Miller and Janekiyo's Calvary

The dim light in the shuttle was making Janekiyo uncomfortable. He continued to rub his eyes, which only served to make the bright white glow of the planet seem even brighter.

Miller, who had been sitting across from Janekiyo, leaned forward and slid a small bottle towards him. “Here, you need this more than I do.”

“Thanks” Janekiyo said as he unscrewed the lid on the thermos and took a long swig of cold beer. The shuttle’s air conditioning was working overtime and the temperature felt mild, but Janekiyo still appreciated Miller’s thoughtfulness. He remembered how hot it used to be back home in Nigeria when Miller came for visits. “What do you think about Africa?” he asked.

“I like it here,” Miller said as he looked out at the view of Uluru through the shuttle window. “It is quiet. I miss that, too much noise back home in New York City. But there is no way we can stay here. We have to get back to Nigeria as soon as possible.”

Janekiyo nodded and took another sip from his beer before setting the thermos aside, his mind wandering back to his childhood in Africa. He had never left until the day he was drafted into a group of smugglers who had promised to take him to New York City where he could work with Miller and earn a good living doing something that he loved: fixing broken electronics. It had been nearly ten years since then and during that time they had become partners in an electronics business that they ran out of their apartment back home in Lagos. It was hard work but they were happy together and looking forward to getting married next year. Janekiyo smiled as he thought about their recent visit to Abuja for their traditional engagement ceremony; it had been one of the happiest days of his life. However, now everything was in jeopardy because those same smugglers wanted their money back after learning that their plan was not at all what they were promised.

As if reading Janekiyo’s mind, Miller spoke up again: “We need to call Tunde and give him our ETA so that we can leave Nigeria as soon as possible tonight after work and start early tomorrow morning for home because we don’t want anyone else knowing about this plan by those smugglers you met back home or getting any crazy ideas like them…you know what I mean?” Miller looked into Janekiyo’s eyes with a serious expression that made Janekiyo smile; it always amazed him how Miller could say so much with just a look or gesture while keeping so many thoughts inside his head locked away from everyone else around him except for Janekiyo himself.

Janekiyo nodded vigorously before reaching into his pocket for his phone and calling Tunde; he watched Miller return to watching Uluru beneath them for signs of trouble while he waited for Tunde to answer his phone…