FAMILIAR ENEMY (EPISODE 2) Written by Glorie Adepoju

I splashed some cold water on my face several times, my head bent into the wash hand basin in the bathroom. I raised my head, looking at my reflection in the mirror positioned right above the wash hand basin. My puffy eyes stared back at me.

I couldn’t even remember getting one night of good sleep for days. Today made it exactly one week and a day since Mayowa got kidnapped.

That night, our gate man had been able to clearly see the kind of car the robbers drove; he was able to describe it to the police. I had thought it would be easy for the police to find Mayowa with that information but it appeared I was very wrong.

Every chance I got, I prayed tirelessly. Initially, my faith was so strong, I was certain good news would be our portion. However, each time the police visited, it was the same news: no sign of Mayowa, the robbers or their car.

I lazily walked back into the room. It was still quite early in the morning. The very time I would usually go to Mayowa’s room, to wake him up and get him ready for school. The adjoining door that connected my room to his, made that easy for me.

“Is it morning already Aunty EKiki?” He would usually ask drowsily, his handsome little face breaking into a cute smile. He referred to me as Ekiki instead of Eki, because he said Eki was too short to be the name of a person.

“Yes, big man, what do we do first thing in the morning?” I would ask as usual.

“Lay my bed and talk to Jesus” he would reply with a yawn.

“Are you excited to talk to Jesus this morning?”

“Yup”

“What did I teach you about saying yup”

“Oh, bad English, sorry, yes Aunty EKiki”

“Good boy, you are becoming a man” I would say with a smile and then tickle him, and amidst his uncontrollable laughter, he would get up. And the morning would begin.

My heart clenched as I remembered I have been an orphan for as long as I can remember. I never knew my parents; I don’t even know if they ever lived as a couple. If I was the result of a fling or a blooming relationship. The only thing I knew was that I lived with my grandmother in the village, before I even began to walk, maybe she’s not my grandmother, I don’t know.

One day, a certain lady came from the city to the village. She told my grandmother that she wanted to take me to the city and make my life better. I was about 6 years old then. My grandmother agreed without even a second thought, she never really liked me. My grandmother was already well advanced in age, and I was a handful. Even as a child, I knew at that moment that I was being discarded.

The lady left the village with about a score of us. She took us to the city as promised, but not to make our lives better.

Sleeping in a room, sandwiched alongside other girls, some of them much older than I was. Several of them, just a year or two older than me.

An older woman called Mama Swagger, she had a quick and very hot temper, we were staying in her house. Each time the familiar lady came visiting, that meant someone amongst us was going with her.

One after the other, the girls were taken away, to where I didn’t know, but they never came back. Until I was the last one left.

Seeing the lady again that evening visiting Mama Swagger’s place, I just believed it was finally my turn. …

to be continued…

pEn&pApEr
GLORIEADEPOJU