SOLDIER

Chapter 2 - Fighting the good fight

"Stop it!" exclaimed Priscilla, when she came into the bedroom and found Daniel beating up Gbenga.

Looking stern, Daniel responded, "But he ate Kola's dodo, mtcheww!" Turning to Gbenga, his eyes turning menacing, he said, "I will show you pepper today."

Dropping her bag, Priscilla rushed to where Daniel and Gbenga were punching each other and pulled them apart. "Both of you on your knees. Now!"

Meek and apologetic, the two boys took to their knees. "Listen to me now and listen to me carefully. Fighting has never been the solution to any problem; it only makes the problem worse. Gbenga, did you eat Kola's dodo?"

"Yes, ma, I did," he replied in a shaky voice, tears rolling down his cheeks. He couldn't even look her in the face.

Softening her tone, she said," Gbenga, it is not right to take from someone forcefully. If you were hungry, you should have just asked aunty Bukki and she would have given you food. Do you understand?"

With a slight nod, Gbenga wiped the tears from his face.

Priscilla continued, "And you, Daniel. Who told you that you can beat up people, even if they were in the wrong, ehn?"

Even though he was breathing heavily from the fight, Daniel's face was calm and he didn't utter a word. 

"Let this be the last time you get into a fight with Gbenga, or anyone else. If something that you don't like happens, come tell me. Ok?" 

"Yes, ma," Daniel responded quietly.

Kissing them good night, she sent the two boys to their bedroom.

"And make sure you apologise to Kola before you go to bed, Gbenga," Priscilla added, as she walked into her office.

x-x

The screeching tires of the Boeing Airbus A380 landed on the runway of Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, as the captain announced their safe arrival in Nigeria. Arjun and Prisha were jumping in their seats and couldn't wait to meet Ravish and his family after a three-year absence. It was also their first visit to Africa.

"I can't believe it! I am in Africa!" Prisha excitedly said.

"Well, the airport doesn't look too different from home. It's only the people that look a little different and they speak another language – some sort of Pidgin English," answered Arjun calmly.

Everything she lay her eyes on excited her – the unfamiliar names of the airlines on the other planes as they were alighting, the airbus that took them to the airport, the waiting lounge with its plush purple seats, the fascinating cafes different from eateries she had seen in India and the smart people rushing to and fro in their tailored business suits and polished shoes. All of these were an opportunity for another selfie and her husband unhurriedly complied with her requests for another photo in this angle and that. 

"Why aren't you smiling properly, jaanu? Smile, no?" Prisha cooed at him, trying to fit them into a photo with a smart-looking security guard.

Tired from the trip and his head spinning from all the photo angles, Arjun gave her a forced smile. Click!

"Ravish! There he is, jaanu! Hey! Ravish! Look here!" she yelled, jumping up and down and wildly waving her arms around to attract his attention.

On the way to Ravish's house, Prisha's eyes missed nothing as she drunk in her new surroundings. Including the face of a young boy of two or three, a grave look in his eyes, on at least three billboards along the highway.

She asked Ravish, "Who is that boy on that billboard?"

Ravish told her about he had become famous when he won a school state mathematics competition. "The papers even claim that Daniel is one of the smartest kids in Africa!"
"Wow, he must be a genius!" Arjun said.

"And so adorable too!" Prisha added gleefully. "Speaking of cuteness, how is my adorable Samaira? I can't wait to see how much she's grown!" Ravish then went on to regale the two with tales of Samaira's questions on the most outrageous topics.

x-x

The next morning, Ravish woke up to the sound of his alarm and the sunlight streaming into his window. Eyes still shut, he stretched out his hand to turn off the alarm. Successful, he promptly turned on his side, covered his head with his blanket and went back to sleep. The alarm rang again shortly and he finally forced himself to get up when he heard the sound of water running. 

His sister Prisha was standing in the kitchen, sipping a glass of water. Her face was pale and her eyes sunken, like she hadn't slept in a while. "Are you ok?" he asked her, worried.

Sighing heavily, she said, "No. I've been up all night thinking and then I woke up early to use your laptop to check out something."

"Are you kidding me? Well, thou shalt know that in this house, there shalt be no work on a holiday, theek hai?" said Ravish firmly.

Giving him a tired smile, she turned away and walked into the home office. Arjun observed that her face had lost its usual warmth and her answer lacked its usual sarcastic edge. Pulling up a chair opposite her in the office, he asked her what was bothering her.

Prisha burst into tears and as her sobbing slowed, she told Ravish about how she hadn't been able to conceive. "I'm already 28 - I'm not growing any younger and we still don't have a baby. I can feel my biological clock ticking."

"When I saw that little boy in the billboard, I copied down the orphanage's number. I wanted to adopt him but Arjun is totally against the idea. When I brought it up, he refused to discuss it," she wailed miserably. "Why would Arjun hate the idea of having a child to love and care for?"

Ravish didn't know how to react to his sister's sudden outburst. She had practically raised him growing up after their mother died and he didn't know much about her personal life. Boundaries were something she had drilled into his head.

"Come here," he said, holding out his arms and pulling her into a hug like she would do when they were younger and something had upset him. "Just give him some time to think about it. I'm sure he'll give it a second thought. Everything will be alright." 

She stopped crying but he knew their troubles were far from over.