07:02 am, August 29
Osun State, Nigeria.
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp2yFI8HDLs
Eniiyi woke up to something tickling her nose and she sneezed, opening her eyes. Her mom, Eartha, was sitting at the edge of her bed with one hand poised in the air. Eartha made a guilty smile, as though she hadn't expected to get caught.
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBNfbpMIkks
She glanced at the alarm clock then propped up a pillow behind her and sat up, eyebrows raised. What was the occasion?
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrsoBkbHlo8
'Mommy, good morning,' she said, still confused. 'Am I missing something?'
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP9RxDQEfNw
'Good morning, Adekunbi. If you were to be missing anything, it'd be your smile.' She tweaked her nose.
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEO3i2SWJSO
Eniiyi smiled. Mommy was being Mommy today. She was extremely funny most times. She watched as she bent over her, her thick mass of onyx-black hair falling forward to cover her face.
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUWnaDjK6dA
'If you keep smiling at me like that, I think I'd have to pay a visit to the salon.'
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2qwRqzibut
Eniiyi smiled again and threw over the covers, swinging her legs to the side of the bed.
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP6KOuPzJ2q
Mommy stood up too then sat back down, wringing her hands. Eniiyi thought she looked nervous. Strange.
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhi2QTlcIpe
She stretched and yawned. 'Mommy, do you want to tell me something?'
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuQH3tveBGo
'Well,' her mom said after a moment of hesitation. 'Maybe you should go take your bath first.'
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKl7LMyYCb8
Eniiyi quickly scrambled back on to the bed. She wasn't ready to get up yet to bath. 'I've still got some sleep left in me, let me sleep them out.'
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzMap1vI0Bg
'Adekunbi,' her mom said.
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8jFTSjniUw
Eniiyi glanced at her and blinked, the covers now covering up to her neck. What was Mommy going to tell her? It sure did seem like something serious. She couldn't come up with any answer except work. But then they had to go to work before and she'd be home alone again. That was the daily routine for most holidays except third term. It was third term holiday now and she should have gone for children's camp like she did every third term holiday but, for some reasons she wasn't sure she understood, the summer camp for that year had been cancelled. So what could it be now?
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSxgyuqXHAm
'Mommy, what . . .' she started to say.
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeJIuKRpwfV
'Adekunbi, we're traveling.'
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzTFPx47WVF
She aspirated a sigh. Nothing much. 'Mommy, it's no problem. I've stayed at home for more than a day before.'
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡed5kq9VYpc
Eartha's cheeks slightly tinted at that statement. She always felt guilty at the mention of the incidence that happened a year ago although it'd been partly her and Mide's faults; external factors had also contributed to it, but it's their fault all the same. They'd left an eight year old girl all by herself in the house for almost two days.
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡazHNyTesIV
'Adekunbi,' she started to explain, 'We are all traveling.' She sucked in her lips. 'You're going to stay at your grandma's for the duration of our trip to Japan.'
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVq0fWC8Soe
Eniiyi was speechless for a long time. Poor girl, she didn't know what to say.
Of all news she hadn't been expecting that. Staying at Grandma's? The grandmother she hadn't met since she was five months old. And to top it all off, she lived in a village!
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlcz93fHhU5
'You're only joking, right?' she said in a strained voice, afraid of what she'd hear.
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgOSMEp1cCS
Eartha exhaled and tried to look less nervous. 'No, I'm not. We're leaving early tomorrow morning for Kogi State.' She added.
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN40NlOZaud
'No! Mommy, no! No, no, no, no. I don't want to go to G.ma's village. I'm going to die there. Can't I go with you to Japan, please?'
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEf4eCcJDIB
'No, it's a business trip. We were nominated together because we're a couple, and, I'm really sorry, Adekunbi. This project in Japan is very crucial to our company.'
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPf71NaIEuJ
Both her parents worked in Pengine, a feted company where they manufactured motor vehicles of the same name. Everybody knew their products, Pengine was the shit. Their headquarters was up in the North in Kaduna, where the Hausa* CEO lived. They had their branch offices at Osogbo — where she was —, Ikeja, Jos and Owerri, where they assembled the vehicles.
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF8JWa3bvcs
'Mommy, can't I go to your own parents in Somalia?' At least she'd met them thrice. Twice when they were still in Nigeria and once when they came visiting from Somalia. They were Somali but had at one point moved to Nigeria where they had her mother and then gone back a few years ago.
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsCdoWp4HgF
'You know we don't have time to start arranging that,' Mommy said, trying to explain.
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEyWDtpdRn5
'What of Uncle Felix's place?'
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiN51fQk8Ry
Her mother smiled apologetically. 'Uncle Femi recently had his wife's relatives join them and we didn't want to burden him more. It must be a full house already.'
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuvvI1DdOQn
Eniiyi scowled, feeling her hopes dashed against the wall.
