The Lost Sheep

Sade looked at the plate that had fell with a clang. She sighed deeply, she had been thinking of her family. She missed them so much, but was she allowed to miss them? Do they deserve her yearning and desire to see them?. It was eight years now and no calls, not even a text from any of them. Her siblings had meant the world to her and she had thought they were the most lovely siblings on planet earth, but who had she been deceiving? Herself obviously, her siblings were not ready to be disowned  just like her. Like a swollen tea bag in hot water, she dragged herself to the kitchen counter. She was carrying her second child, married to an awesome man, and yet none of the people she loved had bothered to check how she fared. They definitely heard bits and pieces of her life at least from rumors right? Or there is still a mouth better than the “horse’s “, Mama Tunji. She was so sure the lady had told at least her mother how things were over here in London.

Mama Tunji always travelled to Nigeria for Christmas every year, for eight years and still nobody deemed it fit to pick up a phone to call her, brushing a tear off her cheeks she looked down at her son who was tugging at her pajamas. He was the spiting image of her father. He would have been so proud, a son for a first grand child. She smiled and ruffled her son’s hair which made him laugh. Her mother had always made it clear that their first grandchild would look like her husband , there he was on her kitchen floor looking at her with puppy eyes. She stretched out a cookie and he gleefully grabbed it, happy that for once his mother succumbed to his wish. How she wished he could understand at the age of three, that what bothered his mum was greater than a cookie. At least the boy had his parents, he couldn’t care less for grandparents, or aunt’s and uncles he didn’t know existed.

She turned to look at her favourite picture, her parents, looking like they won the lottery, hugging an emaciated female on a lawyer’s regalia. She remembered how the joy her father felt in the picture had died, the day she blatantly told him she was not going to practice law and only got the certificate for them. she watched as a tear fell into her glass of lemonade. Her husband had suggested she visit instead, that man, such a sweet man, but a Nigerian that was disowned can only be called back by the person that disowned them, of course being disowned is a serious matter and does not happen often, but when it does, there is hurt to be felt even by the chief “disowner”.  Would it be okay to try seeing them? She asked herself.

Sade decided to deviate her thoughts a little by thinking about the events that led her to meeting the love of her life. She was twenty two, and had just moved to London. Thankfully she was a huge saver, and had saved most of her allowances over the years, so while her siblings splurged the money daddy always wired, she saved as if she knew she would be disowned. Tan had been staring at her all through the class, and while she enjoyed the attention, she couldn’t encourage it, she needed to go work at the diner immediately the current class was over. The literature lecturer had just left and she was proceeding to leave as well, when cute Tan waved at her, she thought to ignore him, but before she could say Jack he was all up in her face, she tried to still have her way, but he playfully resisted and the rest was history…

Her family now, was beautiful and she loved the peace it gave her, but what was this longing she felt? Sade sighed, I guess one cannot forget their roots so easily. She missed momma’s beans porridge and had been craving it from the first trimester of her second child. Looking down at her son she could see he needed to ease himself, she had potty trained him, weeks back and was glad, at least she was not failing as a mum. She wished her mother had been present for her Omugwo (your mother taking care of you and bathing your new baby) her postpartum journey had been so emotional and stressful especially as she didn’t have her mother with her. Sade wiped a tear from her face again, maybe she should listen to her husband, maybe just maybe they missed her too she thought.

Her son had slept off , she decided she needed a cold shower to cool off the emotional tension she was going through, but she had not passed the sitting room when the phone rang, she had been saying hello for close to one minute, it felt like the person was finally going to talk, but there was a whisperings at the background and the call ended. She proceeded to the bathroom but paused, what if the call was from Nigeria and her family? She raced to the phone again, but paused breathing hard, an early labour had started. She wasn’t due until almost two weeks time. She picked up the phone , but didn’t care about the previous caller, all she needed right now was her husband. She tried the breathing they were taught at antenatal sessions, and felt like she controlled her breath better. She looked down at the wet floor. Praying her son sleeps through the night she proceeded to call the lady that did her housekeeping for her during her first pregnancy. Her contractions where getting shorter and she needed to push the baby out as soon as possible

Sade’s husband walked in, but she was struggling with a contraction to greet him, he walked over and held her hand and immediately a picture of her dad holding her hands during their daughter father dance at her graduation ceremony flashed before her eyes. She gave a small shout and her husband’s hand was on her waist gently cajoling her to take steps towards the door, when they were near the door, he rushed off to get the bag she had arranged weeks back. She touched her tummy , wishing it didn’t hurt that much, but then she burst into tears, she missed her dad, her mum and her siblings, wiping tears off her face for the umpteenth time, she resolved that she could do this again without them. Sade  felt like the biblical lost sheep … the lost sheep that was never found.

