We Fight! (On Hold)

Chapter 5

I clutched the cloth tighter around my body, the cold wind of the early morning chilled deep into my bones, making me shiver involuntarily, but I continued to trudge slowly on the sandy uneven paths, mentally insulting myself for forgetting to take my shoes. I remembered to take a cover cloth but I forgot to take shoes.

Smart. My subconscious mocked me. Well, at least the cloth was coming in handy or else I would be colder than I already was.

Where was I going? I didn't know. I was just walking, trying to find a way back to my uncle's house. Why was I going to my uncle's house? I didn't know either. To be honest, I really didn't know what exactly I was doing, the only plan I had formed in my head was to escape, what I would do after I had managed to escape, I really didn't think that far. So much for growing up.

I felt a swift and sharp pain under my right foot and I immediately clutched my leg in annoyance.

"Jesus, ugghh"

I hissed in pain and dropped down on a soft patch of grass by the road path, pulling my injured foot up on my laps to examine how bad it was. I noticed a sharp little glass piece sticking out from under my foot and indiscernible noises streamed out of my lips in frustration and pain.

I slowly reached forward and tried to pull the piece of glass out, squeezing my face tight from the pain, and going red all over.

But the stupid glass still didn't budge.

I was thinking of how best to get the unwanted visitor out of my foot when I noticed a stone landing somewhere beside me. I looked at the stone in surprise, wondering how it had gotten there when I felt another one landing exactly on my body this time. Annoyed and ready to pick a fight, I looked up to face the culprit.

The culprit was a boy, brown...ish in complexion, with obsidian black eyes that looked like they had no end to them. He looked like he was around the age of ten or eleven but I could tell he was abnormally tall for his age.

I squeezed my face in annoyance and looked at him from his head to his toes as he studied me like a frightened animal trying to stand it's ground.

"Why did you throw a stone at me?" I finally decided to ask.

The boy stared at me for a long while, and I almost thought he wouldn't respond or he just couldn't understand me, then he shrugged lazily and sat down on the opposite side of the road path, his fingers playing with a stick he had found lying about but his extremely dark eyes were still trained on me.

"I didn't know if you could talk" he simply answered.

"Now why would you think I cannot talk?" I asked again, very confused at this point.

"Eka mmi doesn't tell me much about the white people so I wanted to find out...it's not everyday I see a white person roaming about these streets"

I squinted my eyes and studied him. I didn't have time for this, I just needed to get to my uncle's house.

"Whatever. Now you know I can talk, so go away now" I said sharply and turned back to look at the glass in my foot.

He didn't respond and I didn't hear anything again so I concluded that he must have taken my advice and run off.

"Should I help you get it out?" The same voice asked again.

"No. It's none of your business. I can get it out myself. Just go away and leave me alone" I answered quickly, not even sparing him a glance.

I heard the soft crunch of gravel under his feet which meant that he must have finally taken my advice and decided to walk away.

I continued trying to pull the stupid glass out but it still didn't remove and it hurt a lot. After a lot of fruitless efforts, I rested my palms on the ground at my sides to support the weight of my back and just stared at the piece of glass, trying my very best to hold back the little tears that wanted to flow from my eyes from the sting of the glass in my foot.

"Why on earth are you so white?" The tall boy asked me, standing right in front of me this time.

I looked up at him as he studied me with skeptical eyes. Eyes of a snake watching its predator to assess how dangerous it was. What a pest. I thought I had already sent him away for good before, but he still came back.

"Because that is my colour inaan" I hissed.

"Why are you so black?"

"Because that is the colour of everyone here, you..."

He pointed a curious finger at me.

"have no colour"

I studied his features again and noticed his eyes staring down at me with a curiousness in them but also with a little fear underneath the surface. Why were they all repellent of my colour? I wished I was black, maybe my life would have been different.

"You know..." I started.

"There's really no difference between us. Our only difference in colour is just too overrated. I'm really just a child like you" I said, trying to make some sense with my words.

The boy looked at me for a while before slowly moving to sit on the ground beside me, his position not a comfortable one though but one that showed he was ready to bolt in case of any sign of danger. It was a position I knew all too well. He was obviously trying to make an effort but he still didn't believe me.

"What is your name?" He asked.

"Uy..." I paused.

I had grown so used to being called Uyai lately that I almost said my name was Uyai.  Then I thought about how hard it was for Uncle Etim to pronounce the name Callista and I thought it would be just as hard for the boy too.

"Uyai, my name is Uyai" I finally said.

"How do you have a local name?" He sounded very surprised and I fought back the urge to smile.

"I would have thought you would mention a very hard name like James or something"

I gave in to the chuckle that built up behind my throat after watching the serious and confused expression on his face.

"It's a long story, don't worry. Just know that my name is Uyai"

The boy looked back at me and tilted his head to the side a little.

"What is your name?" I dared to ask.

"Afonabasi" he said.

"Uhn?"

I knew a handful of their words but I had never heard a name like that before.

"Afon is okay" he said with a small smile on his lips and a glint of laughter in his eyes.

"My name is Afon"

A/n
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Inaan~ stupid
Eka mmi~ my mother