Life as She knows it

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I had always been a fan of books, both fiction and nonfiction. I had a large collection of books in my room, in fact book was my escape from the harsh realities of my young life which included tough assignments, upcoming tests or examinations, a bad bad day that I didn't want to think about and so on.
          I could read anything, as long as it is readable and understandable enough for my young mind. The Bible stories for little children- the ones with picture illustration, Little Red Riding Hood, Rumpelstiltskin, Beauty and the beast, and many other short stories were the books that made me develop more interests in reading.
My mother came home with new Enid Blyton series one day. 'The famous five' it was called. That was the beginning of my reading books with quite a number of pages. While Perez loved acting like 'Ben 10' with the different forms- he would wear a wristwatch, slap it in times of 'trouble' and start running around the house all the while mouthing nonsense, 'Spider-Man' with the ability to jump effortlessly- he would climb tables and attempt to walk on walls and when he fell he would start all over or bounce back like nothing happened and continue to catch his so called villain, 'Batman' with the power to fly from place to place- he would hook a long cloth on his back and start attempting to fly around and many other cartoon characters with one or two out- of- the- world power(s), I loved to read.
Everyone in my family loved to read in their leisure time but mine was different.
I would read them in place of my school books- the books would be kept in between my school notes and when anyone passes me by they would think I was reading my school notes instead unless something gives me away, I would read while we were going out and everyone was looking out the windows, I would read while eating- it got to a point where I couldn't eat properly if a book was not in my hand, I would go to my school's library to read the books instead of my notes- most times I wouldn't even hear the school bell ringing and I would not leave the library until my classmates came to get me out of the other world, I would read just before falling asleep on my bed and I would sometimes wait till everyone was sleeping before switching on the lamp by my bedside, I would read while using the toilet- I would spend hours past the normal time to be used in a toilet for I would simply be lost in the plot of the book, I would go to the park in order to read the book in peace- even though it was sometimes noisy, at least there was no restriction, back at home my Mom would complain about my book reading 'addiction'. She would say "Reading books is good, but you shouldn't make it a great priority. I'll start seizing your books if you're not careful, who are the people even borrowing you these books?"
And she started seizing them. I was only allowed to read during the holidays. Going to the library wasn't even a choice, my Mom had told my friends to report me to her if they found me reading anything 'story' apart from my school books. And my friends were the most dedicated and funny reporters in the world, I would bribe them with sweets or cheese balls or yogurt so they would not report me to my mother. They would collect the bribe and still tell my mother. They would defend themselves saying "It's all for your good Naomi." Perez was never one of my Mom's trusted reporters because he would cover up for me, bribe or no bribe. Imagine him saying "She didn't read a single novel or storybook today." all the time any day my Mom asked.
My book addiction reduced but I read books still, the love for it didn't waver or diminish. I was always good at English literature while in school because of my love for the books recommended.

                                🌻

          In one of the PUHAs meetings, we all talked about the people that have inspired us for long. The youngest hearing aider in our midst said "Jesus is the one that has inspired me for long. He did and still does things due to his love for mankind. He even asked for  the forgiveness of the people who had caused his being on the cross, that has taught me to be a forgiving person. Whenever people try to look down on me and cause me to cry because they feel they're better than I am, I still find a place in my heart to forgive them." I was amazed.
My turn came and I stood up and said "Books have inspired me, the courage of most of the characters in some books are inspiring. You might think they are too fictional to be inspiring. No. How many of us have read Born a crime by Trevor Noah?" Two hands went up. One was an elderly woman who happened to be a librarian and the other was a young man whom Perez had introduced to the group, he attends the same university as Perez.
"Great. For those of us who have not, the book is a story of his childhood. He is a colored man who had a tough time growing up, his father is a German while his mother is a South African. In South Africa, once upon a time, people refused to accept the colored as one of them for long. Trevor didn't let this put him down, he gave up on nothing.
Chimamanda Adichie's Americanah is a book that talks about a young black lady, Ifemelu, who thrives when she goes to a white man's country and faces racism. She didn't give up, she endured for a long time. In Dumebi Ehigiator's book Spider's web also a single lady, Rahama, is subjugated by married people. She lived her life despite what she is made to go through.
Those three aforementioned books some of the books that have taught me to live my life without letting what other people say get to me." I could see that some of them were scribbling down the names of the books I mentioned.
"Let me say mine." Amaka said the moment I finished talking.
"Alright dear." I must say that she is very bold, when I was I age I was not as outspoken as she is.
          OluwaJuwonlo came again that day. This time around he came earlier and I was having a chitchat with three young hearing aiders, Amaka, Jomiloju and Mary in a separate room that I like to use to attend to anyone who needed my attention. Their parents were yet to come and I decided to while time away with them.
We heard a curt knock on the door, and after I permitted the person to come in we all looked up to see who it was.
"Yay!" Amaka exclaimed when she saw who it was. "I knew it would be you, my spirit told me." She walked to him.
"Really? Or you perceived the strong scent of my perfume while I was behind the door?"
"Welllllll...." Her voice trailed.
"I got you. Good day everyone." He faces us.
"Good day Sir." I say with others.