Finally, he said, “No problem, I’m actually on my way to your house right now. I’ll be expecting you there. He drove away and I returned to sit with Zainab.
She stared at the car and said, “Chike, one day, you too will have a very fine car.” I nodded but could not talk much. I didn’t like the questions my uncle had asked me.
Soon, Zainab began to whistle a sweet tune to herself while I slipped into my own thoughts. After a while, she grew sleepy and I bid her goodbye and left her to sleep.
As I drew closer to home, I started having the feeling of dread. When I stepped into the sitting room, my uncle and my parents turned to look at me and my father said,
“Chike, go and start packing your bags, you’ll be going to the US with your uncle this week.” I was shocked.
I stood there dumb, staring at them all and my uncle cleared his throat and finally spoke, “Chike I understand that you just finished your secondary school and you passed your WAEC in flying colours. So your parents have told me how distracted you are in the village and I’ve taken it upon me to take you to the US and sponsor your education in studying Medicine. After then, you can return to Nigeria to at least start something for yourself and elevate your parents too. Leaving you in this village to be roaming about with that mad girl does not speak well for your family. So you have just three days and we’ll leave for the US.”
I was dumbfounded, I didn’t know what to do nor what to say because it was obvious that they had all made up their minds and I had no say in the matter. For the first time since I was a toddler, I went to the back of the house, sat down under the gauva tree and sobbed.
To be continued.
© Angela Okoduwa