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcojReZJVwb
Eartha tucked a wayward strand behind her left ear. She tried to press down the guilt that was eating it's way up to her heart. If she had her way she'd have had their daughter come with them, but as it was she knew it was better she stayed. The project was going to be needing all of their attention and the poor girl was just going to be stuck in the middle.
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDn0PNZSIHd
Little did she know that the decision was going to change their lives forever.
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5itb0r88rx
'Mommy, why didn't you tell me this earlier, so I could have planned my escape?'
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQSS6U0ba6i
'We too just got the message this morning. I'd have arranged for you to stay with family friends but most are unavailable.'
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJbolfh1mzQ
'Probably went on vacation. Adeayo's and Adanma's family are on vacation. That's what families do during the long holiday.' She gave her mom a pointed stare. The pointedness of her criticism was impossible to miss.
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ0FF3Tfklf
Her mother flinched at the stare and looked away, blinking her eyes once, twice, thrice. 'Adekunbi, you know how important our jobs are. Me and your dad have to work hard to earn money so you can live a comfortable life.'
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpAlQ5MGCKi
Eniiyi scoffed inside. As if! She didn't know just how rich they were but she knew for a fact that they were one of the richest in the estate and was aware the school kids called her rich brat behind her back (the brat part wasn't true).
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwSOOZbtuYw
She pursed her lips and gave her best scowl. There was nothing she could do about it, even if she tried. She knew it was just for show that she was being asked for her opinion, so it wouldn't seem like she'd been forced when in truth their minds were already made up on the matter.
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5592jFTl3C
It goes without saying that her parents didn't work for the money, no, they had that already in overflowing abundance, it was because of the thrills and spills of their damned job. Eniiyi accounted this to the fact that they worked together, 'But then I'd never have met your mom if not,' as Daddy had put it. They'd have thrown her into boarding school long since if not for the fact that Mommy had phobia of them. It had something to do with the bad experiences she had while she had gone to boarding school in her days which had left a scar on her and she had vowed that no child of hers would go to boarding school. Eniiyi didn't know what it was or how bad it had been, Mommy always avoided that subject whenever it was asked about.
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgpsdmH5mq6
'But I don't want to go, Mommy. I'm not going,' she still demurred, crossing her arms over her chest and scowling some more till her face muscles started to ache.
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVJQQ4cQHsm
Eartha closed her eyes for a second and aspirated a sigh. 'I can't deal with this now, Adekunbi. Please, try to understand. There's no time to arrange for you to go anywhere else and you know that, so just stop trying to make things more difficult. You're going to your father's mother, whether you like it or not.'
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFABsgfD5wb
Eniiyi looked away bitterly, feeling something die inside her. 'Okay,' she said in a small voice. It had taken her all to utter that one word and her heart filled with bitterness at it.
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡljIZv6gg3z
'That's a good girl.' Eartha smiled at her daughter and pat her head. Her hair was looking rough and needed fresh braiding but that would be another time. She could even have it done at Mide's mother's place. She felt that stab of guilt again but numbed it out. Everything would be okay.
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4KrgnRNc8h
'Now, how about you get up and go have your bath?'
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXJHlsO8P4G
Eniiyi continued to stare off, unresponsive.
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmw7n5Av2VF
'I'm serious. And come say hello to your father after that.' Eartha started to stand up.
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFAzKq1bwnc
After a while, Eniiyi flung back the covers for the second time that morning and got off the bed. Getting angry wasn't going to do anything. She might as well play along and try to be on her best behaviour, maybe that would make them change their minds. Besides, she was sure going to the village was all Mommy's idea, if she talked to Daddy he'd listen to her.
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ03nNHXvrHV
'When are you leaving for work today? What are you even going to do, anyways?' she asked, although she didn't really care.
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKusOWgDX3E
'Oh. We're not exactly going to work today. We'll just go get the necessary documents and the likes for our trip. And it's about extending the company to Eastern Asia . . .' she was reluctant to go on, since she didn't want to start boring the girl with the details.
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMaYvP80wmJ
'Then are you going to learn how to play shogi?'
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnF0uerFeYY
Eartha smirked. 'So, you still haven't forgotten. We're going for strictly business and nothing else.'
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2lPvkJRjJB
In one of their rare family moments together, they'd gone to the cinema and watched this movie where they played shogi. Eniiyi had been fascinated about another form of chess and had asked her parents if they could go learn it together. The question had been asked flippantly, for she knew what the answer would be. Work.
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8ICZNjILU0
Eniiyi scowled back. 'That's very boring, you're very boring.'
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1jwPzfbQhy
'Ìwo lo mò,' her mother said in Yoruba** and headed to the door. 'Freshen up and come downstairs.' She shut the door behind her.
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZXw0S62znt
Eniiyi slumped dejectedly unto the bed. Was there really anything she could do? She was just a small girl, no one would listen to her.
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLr4scQm3HO
She sighed and reached for the remote control on the bedside table to turn on the flat screen TV mounted on the wall but remembered what she'd been posting on her website yesterday and dropped it, reaching for her fire-engine red Samsung tablet instead. The colour of the tablet was actually black but had a red pouch.
