The Plagues of Friendship

While untold hardship and plagues affect the villagers in the remotest of rural areas, the culture of the West mingles unevenly with the indigenous African culture to brew its own special brand of pestilence. The human desire for riches and advancement clashes with traditional rites and taboos, to simmer in a rich steamy pot of betrayal and intrigue.Njeleulem is an introvert. He values friendship. He has a high standard of ethics. He holds steadfastly to his communal beliefs. His friends mistake his integrity for cowardice and weakness. Aware that yesterday's friends have decayed into today's scoffers, he reacts with confusion and bitterness. Ngarbel, the first friend to betray him, places impediments in Njeleulem's path at every opportunity during their parallel careers. The two, once good school friends, face each other in deep hostility from their positions as top managers for powerful organizations.Njeleulem's harsh childhood shapes his personality and eventually, his ruin. Ngarbel is rude and aggressive to the core, much like his volatile father.This fictional story ends with Njeleulem's suicide. The pressures on him have become too much to bear for one so sensitive and moral. His ultimate retaliation consists of inducing heartfelt remorse in Ngarbel, who went insane and had his wife Dembede leave him as a result.