they would present the Governor with a petition of their grievances and seek that he deal with their situation immediately.

In the eyes of Nii Amarteifio’s wife, though, this was a bad idea.

According to her, Gold Coasters were too upset with the state of affairs to truly ensure that the demonstration would actually remain peaceful. Her fear of the colonial authorities reflected in her words as well, as she claimed they would probably shut it down and ruthlessly deal with all involved.

And of course, her insistence that God would intervene at the right time. 

God Himself knew he was utterly sick and tired of those claims of hers.

“Sergeant!”

The call interrupted Nii Amarteifio’s inward scoffs at Naa Anyema’s ideology. He looked up from his seat and saw Sergeant Thaddeus Hagan (rtd) approach him.

“Sergeant! How is the going?” Nii Amarteifio greeted as he rose to his feet and saluted Thaddeus.

“All is well, all is well. I’ve just been tasked by Mr. R. P. Craig to deliver some updates on what’s to happen on Saturday.”

“Oh, I see.” Nii Amarteifio straightened himself at the sound of this. “What’s the latest news on it? I hope it’s not another postponement.”

“Oh, no no no, no postponement. It’s happening on Saturday, all right. But according to Mr. Craig, Mr. Tamakloe and Mr. Laryea were called by the Commissioner of Police about the announcements. Now here is the thing…”

The look on Nii Amarteifio’s face turned slightly dark. The mere mention of the Commissioner of Police already carried some unfortunate connotations.

“The Commissioner claims that as far as the laws of the land are concerned, any procession must be approved by a Competent Authority, and even then, the Authority will prescribe the route to take. So on no account can he permit any large body to go near the Castle, and that the best he can do for us is to get the Ex-Servicemen’s Union to elect a few representatives to present the petition to the Secretariat of the Governor, who will then send it to the Governor.”

Nii Amarteifio shook his head. “Wow. So no march to the Castle? The Commissioner has cancelled it or something?”

Thaddeus shook his head. “No. Regarding the procession, the Commissioner said that we can still have our procession, but we’ll have to follow the prescribed routes they give us.”

Nii Amarteifio placed his hands on his hips. “I see. So what routes are those?”

“I’m not aware of those. Mr. Craig said they’ll be given by Friday, at the latest.”

Nii Amarteifio let out a big sigh. “Goodness gracious. These people really intend to toss us up and down, don’t we? What good will just sending the petition to a government official do? Huh? Won’t they just toss it into some dustbin and move on with life as if we don’t exist? Ah! And Mr. Tamakloe thems too agreed to this?”

Thaddeus smiled and tapped Nii Amarteifio on the chest. “Sergeant, calm down. Don’t get ahead of yourself. I’m not done yet; there’s a change of tactic.”

Immediately, the irritation disappeared on Nii’s face. His eyes widened as he nodded. “Ohhhhh, okay, okay, okay. Ow, sorry, Sergeant…”

“Oh, no worries, no worries. But look, I strongly believe the leadership was anticipating this. We’ve been passing our grievances through their channels for God knows how long, yet there’s no proper response. They know there will be a demand for the proper channels and procedures to be followed. So for now, they’ve agreed. Like I said, I believe by Friday, they’ll provide us with the routes. But now, it’s time to hear the tactic in place. Let’s sit in the kiosk so I give you all you need to know.”

“Oh sure, sure, Sergeant,” Nii Amarteifio agreed, offering his chair to Thaddeus. “Please, take a seat. I’ll stand. I’ll be here after you leave, anyways.”

Once Mr. Hagan had taken his seat, Nii Amarteifio looked down on him.

With a look of expectation, anticipation, and hope.

“I’m ready, Sir. Tell me the plan.”

I wonder what that plan could be. Well, we’ll find out eventually…