A Loner's Journey Through Lemonade Making

Chapter 34|

For reasons unknown to me, I felt I didn't deserve the good things of life. That was why whenever something I considered too good for someone like myself happened to me or was given to me almost too easily, on a platter of gold, I hesitated before accepting it. I feared if I collected it hastily, it would be snatched out of my hands.

I feared loss, loss of any kind.

Serendipity.

It was the only explanation for all the good things that had been happening to me in recent times.

The flyer for the writing competition I signed up for had found me. Two days before I picked it up in the admin block, it had landed on my table when I was eating in the canteen. I hadn't looked at it properly, and out of annoyance, squeezed it up and thrown it into a nearby bin. But Serendipity was persistent on me seeing it. And on Friday when I accompanied IB to the admin block, Serendipity had her way.

Finding out about that writing competition so easily had seemed too good to be true. I felt I should have worked for it, but was grateful for the opportunity anyway.

My fear of it being snatched out of my hands almost came to pass.

**********

On the day of the competition, when the schoolbus was already outside, and the driver was horning aggressively, Uncle Blessing's demons decided to colonize and misuse his senses. As I was running excitedly to the gates, he had said I shouldn't step out of the compound except I had somewhere else to live. His instruction had made my tear glands get to work, giving me two months supply of tears at once. It hurt badly because it was the miracle I had prayed and fasted for, the thing that would change my destiny.

All hope was lost, and I was already taking slow and unsure steps back to the house. There was nobody to beg on my behalf. Aunty Oma was at a wedding in Bayelsa and Aunty Nelo was at Niyi's place.

Then my godsent showed up, Aunty Toyin.

She stood with her legs apart and hands resting on the door frames, thereby blocking the entrance. Her breathing was heavy, and her bump rose and lowered as she took deep and sharp breaths.

"She's not staying at home. Let her go!" She yelled.

The driver horned again and looked out of the window with a scowl. Efe also looked out and tapped his watch, reminding me that the cock was ticking.

"Who are you to decide that?" Uncle Blessing walked to her. "I said she isn't going anywhere, and she will not go anywhere!" He declared angrily.

She stood still, determination showing in her demeanour and actions. "If she don't let her go, I'll jump into the pool!" She threatened. "I'll kill myself."

I gasped.

"You act like a child, Toyin, without proper reasoning. If you heard the rubbish you just said, you would appreciate the beauty of common sense and the art of reasoning."

"Emi? Mo to jiya sha!" She exclaimed to herself. "So I act like a child? When you got me pregnant you didn't know I act like a child? Woh, leave that one. I said I'll jump into the pool! Abi you think I'm just a barking dog that cannot bite? I'll bite you and even give you rabbis as souvenir."

"You wouldn't dare."

"You this man, I don't even know what exactly is wrong with you. Shebi you said you won't be paying her school fees anymore, and the girl has found a solution, you're now stopping her." She hissed and marched to the garden, heading to the poolside.

Uncle Blessing and I were forced to go after her to know if she would actually kill herself because of me, someone she wasn't related to.

She was already in the pool by the time we got there. She was still at the shallow end, but was slowly wading her way to the deep end. Her height which I doubted was above 5"4 played a huge role in making the water swallow her quicker.