I stood by the window
side in my bedroom and peeped through the woolen curtain wind waved front and
back as I took a long cast at the backyard of our house; I watched closely the
meekness and void nature of a gentle morning ruled over by the cold breeze that
sets itself ablaze from the small droplets of snows. I looked so closely as the
dawn sets itself in! It had rained throughout the night and almost everyone
around the neighborhood slept off forgetting their worries where they put them.
Some forgot theirs inside in the plate of the dish they ate, some inside the
bucket they put under the rain to collect some water, while some even forgot
theirs behind the tail of their pillow.
"So, it is
dawn", I brooded silently whilst I still try to study the humble nature of
the morning! A lot of corldess thoughts streamed down my vein. I stopped them
from coming, but they just wouldn't hearken to the voice of my plights! I ate a
heavy food at night, Mama made us a heavy pounded yam with Egusi soup; I had
slept off on the carpet at the sitting room without remembering to carry the
plates I emptied to the kitchen nor wash my hands; though I did well enough to
clean it with my tongue. I didn't sleep for long before She woke me up! She
placed a container of water beside me and helped me wash my hands clean.
My Mother, She is a
wretched widow who gets her income from petty trades, but She really loves and
cherish her only son; and would never allow me to suffer for anything in the
world. My Father gave up the ghost some 8 years ago, and She has refused to
hook up again since then. I do notice some wealthy Men with big cars that do
come to visit her once in a while her nights, most times she would send me off
to Mama John, our neighbor's house. John is 14 and I'm 16. But the awkward
thing is that John was blind; so her mother always love having me around to
play with him! My Mother will always come to pick me up after her visitors had
gone! I used to wonder why She didn't get married to any of them, but I thought
I was still young to let out a discerning voice! I said to myself overtime
"I don't like those men", because they play so high together at times
that they make her scream as though she was in pain. I once asked her why those
Men make her scream so loud at times, but she would always tell me that they
are friends and they only play together like young lads do. Though I was young
and naive, but I only wished I believed her incredible stories.
I got to my bedroom
hoping to continue the second version of the sleep, that was when I discovered
it was raining heavily. I tried to close the window but my hands could not
reach it, so I left it for fate to decide whether to leave it opened or closed. Not long to the hour, I woke up with my nose behind my pillow; I must have
passed out whilst the breeze wrestled! With the usual absence of electricity to
light up the atmosphere, It was as dark as ever; but the unusual silence of the
caged fowl behind my room only made things worse. "Many people are still
asleep", I wondered! I had not drifted away from my window side yet, after
a long thought to the wonderland and I'm still standing, taking a purplish cast
to the backyard of our building. All thanks to our unfenced compound, I could
actually see far distances; I do not even need a telescope to view the
pedestrians moving on the express road far uphill.
My gaze was almost
getting blurry when I saw John hopped down the street all by himself. My heart
nearly jumped out of my mouth but I was strong enough not to purge. I was very
happy to know that John can now see with his eyes. Suddenly I became
bewildered, I realized it was still very early for him to set out for school;
but I overlooked my anxiety when I realized how happy he must be now that he
has his sight, at least he can now trudge his way to the school by himself
without sliding to port holes or knocking his head off the poles. I would have loved
to run after him and show him the things he'd long wished to see, but it was
too early for me to go out. Mum will be very mad at me if She realized I went
out without telling her and She would not like it if I woke her up that early
too. I just finished my Senior Secondary School Examination (SSCE) and I was
awaiting my results. I heaved a sigh of relief as the thought of my results
splashed through my brain.
It was still misty
and cloudy, I looked up and saw a pregnant woman beside the express road; the
way she moved to and fro within a small distance showed nervousness in an
anxiety. The movement was beginning to get amusing like a disco dance until she Finally collapsed into a heap! "Oh my God!", I shouted in a small voice! I
watched her closely from afar as I saw her thrive to pick her phone to make a
call! It was amazing to see an ambulance drive by and pick her up. "She
actually called an ambulance to her rescue, Nigeria is turning to
America", I ruminated! "Strange things do happen in this part of the
world after all", I stopped brooding for a while!
I've been standing
for about 40minutes and my legs were beginning to ache. I never attempted to
take a sit until my purplish cast turned yellowish one. The power holding
company just restored electricity and the little bulb in my room was still bold
enough to light up the atmosphere after almost a year of being deprived its
warmth! Fear of joy pickled my intestine as I listened to the small
panasonic-radio at the corner of my room, it was the morning news and I just
heard my name announced as the best student in the just concluded SSCE that I
have just been awarded a scholarship to study abroad. Lo and behold, the water
closet was not far fetched! Tears of joy flew from my eyes down to the tip of
my lips as I quickly emptied my bowel.
Anxiety to break the
news to my mother overwhelmed my thoughts that I could not even wait long
enough to flush down my wastes. I knew this would be one of the happiest days
of her life, She is finally going to have enough time and money to take care of
herself without worrying about my upkeeps since My Dad left us.
On getting to My
Mum's room to tell her about the good news, I almost fainted when I saw my Dad, lying beside Mum on her bed. I didn't what to do, whether I was to cry or
laugh, I never knew if I was to hug him or throw him a punch right in his face!
My head was blossom with joy, fear and happiness. I had woken up to witness a
wonderful day, the dawn that came without notice had blessed us all. The rain
that fell in the night had washed our hushes clean. The sorrow that lasted
thorough the nights never woke to see this new dawn. We had aspired enough for
this day; and it had come to pay everyone of us.
I was still sharing
those joyful news with my Mum and Dad when I felt a hand behind my neck. "Why
are you up this early my Son?", Mum's voice struck a striking
resilience. Ooops! I had dozed behind
the window while my purplish cast into the aspirational future turned a
yellowish one. I woke up to the new day with a new dream, new hope and new purpose
to be fulfilled!
Now I have a dream, a dream about an aspirational future!
