Against All Odds

Chapter Seventeen :A Good Thing

"Ahula m! Ahula m ọzọ! I've seen another one"

Oluebube yelled in the farm at the backyard where they set out to pick snails at night. It had been a whole year since their father left, a year since the last time Obiefune visited. Chioma did go from time to time to see her brother and he often gave her gifts and notes to give Obi.

The last gift Obi had gotten from him was a book by Danielle Steele, the right time. A book that made Obi cry so much as she read. Obi was now 17 years old and not much her changed in her physical appearance except her height.
Things were not perfect in the house but she had learnt to adapt to the new way of life.

Her mother never spoke of her father and she never mentioned him. She could tell that her mother was hurting beneath the mask she showed everyone, it was not easy feeding and clothing four children without the help of their father and it was not like he was deceased.
Thinking about why he left often got Obi depressed.

were they not good enough?

Obi and Chioma were now in S.S.2, Obi didn't feel like going for any school post, she already had a lot of things to deal with at home, an additional would drain her. Chioma on the other had gone for the post of the deputy senior prefect even though Cynthia also had eyes for the same one. It came to the use of brains and speech delivery and Chioma won fair and square.

Obi was so excited and probably clapped more than other students when Chioma was announced as the new deputy senior prefect. Timothy and the girls had grown closer with time being the senior prefect of the school even made him and Chioma closer, not that Obi did mind.

It was mid June and the down pours were steady, they had decided to go snail hunting at night because their mother mentioned that she was craving for fried snails. The woman worked too hard and her children were eager to compensate her with what she requested.

That night Obi had woken Tobe because she didn't want to go alone, but Oluebube decided she would join. Obi knew turning her down would make her cry, their mother was likely to come out and dismiss the idea. Obi agreed that she tagged along as long as she stood by Tobe's side at all times.

Obi began to pick snails that were crawling on the ground, she'd settle her bowl on the ground pick the snail and drop it into the bowl before she continued with her search. Sometimes the snails hid under fallen plantain leaves, broken plates, perforated roof sheets that were dumped beside the farm.

The smaller snails were allowed to escape because there was little meat beneath its shell. Obi had a feeling that her siblings were gathering "ejula" the small snails but it didn't bother her, she'd empty the contents in the bush before they left.

Obi! bịa lee! "oluebube called out to her elder sister. Somehow Tobe had wandered deeper into the bush leaving the little girl. They all had their local lanterns made out of tins and stove wick called" mpa n'aka". Each of the siblings held their own mpa n'aka to give light and also certain animals away.

Obi turned and saw oluebube standing alone, she walked to where her sister was and froze instantly.

"oly, pụta ebe ahụ ugbua, Come out from there"

The little girl seemed intrigued by what was happening in front of her and stepped forward.

A very huge snail was just a stone throw from the little girl but that was just a trap. Obi could clearly see the tail of what appeared to be a huge shiny snake very close to the shell. It must have been sucking the snail out of the shell and her little sister wanted to pick the snail.