“Love they say is sweeter when you fall in love with the right person”… This statement is something that I grew up with and it has been working for me. Although I am a ladies guy but I always like to keep my self respect especially because I respect the women folks a lot and wouldn’t want to play games with them. So it is not everyone that shows interest in me that I would want to date.
I can just be nice and then it ends there. I remember once in my school in America when a very beautiful black American girl was all over me and wanted to be my girlfriend. I had to maintain boundaries and didn’t allow it go beyond mere friendship. Few weeks later a guy was shot and killed. When we asked I was made to understand that the guy had dated her for some weeks and this girl’s boyfriend who was part of a dreaded cult group tracked the poor boy and killed him for dating his girlfriend.
It would have been me if I wasn’t very careful. But back here in Nigeria I was drawn to Amanda not because she was just beautiful or rich but for reasons I can’t seem to lay my hands on. My elder sister Somto owned a very large boutique and my younger sister always assisted her because sometimes the work load was too much for her to handle.
My younger sister was the only child who said she would have her University education in Nigeria after which she would pursue her masters in America and just as she wished my parents did for her. We had our little cousin sister staying with us and she was in Jss1 at that time. I usually take her to school every morning before Joining mom in the shopping mall.
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This particular morning as I was taking my sister to the school I saw this woman who fries akara by the road side every morning and at night too. With the population of customers always coming to buy from her it would be safe to say her akara tastes good. One thing about me is that although I was born with a silver spoon I was always relating with people from the so called lower class. Although my parents frowned at it I’ll always buy roasted corn and pear, roasted yam and stew and even boiled groundnut. But I have never stopped to taste this woman’s akara.
So that morning I decided to give it a try. I greeted with a smile “good morning mommy” and she answered “good morning sir”. Did she just call me sir. I am no sir please. Well I didn’t say this to her and I went further to say but this time in Nigerian pidgin “Abeg give me akara 100 Naira make I use hold belly”… She smiled and hurriedly got a nylon to put it and then gave it to me. My cousin then stepped out of the car and asked the woman “mummy what of senior Amara, I’ve not seen her in school for a while now, hope all is well Ma”…
The woman then smiled again and pointed to a young girl who was already approaching with a tray on her head. We all turned towards her direction and for the first time in my life I was lost in the moment. The more she drew closer the more I saw something I’ve never seen before. I saw a humble, hard working and very very beautiful girl. “This is not happening to me” so I thought to myself. Then she said “Goodmorning sir” and she bent as a way of respect.
I stammered for the first time in my life “goo-d-mor-mor-ning” I replied to her. And then she hugged my little cousin and bent down and said to her “sweetheart I’m sorry I won’t be coming to your school again. Since I lost my dad things have been so difficult for us and so I have to assist mom. I can’t go to any school for now until I have saved a lot okay. Pls take care of yourself and be a good girl okay”… For the first time again I was moved to tears but had to control it. My little cousin sister started crying.
Then the young girl stood up and went to pick the remaining things she had to go and sell. She Hawked what we call “agidi” just to survive and assist the family. Every morning she would go to hawk while her mom would fry akara. I stepped away to the car while I gestured to my Cousin sis to come. The woman called out to me to come get my Change for the akara I had bought but I asked that she keeps it.
My little cousin cried all through as we drove to her school. She told me everything about her and how nice she was to her. Her name is Amara and she is an SS2 student and very intelligent too. But her father died some months ago and she stopped coming to school. I was so touched. I held back tears. I dropped my cousin at her school and drove to my mom’s mall. That day was so cold for me. Amara’s picture never left my head.
I couldn’t stop thinking about her. How could someone be this beautiful yet so poor. As I picked my cousin from school and we drove past that akara woman’s place I could not help it. I had to stop for some seconds to see if i would find Amara. I didn’t. Guess she went hawking again…
© Written by Mc Wireless