Yellow Tales of a Nigerian Housemaid (completed)

Chapter Thirty Two

To be fair, there were much lesser chores for me. I didn't have to wake up by 4am anymore so as to finish my unending chores before school time. Everything is going perfectly and for some moments, it felt like home.

"Nneogo, you'll have to hurry up okay?" I heard Mama say.

I nodded, stretching and yawning on the bed. The sky was very bright and the weather was a bit cold. Mama was sitting by the corner of her bed, oiling and brushing her curled wig.

"Good morning ma". I greeted sitting up.

"You'll have to hurry to the shop, Dera will need your help today. The commission will be paying the boys and you know how aggressive they can become"

I nodded silently and staggered up.

"Where's Dera?"

Mama looked up at me, shook her head and continued with her wig.

"She's already at the shop. Do you think she sleeps like a log of wood? Just like you do? She has better things to do in a beautiful morning like this than laying on the bed sleeping!" She answered without glancing at me again.

I got the message clearly, I'd overslept. The irritation was present in her tone but for some weird reasons, she had it controlled.

I knew I'd overslept too but I just couldn't help myself. For the first time in what seemed like a hundred years, I didn't get kicked on, splashed water on or even cursed to wake up. It was a beautiful Saturday morning and I wasn't ready to be sad at all.

I swept the compound, washed the few plates we used for dinner, tidied up Mama's room before rushing in to have my bath.

I didn't have to fetch hundred gallons of water, neither did I have to run to the junction ten times to buy stuffs, nor clean shoes while getting a bumpy knock on my head. I didn't also have to wash a huge pile of plates, or maybe punished for being sluggish or starved for no plausible reason. This time, I felt like my own boss.

"I'm leaving Nneogo!" I heard Mama again.

"But I don't know the....

"Better go through the new road, ask questions and you'll get to the shop. I'm sure you know I've changed the location. Ask for the commission!" She replied interrupting me and slammed the door shut.

I exhaled as I scooped the water with a bowl and let it spill on my face. My heart was trying to determine the best route to follow. I knew within me that Mama wouldn't mind as long I find my way to the shop.

But to tell me otherwise, the door cringed open and my heart sank in fear. I parted my lips to speak but her voice shut me up.

"Remember to follow the new route!" She said, and with that the door slammed shut again.

I smiled deeply.

Did she just come to tell me that?

Now it was glaring I had to follow the new route just like she'd ordered, and it was really worrisome to me. The old road was better and easily accessible, why does Mama then want me to go through the new road?

I sighed and realised I needed to rush my bath. I soaped and scrubbed my body and had it dried up within seconds. Minutes later, I was on my way to the Commission.

The road was hilly and clear, heaps of red sand were a common sight on either side of the road. Trucks and lorries moved up and down the hill as they levelled the heaped sands to a flat.

Last night's rain didn't help matters either since they made the graded road very muddy, slippery and incidentally turning it into a human trap.

I sighed in anger as I tried woefully to maneuver my way through the muddy traps.