"Can I help you ma?" He asked. His voice was scratchy and low and his tone rang out as sarcastic.
"What do you mean by 'Can I help you ma?'" she asked him in incredulity.
"I said what I said. Now what exactly is your problem?" He asked, obviously no...
The flurry of activities and hullabaloo were of no difference to three year old Mosọpẹ.
Since he could reason, and started to become aware of his surroundings, he knew that there was regularly a party in the house. Why? Because there were always people around to prod him in the cheek and coo about how he was growing so fast.
He had rarely seen his mum over the past few daysand when she returned, a live, squirming, crying and heavily swaddled bundle had returned with her.
Young Mosọpẹ was used to beingthe centre of attention, because of his good looks and his even cuter babyish babbles.
But there was none of that today. All of the attention, the coos and the prodding stopped; or rather, they shifted to the bundle.
His parents had told him that the perpetually crying, eating and pooping bundle was his new brother. They told him that he ought to be happy, that he would have someone to play his toy cars with.
But he was not. In fact, Mosọpẹ hated him.
His parents no longer paid him any attention, even their guests ignored him. The only thing everyone wanted to do was to touch and compliment the new baby.
No one remembered him. After all, wasn't he the one that they had commented on his full, thick and dark Afro curls? Wasn't he the one that they had always patted his dimpled cheeks? Wasn't he the one that they had sworn would grow up to be a heartbreaker?
"Mummy," he whined, tugging on the material of her expensive lace iro wrapper. His mother was all smiles, soaking up the admiration of all the guests.
She did not answer him, so he tugged harder and whined her name even louder (yes, he was in that stage of throwing tantrums), "Mu-m-my!" he even jumped up and down to add to the theatricsof the tantrum.
Unfortunately for him and his mother; the iro wrapper that was tied loosely over her post-partum bulging stomach came off with his one tug; causing the fall of the entire material into a heap at her feet and the reveal of her black underskirt.
In the twinkle of an eye, her expression became thunderous and she struck him powerfully across the face first before yelling at him. The boy's innocent expression morphed into horror as the implication of what just happened dawned on him.
"Kí ló màa n sé ìwọ́ ọ́mọ̀ yìí? What is always wrong with you this boy? Will you get out of my sight right this instant!" she screamed at him, her large eyes bulging threateningly. Even her tone of voice was menacing enough to get tears swimming in his eyes.
She didn't have to worry about picking up the wrapper immediately it fell, as one of the numerous maids loitering around had proved her efficiency. She demonstrated this by picking up the fallen cloth from the ground, in almost the same moment it fell; and quickly wrapped it around her once more, this time tying the knot tighter.
Why then was she so angry? Well, one thing young Mosọpẹ did not understand at the time was that, appearances were everything in the high class life, especially to his mother.
Even with the tears in his eyes, he flung himself into her arms and buried his face in her scented clothes. "Mummy sorry," he said, his voice coming out muffled but also vaguely audible.
She sighed and patted his back. She excused herself from the group of guests flocking her and moved to a more private corner in their large house. "Mummy is sorry too, baby," she admitted, rubbing his back in a soothing motion.
"But next time, don't do that again. You know it's not good if a child interrupts his parents when they're talking," she explained, her tone gentle but stern.
He nodded vigorously. "Okay mummy. I will not do it again," he declared.
"Good boy," she praised and made to set him down. She snapped her fingers and a maid hurried up to them quickly.
"Here, bá n wó ọ́mọ̀ mí, help me watch my child. I have to get back to the guests," she told the nameless maid.
She turned on her heels to leave and he yelled, "Mummy wait! Shey you'll not play with me?" He asked, his expression hopeful.
"Wó Sọpẹ, look Sọpẹ, I have to get back to the guests. We'll play later, okay?" she told him, just to ward him off and made to leave again.
"But mummy, shebi that's what you said yesterday and before yesterday and you'd not still play with me. You and Daddy," he accused.
"Mà disturb mí jare, don't disturb me please. You know that I'm taking care of your brother now. Don't you know that you're now a big boy ehn? You're no longer small so I cannot be playing with you like before. Your brother is the one that needs more attention now, so you'll have to wait," she told him, flaring up from her young son's accusation. She pivoted on her heels and walked away, leaving the maid and her son.
Mosọpẹ, still fixed on his mother's exit burst into tears. The chubby, young maid moved to gather him in her arms but he dashed off before she could lay her hands on him.
Nothing was going to be the same now, especially not with the new arrival. He wished that day, more than anything, that his brother would be erased from existence.
Too bad he didn't get his wish.
÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷ 19/05/2020
Hello wonderful readers! Happy Tuesday! Hope your day is going wonderfully?
Sooo...you guys recall that I said that this is where the real story is starting. So y'all should hang on tight.
How was the chap? It was short but still enjoyable?
Don't forget to vote, comment and share. More tags are welcome 😉😉
Ehen, I've been forgetting to tell you guys since. But y'all can connect with me on social media. If you want to know the face behind the pages and also follow my regular flash fiction updates, check me out on Insta. My username is @aunty_mo_ I'd love to get to know you!
QOTC: Do you think the way Mosope's mum handled the situation was right? Do you think young Mosọpẹ was being overly dramatic?
Please answer, I'd love to know.
That's about it guys. Chapter 4 will follow soon after this. Stay calm and stay safe.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
