By: John ‘Dare Okafor
It seems the rain is going to fall heavily tonight, the wind is billowing heavily, I could feel the breeze coming through the only window in the room, as it raises to ascension mama’s wrapper which is being used as our curtain. There is a small wooden table at the center of the room, with a big bed at far left, a tattered black cushion at the right side. There wasn’t much space left in the room.
The light coming from the kerosene lamp is gradually getting low, that’s a sign that there isn’t much kerosene left in the tank. I worry about tonight’s rain, because papa is yet to come back home from work, and I wouldn’t want him to get drench in the rain. Mama hurriedly park her goods displayed in front of the house, as the rain starts to drizzle. She sells fruits at the front of the house we leave in, to support papa’s job of selling electronics at the town’s market.
‘’Jane, oya go bring dat bowl from outside, make we put am under that place where the ceiling dey lick.’’ Mama instructed me as she carried the last of her goods into the house. That particular part of the ceiling drops water whenever it rains. When I asked papa why he couldn’t tell the landlord about it, for repairs; he said he couldn’t because we still owe him some amount of money for rent.
That’s one of the reason I love papa, he is always honest, just as he taught me and Jason, my baby brother, to be. It’s always fun to have papa around, he doesn’t always get perturbed about our current situation, and if he does it doesn’t always show on his face. He once told us, that this is only a phase in our lives, and that very soon, everything would be alright. Whenever papa comes back from work, he would always give mama a very big hug, with a peck on her cheeks, I giggle when he does that.
He then comes towards me his princess (he calls mama, his queen), he tickles me before giving me a hug. The next person was Jason, he calls him ‘’my soldier’’, he would give him a mock salute, which Jason also respond with a salute, before giving him a hug. Thereafter, we settle down to eat our dinner, which is mostly a big bowl of hot eba, with any variety of soup mama could manage to cook.
We do not start dinner without papa around, because he said eating together signifies our love for each other, and it makes our bond stronger. Our dining table is the wooden table at the center of the room; mama would always place the big bowl of eba on the table, while I help her in carrying the plate of soup, and Jason, with the washing hand basin.
After washing our hands, we say the grace. After that, we eat, without minding the only piece of meat in the soup. Papa would bit from the meat first, then mama, me and lastly, Jason. After dinners, papa would always tell us stories about the animal kingdom, and so does mama, sometimes. Whenever papa tells such stories, I would always wish to meet the crafty and lazy tortoise, so I could ask him the reasons why he is always being lazy.
If we are not told stories, we all play police and thief in the room; papa and mama, the police, while Jason and me, the thieves. They would both wait outside the room, while we hid ourselves. I sometimes hid under the bed, and Jason, behind the cushion. Whenever we were caught, there is always a loud shout from all of us, as we end up laughing at ourselves. The rain have started falling, mama, Jason and I are inside while we wait for papa, with the hope he doesn’t get drench in the rain. After a moment of waiting, the door opens; it’s papa. He’s home!