Charmed In The Rain

Her Jacket had gotten wet so fast, she was scared of catching a cold. The rain was heavier than when she had made up her mind not to wait losing all hope in her thick jean jacket, she indulged  the rain, allowing it soak her being. She stretched her legs over the puddle, but it splashed on her trousers, her legs were too short grunting, she trudged down the road, this was a futile attempt at getting home, she said to herself. There were no shops nearby so she accepted her fate and continued walking in the rain. A goat bleated nearby which jolted her back to the reality of her being in a remote village as a tourist. The cold air pierced through her skin into her bones, she shivered now earnestly searching for a place to wait out the rain. Her legs suddenly receiving stamina from the severe cold, began running but she hadn’t ran far, when she felt a coverage of some sort above her, but that was before the strong smell of perfume hit her.

She looked up, it was a man holding an umbrella over her. A handsome man, even the rain could not rob him off his handsomeness. She shivered one more time, and as if on que, the man pulled his jacket over her, his after shave scent overwhelmed her as she sniffed in it’s goodness. She smiled at him as a way of saying her thanks, wondering if she should have said it outright, there was no need of that she thought, shivering for the umpteenth time and knowing it was just mercy after death. As if he understood her plight he drew her close to his side shielding her from the rain even more, she blinked her eyes, he had caught her staring at the outline of his lips. He smiled now, it was a perfect smile with teeth so white. Heaving a sigh of frustration, she was at least glad the cold had reduced a bit . She could see a restaurant, she pointed at it and he nodded. He had seen it too.

The restaurant was warm an awesome welcome from the cold. Rubbing her hands together she smiled her thanks again and he just nodded, but this time with a puzzled look on his face. He was telling something to the waiter, so she decided to feed her eyes. The place was small and comfy, but they weren’t the only people stuck with the rain. She could see people sitting under a very bright light that also seemed warm, some were drying themselves off. She turned, looking for her Mr Charming. She could see he was already seated and was staring at her. Not even thinking twice, she swayed to where he was seated and sat down, propped her hands on the table and stared right back. He wondered if he should say something, but decided against it. They had not talked to each other since they met , there was no need for words. He smiled at her again, and looked into her beautiful eyes, she was young and very pretty, twenty six maybe, she had smelled of lemons a familiar scent from his daily tea which he absolutely loved, he also loved her hair, loved the way she flung it across her face, he wished it would continue raining so he could have more time to stare, at that pretty face but the rain had been reduced to a drizzle earlier, and now it had stopped totally.

He looked at her and smiled, he knew he was smiling too much and normally he didn’t care about smiling to a stranger much less a girl, but he liked this stranger and didn’t mind smiling at all. His stares were making her hot, She felt like she could melt. His Chiseled jaw called to her. Those beards so silky smooth, she wished she could run her fingers through them. He was looking at his phone with so much interest but she didn’t care, it was the shape of his mouth that caught her attention yet again. She twisted her hair with a finger and immediately regretted it, she was flirting. She had to be flirting right? He had sharp eyes, he had caught the gesture and just smiled, she bent her head in shame and he burst out laughing. “Okay you’re cute you know that right”. She raised her head to look at him smiling, she replied “finally someone broke the silence”. The waiter came in with a tray of two steaming mugs and buttered sandwiches dressed beautifully. He had placed an order for two. Wondering when he had scored the second point with her, she proceeded to give him the third in her head.

