The End of the Day?

-

 As the sweet sound of the bell comes echoing within, she packs up and darts. Where to? Her sanctuary, of course, her home. That safe, comfortable space, where only few can enter because energy is a real thing, that she has come to understand. He picks her up promptly, and she slumps down in the front seat, all she could do is lean back and silently curse the walls that made her work so hard today.

Home sweet home, to that gentle knocking breeze and the silent gaze of the sun setting. This is home. As she turns the key in the lock, she glances down and sees the mess that she forgot to sweep out in the morning. That is sigh number one. Still hopeful, clinging to optimism, she enters quickly, so the heavy bag can be set down, and she can find her favourite spot on the chair. Slump again, unwind.

It is beautiful here, she thought. Her eyes catch the pile of books that were left on the floor by children who sometimes believe that her side job was that of a maid. Sigh number two, but still she does not let it bother her. She just wants to stay here, right there in this moment of "nothingness".

And then the curtain draws on the heavy part of the day, and she smiles, because relief has hugged her.........but time mocks and jeers, lurking at the end of dusk, as it shoves her into the weight of the night. Here come the children, expectantly seeking supper. Life laughs heartily and whispers against her protests, "thought I was done with you? Here comes parts two." And she gets up slowly and sighs number three, and as she crosses over into the kitchen, watching the stove top beckon, the mother weeps.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Story of Many

-
Geneva hastened along the fragmented, concrete path that connected her humble dwelling to the outside world. Though riddled with puddles and cracks that snapped toes, she had memorized every step. Her movements were automatic. She always found it humorous how the craters resembled her own life; the empty spaces and creases were very much like the voids she had been trying to fill ever since she was a child. Yesterday was her last "late warning," so she snapped out of it and hurriedly made her way to catch the early morning bus. On both sides, columns of dingy, rusty galvanize served as fences. "What could they even protect?" thought Geneva, and that gave her a chuckle. Her friend Sharon was already leaning over her veranda to wait for Geneva for the latest neighbourhood gossip. Lord, how could she escape her? "Not today, Sharon, girl I'll miss my bus!" hailed Geneva as politely as she could. Sharon had already given up, had accepted she would never mak...
Read more

Forget Them

-
The quest for closure can sometimes come at a high price. People intentionally hurt us and act like we pulled the knife from their back. Closure sometimes looks like accepting that others do not associate themselves with accountability. Closure can look like understanding that others are more interested in their self- righteousness and false sense of grandiosity than actually building and sustaining meaningful relationships. Closure can look like accepting that some people will never admit they are wrong even if the devil held the meeting with them himself. Closure means choosing you. Choosing you and walking away from what others will never acknowledge. Why don't you acknowledge how amazing you are instead, how freely you love, how slow you judge and how automatically that light inside you shines? Why don't you focus on the glowing parts of you, feast with yourself and break good bread? People eventually tell on themselves, just give them time. Did you take accountability in s...
Read more

Uncanny

-
A big headed, protruding navel, slang talking little boy just popped up in our amidst. All we knew was that he was my uncle's son and a trail of mischief was forever his shadow (inserts chuckle). His name was even stranger.....Jomokenyatah? What on God's green Earth? (inserts chuckle through tears). No formal introduction was necessary,  he just fit right in. We swear, he became our granny's favourite in absolutely no time! Hiding stuff in her blouse to hand to him when she thought we didn't notice, that was a tell all. (inserts chuckle) We remember the days when he ran naked and his mother screamed "Oba,"....... to which there was never a response, just giddy innocence and joy to be part of a clan. More like a brother than a cousin, Jomokenyatah became our own. We all loved him, looked after him, scolded him, hugged him, trailed him and sometimes feared for him. That mischief was otherworldly.  For some time, we did not see him because his passion landed him ...
Read more