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNTxeHnStvb
She wasn't gone on ten minutes when her mom popped open the door.
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo6taEF6i5G
'Are you . . .?' she froze.
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa0LSlsSqif
Eniiyi stared at her mother, frowning.
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTBgBCiQpMf
'Adekunbi, I'm closing my eyes now—' her mom shut her eyes '—if by the time I open them I still find you sitting in this room, I promise you, you will find more cause to keep frowning at me,' she threatened.
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡql3WmhUlaL
She wanted to object, to show she was still angry at her, at them, but she dropped the tablet, anyway, and dragged her feet to the ensuite.
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhNfSw7mysJ
Later when she had changed out of her nightdress she picked up her tablet and slid down the banister to the lounge room. Daddy was sitting in front of the TV which was on but his full attention was on the laptop balanced on his thighs as he typed away.
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgTvfjqRB1o
Not good enough for her, but she was going to make the most of it and try to convince him to let her go anywhere that wasn't her grandmother's.
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCTBccf0xt3
'Morning, Daddy,' she said in greeting, hugging him from the side.
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCH6FsFjbOr
'Morning, Adekunbi,' said her father. He suffered two seconds away from the screen of his laptop to kiss his daughter on the cheek.
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV7G1FOeBdW
She stared the computer screen. She didn't comprehend jack of what she saw. 'Daddy, what're you doing?'
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtYVtKhJD6x
Her dad threw her a how-could-you-be-so-dumb look. 'Typing.'
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡudamtiNa31
She turned down the corner of her lips. 'Daddy . . .'
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdlWZLATVSL
'Work,' Daddy finally said. 'Has your mommy told you of tomorrow's schedule?'
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkhDS8Y78Q4
Of course, everything was a schedule to Daddy. Even getting off the bed and brushing his teeth.
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU0Rs9V1G1b
'Yes, sir,' she replied. 'But, Daddy, I don't want to go,' she countered.
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrppSQo6OsZ
'And where do you want to go?' her dad asked, not looking away from the computer.
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡko5PpWL9Mn
The crashed hope in her started to stir. She could really talk Daddy out of the idea of going to the village.
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn302AQKt3e
' I don't know, anywhere that's not G.ma's. Uncle Felix's?' she provided.
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiWAEHczouw
'Femi has his hands full,' her dad said of his brother. 'I don't know why you're so worked up about the idea. Mother is very nice and you'd love her at once.'
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡafyD3mDj0x
She scowled. 'I seriously doubt that.'
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfQnpQyZUke
'You go on and do all your doubting till you meet her.'
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5ZBYhNZl8v
Eniiyi wanted to reply but then Eartha arrived, a steel tray balanced on her palms. 'Breakfast,' she announced. 'I thought since we're all here we could as well have our meal here.'
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡltelizHqCr
'Mide, did you manage to get through to the agency?' Mommy said to Daddy.
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpw6wTak5Fu
'Oh, I booked for the 11:15. I figured we'd be at Zik*** by past ten, all else the same.'
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcE1293ZBoC
The young girl glanced from her Daddy to her Mommy and sighed sadly. Anger and hurt married in a quick ceremony in her heart, her stomach, her head, her soul. It was now very obvious that whatever she did wasn't going to stop them, their minds were made up.
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1UBRYuNQSU
She tried to mask her anger and disappointment as she stood up and picked her tablet from the couch.
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0jP2BXoVTI
'Where are you going?' Her dad glanced at her.
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdgD9UntlZp
'I'm going to brush my teeth,' she replied, although her mouth still smelled freshly of the Close Up**** she'd used not long ago, and stormed off to her room, slamming the door as loud as she could.
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCATAhCX2M5
She knelt by the bed and buried her face into the sheets, her body shaking in anger.
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoncvUtQHci
She was doomed to go to the village, after all, she was just a small girl, her decisions didn't matter.
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrfnuDSVXuJ
When Eartha made to go after the girl Mide put a hand out to stop her.
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcZDTL5uyo0
'Let her be. She'll get over it, soon and realize going to the village is the best decision we could make for her.'
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA2PlMMOMEu
Eartha sighed and went to sit beside her husband. He was right. Going to the village was the best decision.
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ34kw2gAdIj
Little did they know that this decision was later going to change their lives forever.
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk2amGgQ6Se
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwfwAzukjh6
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcAkFONyR8u
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS8QJkt5nE3
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPyJZf6zxwP
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjomkHZyTJY
Eniiyi – a Yoruba name which means 'person of prestige'.
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd06GGxluII
* An ethnic group living mainly in Northern Nigeria.
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTWaeF4D665
** An ethnic group living mainly in Southwestern Nigeria as well as in communities elsewhere in West Africa, Brazil and Cuba.
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5uOxQdd8Bp
*** Shortened name of airport at Abuja, the capital of Nigeria.
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPx04T9SHak
**** A popular toothpaste brand made by a plc in West Africa.
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSqplp1znhh
527Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡONZTlRxmSX
