~2~

23  January 2008.

The movement of squirrels rustling coconut and palm trees fonds throbbed Christabel's ear. Seated on the small balcony of their house, she could perceive the early morning air tinged with the ripening of mangoes: both fresh and rotten ones. Sheep, goats, and hens loaded the ventilated surrounding with their droppings. Knowing fully well that she would be the one to clean and sweep away the mess she squeezed her face and nudged her nose.

From a notable distance, she could hear the bleating of goats, the crowing of mature gallinaceous-cocks, and people squealing greetings across cemented and uncemented compound walls.

"Don't rape her! No, don't!" Sarah screamed, running across the surrounding eccentrically, matching over the green animal's droppings.

"This is illegal Christy!" She shouted, glancing at Christabel her face was clothed with worries before she faced what she was pursuing. Her bare leg thumping the dusty ground as they move.

Christabel closed her eyes and sighed. Sarah will be twenty this year, she ought to act like one even if she was a mentally handicapped patient. She glanced at the cockerel and hen Sarah was pursuing and dabbed her fingers impatiently on the broken cemented floor she sat on.

Out of fear the cockerel flew in another direction leaving the hen at peace. "Yes, I did it." A satisfied smile plastered Sarah's sweaty face. She tilted her head, rubbed her palms together before making her way toward her sister.

"I recouped a life, Aunty Christabel." She exclaimed, slurring her words, she elongated the 'life' excitement casting a smile in the river of her black eyes. She shook her sister's hand, her eyes moved with the alertness that came from her success.

"Don't you think what you did is too childish?" Christabel asked wondering when last Sarah honoured her by adding  'aunty' to her name. She always laughs and says her sister is just a year, eleven months, thirty days and five minutes to day thirty-one older than her so she saw no use in adding an unnecessary prefix.

"Go and buy two years in your village market! Whether you like it or not it can't be bought!" Christabel would retort.

"Don't forget, it is not two years, if you have stayed in mummy womb a little longer you could have claimed the two years seniority. Since that didn't happen you are on your own. If you want me to call you 'aunty' say it, don't beat around the bush and I will do what you want. Be straightforward hmmm." Sarah would reply and hit her sister's shoulder playfully.

The sisters can be like that sometimes.

Sarah smiled upon the memories.

"Of course I can discern everything," Christabel answered and smiled. "You reek of animal droppings. Go and bath jahwe." Christabel dramatized using her palm to cupped her nose. "Go, go." She shooed. Her preliminary irritation evaporated like the break of dawn when her sister laughed, struck her oxygenated tongue out, and lolled her head in a gentle circle. Watching her sister's childishness is a good way to start the day.

"How were yesterday's interviews?" Sarah changed the topic, one can still hear the excitement that completely knitted her question like the happiness of a child who aced his exams for the very first time in his school-life history.

"All I know is that I answered the questions to the best of my ability," She said, sighed, and sucked in the air.

She took a seat beside her sister,  joined her thigh together, and tuck in the edges of her short, dowdy black skirt between her laps so that her underwear will not be seen. It is not as if people pass their compound, though, but sometimes Sarah does behave like Sarah. "Don't worry, your hard work will surely pay you. Did mom come back from work yesterday?" Sarah asked, gazing at her sister's ethereal eyes.

"No, she didn't, it is high time I get a high-paid job, Mummy has been the only one struggling after father's death,"

"I understand you. I also want to work but you two will not allow me." Sarah said fiddling with her fingers wackily.

Just as if their timing was on a consecutive queue Christabel's phone whizzed in her pocket.

"Is that my superman?" Sarah asked curiously. There was a high chance she was right so she pried at her sister expectantly.

Grinning, she poked her sister's nose lightly. "Too bad and good, the message is not from your superstar it is from our lovely mom."

Almost disappointed. "What did mom say?"

"I was not able to come home yesternight because I was busy and besides there are a lot of works in the mansion, hopefully, I will come this evening. How is Sarah doing? How are you both? Have you guys eaten? Are they still raw foods in the kitchen store? How were your interviews? Hope no problem?" She read out didactically.

"I wish I could help her."

"Since mom asked you not to help, concentrate on your studies for now, ok. Her time working as a maid is ephemeral, I can ascertain."

Sarah nodded her head in understanding and Christabel answered all her mother's questions positively through the messages app to which her mum replied with considerable smiles and innumerable strength emojis.

"Are you hearing from my superstar?" Sarah inquired from her sister who was typing away on her phone. Sarah folded in her brown-polish coloured lips anticipating her sister's response, her eyes were wide and obliging.

Christabel gleamed and Sarah hummed a mocked sound. "Yes, he did call yesterday exactly five minutes after my first interview." Christabel paused and smiled - a long smile, recounting what happened yesterday.

"And what happened to the call? Judging from your nonstop smile I can guess he said something great. The pending question now is what did he say? Oya spill."  Sarah implored articulating, her voice was an octave higher than normal.

Dragging of words and talking in a sing-song like a crawling toddler is nothing new to Christabel, she is used to it her sister flaws, used to the perfect imperfection.

Christabel laughed. "Calm down Sarah, will you? Bring your ear."

Sarah brought her ear close, wondering what her sister had to say. "Olofofo, busy-body." Christabel joked and Sarah smiled.

"Ok, he did say a lot of things but the important word is that he said he misses me," Christabel whispered into her ear.

Smiling wildly. "Wow! My superstar said he miss my big sister, this calls for a celebration. Sadly, we don't have wine to celebrate this. Let's use water

Christy, shall we?" Not waiting for a response Sarah rushed in and brought two clean wine glass cups. She poured a reasonable amount of water inside the cups, filling the cup to its brinks - Sarah's modest amount.

"Let's toss," Sarah said excitedly handling glass to her smiling sister.

"To a long life, long love life, and prosperity!" Sarah shouted and their cups clicked in a toss.

"No need for all this drama, your superstar always tells me that almost every second," Christabel said sipping her imaginary wine and Sarah swilled in her mythical wine.

"Oh, my chest! this is your first time telling me." Sarah said and flew her hands dramatically over her chest, feigning hurt.

"I didn't tell you because you didn't ask and besides there are a lot of things going on in my mind, it must have skipped my mind," Christabel explained squeezing her sister's shoulder gently.

"It is high time I save money to buy a bottle of wine. If my superstar tells you this then it should be properly celebrated with a bottle of wine,"

"You are way too dramatic. Did you love this superstar that much?"

She smiled wildly showing all her dentition. "Yes, I did! He is special." 

"Oh! I see you always venerate this your superstar. He took me for lunch in the company restaurant yesterday. You remembered he worked in the company where I got interviewed?"

"Yes, yes, I remember," Sarah answered and nodded.

"I was shocked at first because I don't think he had the money to order such a portion of expensive food. I mean as you already know we met at the university and he just started working in the company months ago. I told him I don't know he had the money. Then, he replied by saying am I assuming that he can't pay for the meal." 

"You downgraded my superstar like that. It is not fair." Sarah murmured and Christabel laughed at the adverse expression that maimed her sister's face.

"No, it is not like that, the food was very expensive. We could have managed the amount he used in paying for the meal for weeks so I had to exclaim when he paid."

"The money must be all his savings. My superstar did everything to please you." Sarah interjected and tickled her sister who laughed uncontrollably - cackling, throaty, hearty laughter pushed out with enthusiasm.

"Hmm, and what happened next, love bird?" Sarah's lips excavated into an impelling beam.

"And I told him I made a lot of mistakes during the interview because I was too nervous.  During the discussion, I closed my eyes and prayed to God for the success of the interview and he enveloped my hand in his, closed his eyes, and asked God to let his beautiful Christabel succeed."

"Wow! That is romantic. I know my superstar will never disappoint me." Sarah glowed.

Christabel's cheeks expanded widely with glints of myriad grins, only that the grins appeared to be endless. Christabel continued when she noticed Sarah was smiling and listening with rapt attention.

"This is good." She said and her stomach succumbed to the loud grumbled sound of hunger she has been trying to quell.

"You are hungry?" Christabel asked.

"Yes,"

"Oh, will you care for some mangoes before I prepare a spicy spaghetti?  She inquired hitting a fly that buzzed past her ear.

" I won't mind but are the mangoes ready?"

"No, I will pluck it now, it is an easy thing. Hurry up Inside and assemble the things needed in preparing the food, I will be right back, the mango tree is just three houses away." Christabel deciphered, Sarah gave her a woven basket before sauntering to the enormous rooted mango tree.

💥💥💥

The leaves were brown golden and green. The shapeless pointed branches are interwoven with the amoeba and grotesque stem in such a way that it can cause a big horror-fright during the silent darkness of night. Nevertheless, most of the fruits on the tree are fresh, some have been angrily perched on by birds and rodents while few have varied by colours of yellow with dots of wounded blacks, like a chickenpox victim.

Christabel picked a long stick and hit the mangoes with the edge of the stick, the mangoes dropped after applying a lot of pressure on the thick stick. She carefully arranged the mangoes inside the basket.

By now, the sun had emerged from its mysterious dwelling, clearing off the cool air.  Flies hummed and green-bellied lizards bobbed their orange heads while loitering under the countless mango leaves which fell from the tree by some agents of denudation.

"Leave me alone!" from a significant distance Christabel could hear the shrill screamed of that folksy voice. 

"Let me go, please!" The voice rang out so pure and high, the same piercing depth she was familiar with, only that it retained a bizarre timbre.

"Sarah," Christabel whispered. In fear, she dropped the basket that clung to her hand's ad ran as fast as her long legs could panickily carry her.

"Sarah!" She breathed out.

Entering the agape door she almost couldn't speculate what she saw - Sarah was been barraged by smashes.  With heart bathed with rage and a hand-rolled in a tight fist, she advertently launched a heated blow at the attacker's hairy cheek, the adverse effect of the blow made him swivelled and generated his teeth to be saturated in a taste of oxygenated blood.

Sarah's noisy, rasping breath triggered her scalding, simmering fury she angrily made forward to give the attacker a death kick just when another attacker she had not earlier noticed knocked her from behind.

She went down on her knees, the horrible pain she felt in her head was nothing compared to the anger that filled her up, the degree of her anger was nothing correlated to how birds angrily perched on the mangoes she earlier saw.  How dare they beat her sister!

"What did you want?" Christabel exhaled.

The first attacker stepped forward his eyes were excessively far apart and his black trousers tracked behind him as he moved closer to Christabel.

He expectorated out blood on the cemented floor and bent down, meeting Christabel's fiery gaze. "I can see you are the brave one... Un." He said, more like a question and Christabel had the insatiable urged to spit on his disfigured nose.

"You dare test my patience and dare blew my sagging cheek. I could have slain you within the twinkle of an eye you know. But I won't because that won't be of use to me." He said and laughed showing off his white-yellow-blood stained set of teeth - which appeared to be the only prestige of beauty he possessed.

"Your parent caused this most especially your mom." He continued and Christabel tossed her hands wishing she could land him a dirty and fair slap across his discoid cheek which will definitely affect his wounded mouth. How dare he called her parent with that filthy mouth of his.

"How? liar," Christabel asked keeping her calm.

Smirking. "Good question smart girl. Your dad borrowed a large amount of money from us before his untimely death. Today will make it an exact three years since the loan. We have been sending messages and several letters to your mom but all she asked us to do was to exercise patience. Patience after three good years. Who does that hmmm?" The second attacker was the explainer this time around. Apart from his dim eyes and big lips, his physical features were exactly the polar opposite of the first attacker.

Christabel and Sarah knew that their father was in debt before his heart-breaking sudden death. This was the reason why her mother worked extra hours. Her poor mother. A lone tear dropped from her intense eyes.

"Is patience all we need! We need our money. This is only a lesson! Just a small lesson to tell your mother what we are capable of doing! If we don't see the money at the end of this week... En...hmm you will know that khaki no be leather!" The first attacker said gesticulating angrily with his fingers and stormed out, the second attacker scowled and pushed after his retreating figure.

Rushing up, her fear seemed to have diminished, she knew it will rush back in parcels at the end of this week. The impending was indispensable. "Sarah!" She called out and Sarah gave out a vulnerable smile.

Breaking a smile, a phoney smile that didn't reach her face. "All will be well, I promise. One day." Christabel assured helping dejected and shocked looking Sarah up and she in return nodded. She groped Sarah's hands. Sarah's legs and arms were bruised.

"How are we going to pay the money, Sarah is scared," Sarah mumbled.

"Don't worry. Do you know the first man I punched had a very bushy moustache? Like that of a gorilla right?" Christabel asked jokingly and Sarah smiled - a heartfelt smile. knowing fully, where she was driving at.

"Can't you see he is way too monkier than the monkiest person that has gotten a vast share in the dumpiest pit of leftovers? What do you think?... un." Christabel said as she made forward towards the kitchen to get the first aid box. Of course, Christabel was not happy with the way things are moving but as usual, she had to make her sad sister happy.

"Monkier? Monkiest?" Sarah asked suppressing another onset of vicious laughter. "Hail our mama in English. Gbosa."  Sarah said raising her injured hands in salutation and Christabel burst into fits of wild giggles.

"Eh!, Christabel, blood is dripping from your head!" She screamed concern edged in her sluggish voice slanting her pain.

Again, that sharp, sluggish, acquainted and chummy screams.

💥💥💥

Glossary of Nigerian words according to how it is used in the chapter.

Jahwe - it is fondly added to words to show their emergency.

Oya - it means do fast or be fast.

Olofofo - busy-body.

Khaki no be leather - it was used to show or tell how crucial one could be.

Gbosa - kudos.

I think I have cleared the cloud? ☺

💥💥💥

Questions for the chapter. 😊

Do you think it is childish for Sarah to chase a hen and a cockerel?

Who is the superstar Sarah so much love and Christabel couldn't help but smile at the mention of his name?

Who is your favourite character?

Do you also love mangoes?  What is your favourite fruit?

Do you think Sarah was right in using water as a drink?

Do you think the attackers do a good thing?

Did Christabel do the right thing by making a joke out of the attacker's bushy beards?

"What will happen to Christabel later on."

Why not read on, lovelies.

Correct me if you notice any mistakes but make sure it is reasonable. Lovelies.

Till next update. Keep shiny 😊