THE OLD HOUSE; chapter 2

*NEW HOME * Ada and I were the only children of our parents.I came ten years after her. But I would always ask Mom, “Why can’t we have more babies?” She would always reply, “You guys are enough,” or “It’s the will of God.”Mom was a calm, beautiful young woman, though her face had grown wrinkled due to hardship. She would always tell stories of how she was the most beautiful girl in her school and how men used to write letters to her. But somehow, she ended up with Dad, whom she met in university.Dad, on his side, was mildly handsome and a funny man, which I think was the only thing that attracted him to Mom.Dad had a financial breakdown after investing his wealth in a friendship business that was meant to bring in huge returns, but unfortunately, things did not go as planned. He went back to square one and rented a small apartment—the old house, where he and Mom settled and had us.The new apartment was the opposite: concrete walls and brick floors. It looked stronger but felt empty, just identical buildings, cars, and grocery shops. As I looked around, it dawned on me that we were now in the urban area, far from the warmth of the old neighborhood.One of the new neighbors, Mr. Bimbo, walked up to Dad and greeted him. They talked for a few minutes while the truck driver helped offload the belongings. I held Ada’s hand tightly, carefully observing her face to see if she was as unhappy as I felt. She looked down at me, caressed my braids, and smiled lightly. I felt safe.Dad paid the truck man after he was done with his job, then called Mom to carefully bring in the lighter items. He also called Mr. Bimbo to help him carry the heavier ones into the house.As Ada and I walked in, I carefully moved through the house, looking around. The windows were different, and the doors were strong—unlike the ones we had in the old house. The rooms were spacious too.I walked into a room Mom said was mine. Staring inside, there was another door within the room. I carefully walked in and saw a toilet.A toilet? Inside a room? I muttered.Back in the old house, we used a general latrine toilet, and Mom always made me use a bucket.But here I was, looking at a toilet. Not just a toilet, but a bowl-shaped one.I walked back to the sitting room and sat on a stool as I watched Dad and the new neighbor carefully arrange the sofas and the small TV.****Now the house was set, and Mom was picking out a few edibles to make something for us. Dad was trying to connect the decoder, and Ada was looking through the veranda.It was 5:25 p.m., and I was already tired, hungry, and sleepy. I had to join Ada to watch the kids playing football in the compound.But I noticed something different; They were properly dressed, not like the old house kids who walked and played around half or fully naked. They also looked healthier, as I observed.The new house had a gigantic gate, which meant people couldn’t enter without permission. As we were looking around, I turned to Ada and asked, “How do you think Dad got money for all of this?” I asked innocently.She looked at me and smiled. “I don’t know, nenye. Maybe Dad hit a jackpot,” she answered, turning her gaze back to the kids playing.Unconsciously brooding over the situation, I heard Mom calling us—the food was ready.We walked inside, and the decoder was already working while Dad tried to tune it to a channel.We quietly moved to the small wooden table and sat on stools while Mom dished out oily jollof rice.Dad had tuned to a football channel and was walking back to sit with us as we quietly ate.I was still looking around the house, thinking to myself, “So this is where we would live?”After eating, I walked into my room. Mom had already placed my mat and used her wrapper to cover the surface. I lay down quietly, still thinking about the old house.Before long, I dozed off.

Other insights from Mel's Lib

Referral Earning

Points-to-Coupons