Peter’s Lucky Coin

Peter kept walking, shaking his head determined to find it. He walked some more, then paused. He had promised his grandma that he would guard the coin now he couldn’t find it. This was her parting gift and while he was crying profusely, all she wanted on her dying bed was for him to keep the coin. Seeing something sparkle, by the chair where the sun had hit it, he ran to the chair bent and picked up the now dull gold. It was the coin he had been searching for. Giggling Peter was incredibly happy. But he needed to protect this coin. Which meant he had to keep it somewhere really safe. He remembered his old, little piggy bank he used to have, when he was much younger and decided it would be just perfect.

He stroked the coin before placing it in the old piggy bank, no one will be able to touch his grandma’s coin and it wouldn’t go missing anymore, happy that he had accomplished something, he picked up the piggy bank, kept it on the low shelf, and walked out of the sitting room, Danny was waiting for him and he really hoped he would win him, at this evening’s soccer match. Peter looked at his cranky old wristwatch, his parents would be back soon. He waved to his friend and ran back to the house, dad would not be happy if he had not bothered to try his math questions first before he helped. He was done and was about arranging his books back into the sack he kept them, when they walked in. He ran to them and hugged them so hard, they were happy to see him too.

Peter looked at the corn, he was tired of eating corn, but complaining only made his parents feel bad. He actually felt that one day corn would begin to grow in his stomach, his mother had begun to look at him so he quickly picked the cob up and dug in. It was bedtime and his dad decided to read him to sleep as usual. The story book was an old one passed down from his dad. Peter’s dad loved the stories so much, maybe that’s why he loved reading him to sleep. His dad’s face always faced the lamp which lit his face and made the stories, even more interesting. He listened to the story about three young boys who made wishes, and each wish was granted by the stars. Now sleepy, Peter wished his coin would grow into many coins so he won’t have to use his grandma’s coin, and so he could stop eating corn almost everyday, he slept off even before his dad was done with the story.

Peter kicked the ball the second time, it was a small ball he had made from torn balloons which he got from his friend Danny’s birthday. He missed his friend  and wished they could go to school together every morning, but his parents did not have the money for his fees, they could barely even eat. His father home schools him, at least until they have enough money for his fees his father had said, when would that be? Peter wondered. Feeling sad, he kicked the ball hard this time, and it rolled over to under the low shelf. He crawled to where the ball was picked it up, and stood, remembering his grandma’s coin, he tried to pick up the piggy bank, but it felt too heavy for him. He tried for the third time, and in surprise stood away from the shelf to study the piggy bank, he was the one who kept it there the previous day, how was it so heavy, Peter thought. He dragged a low stool, positioned it, climbed and looked over at the piggy bank, Peter nearly fell down from what he saw next, there was more than grandma’s coin, infact there was a lot of gold coins in the piggy bank,wondering if he could carry it now he was at same height with the shelf, he tried.

Peter barely got the piggy bank to the table, breathing in gasps, he stared at the piggy bank full of gold coins he jumped, too scared to shout so the neighbors will not come asking what’s wrong. He looked at the golden glow of the coins, he was able to see the coins through a cut on the body of the piggy bank, he wanted to break the piggy bank open, but decided to wait for his parents. When his parents entered and shut the door behind them he quickly dragged them to the table. His dad who had immediately noticed what it was, turned sharply to look at his son. His mother sat on the ground bewildered. She reached out for Peter and held him, maybe a way of checking her sanity. His father walked to the shelf and got a hammer, he started breaking the old piggy bank. Peter would miss it. They were beginning to get a better view of the gold coins, the top of the piggy bank was off completely and the coins glowed. His father began laughing pointing at the gold coins, he stood and walked the perimeter of the room, then he came back to the table sat down and poured out all the gold coins on the table, “Peter how did this happen?” He asked his son, “it’s grandma’s coin, I decided to save grandma’s coin in the piggy bank so it won’t get lost again, then I checked and found out it grew more coins!”.  His father was all smiles, with a confused look on his face, “I don’t understand your story but as long as you did not steal it, it’s not someone else’s, I do not really care” his father said, touching the gold coins now. Peter remembering his grandma’s gold coin, drew near the table and started searching for it.

His eyes had begun to water, as he wondered how he would know his grandma’s coin. Then he remembered that Mama’s coin was duller than the new coins, so he began searching for the coin. His parents just sat staring at him wondering what was going on. Suddenly he could see the coin on top of a pile of coins, he picked it, jumping gleefully, he kept it in his pocket. His father realizing he had been looking for the old coin kept quiet saying nothing. He then brought a bag and placed all the coins in it, “we are not going to beg anymore, we are going to eat well now, we are rich!” His father wisphered laughing quietly, not wanting to attract the neighbours attention, he gave his wife some coins to go buy dinner befitting a king. Now alone with his son he got up, picked him up and hugged him dearly. “Thank you Peter, you can now return to  school finally” his father said, Peter was happy, he could now resume  school and go everyday with Danny. Peter had issues sleeping, his dad was still reading him to sleep, he knew he should have slept but, thoughts about their new found wealth, ran through his mind. What exactly caused the coins to multiply? And what could trigger them to disappear he thought. He already knew that no matter the solution he gave himself, one thing is that his grandma’s gold coin was involved. He also remembered how he was able to identify the coin, and as long as he retrieved the coin at the end of the day, everything would be fine.

The next morning, his parents began their mission of buying foodstuffs and house decor, before sundown, their little house had changed over night. During dinner, Peter’s father kept staring at him as he ate, this made Peter feel very nervous as he wondered why, he felt like his parents had changed overnight. They each wore very expensive clothing, and they were all just eating dinner. Dinner was delicious. For the first time since he was born, dinner was like a feast. This made him happy, but he was cautious in expressing himself as he decided to observe his parents. As if on cue, his father asked, ‘did any coin grow today?”. Peter had not really thought about the coin itself ,through out the day, but rather, the effects the coin’s growth had on them. He had not bothered with the coin at all, because the old piggy bank got broken by his father, he kept the gold coin in a box that had a lid, checking it now he could see that the coins did not increase like the first time. His father had a look of disappointment on his face. “What happened Peter?, What didn’t you do right? ” His father asked with a now angry look on his face. His father had began to scare him, and he was getting really uncomfortable, his mother who noticed tapped Peter’s father on the shoulder, this gesture seemed to calm the man, who stood and walked away. Peter wondered what the problem could be, and the only thing that came to his mind, was that the coin was not in his piggy bank, the coin was not in a saving tool wether piggy bank or not. He remembered mum had a wooden saving box, but it would also have to be destroyed inorder to get the coins out. He searched for his grandma’s coin in the small pile of coins, and pushed it into the wooden saving box. The next morning, Peter woke up to an empty house, his parents and the small pile of coins that grew the previous day were gone. Peter felt sad and neglected, he missed the warm hugs his parents gave him. He definitely missed being the only thing that made them happy, at the end of the day. He made dinner for himself, ate and slept off before his parents returned, because he slept early, at night he actually woke up very early but his parents were nowhere to be found, he checked the savings box and it was empty, he was about panicking but he noticed a dull coin on the table, and heaved a sigh of relief. He placed the coin in the new savings box on the ground, and proceeded to keep it on the shelf, days turned into months, and Peter didn’t know who his parents were anymore, they got home after he had slept and they left the house so early, before he could wake up. He was a very sad and lonely child. Peter picked up his grandma’s coin, flipping it over a couple of times, he caressed the coin as tears fell from his face, some falling on the coin. Peter immediately noticed the coin glowing more than usual, it had the same colour as the new ones that were made. Peter, wondering why this was the case, placed the coin in yet another new savings box. Tired of waiting for his parents, he slept off. The next morning he found his parents staring at him, “What happened to the Coin Peter, it didn’t grow any new coins?”. Peter yawned, already aware that the coin had lost it’s magic, everything was back to normal again, like a dream, he would miss school, but believed it was for the best. He had missed his parents too much, he no longer enjoyed school. He looked at the coin in his father’s hands, it was now just grandma’s coin once again.

THE GLAZED DOUGHNUT EATER

Suzzy drew close to the mirror looking squarely at her face. She had that feeling again, a feeling of hatred for how she looked. She swirled to the left,  looking at her tummy from the side. She tried to do the popular stomach tuck in by pushing her stomach inside forcefully, but it bounced right out again. Suzzy stomped her feet walking back to her bed. Staring at the glazed doughnut which was calling her name, she smirked. it was so chocolate brown with chocolate bars, sprinkles and gummies on it. “Can I ever stop eating so much!” she screamed, pushing the plate of glazed doughnut on the ground. Bursting in tears she folded herself on the bed. An idea popped into her head, so she quickly dried her tears and got her phone. she remembered how the class teacher talked about a trending diet and exercise app to her colleague.

She knew how bad it was to eavesdrop on other people’s conversation, as she may not understand what was said or why it was said.

Throwing all care to the wind, she remembered the name of the app mentioned and deciding to try it out, downloaded and filled her details. Like a flash she recalled the image of her classmate and her group of friends laughing at her and pointing at her stomach which was dancing as she walked. her uniform had become too tight with just two months of wearing it, apart from feeling uncomfortable, she needed the too many eyes staring at her to be as reduced as possible. she hated her school, as all the girls were all trimmed and healthy, none of them was as close to fat as she was. Suzzy really envied them and wished she could have the body they had without stress. She decided to try out the app the next day. Feeling thirsty, she stood up yawning, but as she walked away from her bed, she kicked something, looking down, the glazed doughnut stared at her. Picking the plate and the doughnut, she refused to look at it for fear of wanting to eat it.

The next morning, Suzzy had gotten ready for school wearing the new uniform made for her. She looked at the mirror and searched for her stomach that had disappeared beneath the folds of the gown. She smiled, feeling much better than the previous day. Walking out of the room, she remembered her new diet and exercise app, humming her favorite song, one could tell that she was in a good mood, but she gasped suddenly as her task for the day popped up. She wasn’t to eat until midday! how was she going to accomplish that?. Her stomach grumbled in protest. She sulked, looked down and patted it, but her face was filled suddenly with conviction as she resolved to follow up with day one task. Suzzy was the daughter to a single mum, and so her mother always feeling guilty, for not giving her a father, doted on her and never joked with her this involved how she fared, generally. when Suzzy was younger, her mother gave her anything she wanted including feeding her sweet tooth. she had always loved glazed doughnuts as a child and always told her mother to get them for her. her mother had never disappointed and always made sure glazed doughnuts were in the house. Suzzy loved her mother and was always thankful that she provided anything she wanted. She never missed her dad and thought she would never need him, but she needed to stop the doughnuts from coming in. Her mum was so pretty one would think she didn’t have a child, even her mum was trim and beautiful why couldn’t she? Suzzy thought. She quickly adjusted her face as her mum turned from the lit stove. “Hey baby, time for breakfast, I made your favorite”. “what’s wrong?” her mum asked, noticing the reluctance. “don’t have an appetite mum”, she replied, hoping her gaze at the platter of pancakes, hotdog, waffles and cream, with a glass of freshly squeezed juice did not give her away. “Oh, baby that’s new! are you coming down with something?” her mum asked walking over, to touch her forehead. “No mum, am totally fine, just don’t feel like eating” she paused wondering if she should tell her mum about her diet and exercise plan, but decided against it, she would keep this one to herself. Smiling at her mum, whose forehead had begun to crease from worry, she hugged her, walked towards the door, waved her goodbye and ran outside. Her mum’s plea to at least take a doughnut fell on deaf ears.

She could feel eyes on her, but they were kinder eyes, thanks to her new uniform. Some students even smiled at her as they passed. Whew! today was going to be a good day she thought. She hummed on her favorite song for the second time that day, and was about laughing at how good her mood was, when the nice smell hit her. The smell of vanilla cream smeared hot doughnuts. Mr. Joe was at it again. His truck was just before the school gate. Suzzy looked over, staring at the day’s menu, the samples of bread rolls, cinnamon rolls, doughnuts, fishcakes, muffins, cookies, were wrapped waiting for their owners, wondering how her legs had gotten to the truck, she sighed. No wonder she had such a clear view of the day’s menu. Suzzy wondered how she was going to do without food till midday, for the next three month. This wasn’t what a teenager was supposed to be doing. Her face lit up as the idea of reforming the exercise app came to mind, instead of waiting till midday she could skip breakfast and eat during school’s break time, she could also take walks home instead of the school bus, plenty water little food, but she promised herself not to starve, tapping her head, thinking she was a genius, she was happy with her idea. Thankfully Mr. Joe wasn’t looking, she ran off, Suzzy could resist the temptation today.