FROM THE BEGINING
“One sachet of water please?” A customer asked as he stood in front of her and she smiled.
“Here sir.” Ashabi said and gave her a fifty naira note. She hesitated a while before she collected it, there was no way she was going to get the change, he is the first person that would patronized her that day and she didn’t even know what to do but as soon as she gave the man the sachet water, he gulped it down his throat at once and she know how thirsty he must have been. It is hot that day anyways.
“Give me one more please.” He said to her and she nodded.
“And my change?” the man asked as soon as he was done with second sachet.
“Please, let me go and try to get the change,” she said, the man nodded and watched her run round the stalls to get the money with the bucket of water on her head.
“He hissed and stretched then beckoned on her to come over.
“I cant wait anymore…” the man said to her as soon as she moved closer to him and she nodded at him.
“I am sorry sir, if… the change…” she tried to explain, she cannot give up the whole ten naira.
“Find something to do with it.” he said to her and walked away.
“Thank you sir.” She said with excitement as he walked to the road and she walked away calling on people to come get their pure water.
“Buy your pure water…” she said as she walked towards the road side to display for those in the traffic.
That has been her way of life just like her elder sister Shade since their lost their parents and youngest siblings Tolu and Tope a few years before to a fire outbreak that claims almost the lives of seven people who were in the house that time, she was lucky just like her sister for they were both in school hostel and were only told about the incidence two days later, and that term was their last time in school, while she was in her first year in senior secondary schools and was fifteen years, her elder sister Shade was in her final year in the senior secondary school, she completed the SSCE and that was it.
They had to move to their hometown to go stay with their grandmother a woman in her eighties. It was not easy for the old woman whose responsibilities fell on their father until his death, they didn’t really have any other relation who cares, the old woman had only two surviving children with their father gone, she had only one who is a woman in her forties and stays in Abuja, she is their father younger sister.
Their mother sibling do call them once in a while until when they stop, things seem difficult to everyone and everyone seems to be complaining about the money thus she and her elder sister decided to think of what to do, while her elder sister works as a sales girl in a local store, she sells water in the market and thus they were able to eat once a day.
She sighed again as she turned towards someone calls her, she ran to the caller and sell her water.
“One day, we might go back to school.” Her sister do tell her once in a while and they both know that they can only hope and perhaps pray.
Ashabi sat down with her back rested on the wall, in the old room she shared with her sister and sighed, her face brightened up when she saw her sister entered the room with a covered plate.
She placed the plate on the mat and sat down after facing her sister.
“Mama Agba is already sleeping.” Ashabi said to her sister.
“You came late again.” She said to her and she scratched her head, trying to think of what to say to her sister.
“Yes, I wanted to sell the water completely.” She said to her.
“How many bags today?” she asked her.
“Four bags.” Ashabi replied and her sister looked at her with smiles.
“To say that you are richer than I am right now.” She said to her younger sister.
“Rich ke? I have paid Mama Ada that money she said we are owing her.” Ashabi said, while her sister sighed.
“I passed through the Mark street and I saw some jobs notifications.” She started as soon as her sister start eating.
“Work ke? What type of job?” her elder sister asked.
“House helps.” Ashabi said and her sister frowned.
“I don’t think I like that, the way those rich people treat their helps is not funny.” Her sister said to her and Ashabi swallowed hard.
All she wanted was to have a stable source of income. Her sister income at the village store is not so great and her boss is a very cunny man, sometimes he owes her a lot and she dares not complain.
She know at least with the earning from the house where she worked, she is likely to get at least two square meal.
“Do you also consider that you will be living there as well?” Her sister asked, she cannot even think of not seeing her sister in a day, all they have is each other since they lost all their family members few years before.
“I can come over to see you once in a while.” Her sister said to her and she shook her head.
“See you? Do you think it will be that easy? See Ashabi, you are just seventeen, you are not even supposed to be working at all, you are supposed to be in school.
“Let’s continue with the plan for now and I will think of a better way to make things better ins sha Allah.” Her sister said.
“Ins sha Allah? When was the last time you used that word.” She asked her elder sister who sighed.
“Sometimes, they forget that they are Muslims, their parents did not train them properly on that path.
“Could it be that Allah is angry at us for not praying on time and often?” Ashabi asked her
“Hummm.” Shade said and rather than to talk, she started eating slowly and without a word, her sister also started eating both were trying so hard not to cry.
The next day, Ashabi woke up early than usual and as soon as she heard the call to prayer, she went out of the room to perform her Ablution, the last time she observe Salah was almost two weeks before,
She remember how their parents would pray but will not urge them to do that, they barely have any knowledge about the religion they practiced and she was scared that their struggles might be because they had not been praying vividly.
She returned to the bedroom and met her sister awake as well with her back rested on the wall, the two siblings starred at each other for a while before Shade spoke.
“You didn’t wake me up.” She said.
“I am sorry … “ Ashabi said
“Let start praying now, perhaps Allah will make life easier for us.” Her elder sister said and patted her back before she left the room as well to perform their Ablution.
She ran as fast as her leg could carry her to the village clinic, she met her sister outside the hospital walking up and down waiting for her.
“Aunty mi,” Ashabi said as she ran to her.
“How is she?” She asked her elder sister.
“The doctor is still watching her, but he said we will need to get some of her diabetes drugs.” Shade said.
“Who told you?” Shade asked and listened to her sister how she had gone home briefly to check on their grandmother who had been ill for five days before she start another round of her pure water sales.
“I was told she slumped and she had been rushed to the hospital.” She explained.
“So, how do we money to buy the diabetes drugs?” Ashabi asked and brought out all the money she had in her pocket, it was barely one thousand. She had opened her save and pack all the money she had before coming to the village clinic.
“Are you still here? Go get the drugs please.” A nurse said to them and the sisters exchanged glances.
“Yes ma’am. I… will go and my sister will stay here.” Shade said to and put her arms around her sister.
“Do you have any money on you?” Ashabi asked her sister.
“Don’t worry, I will sort it out, let me be on my way.” Shade said to her sister and left.
She returned back some hours later with some drugs in her hands and look so sad.
“Aunty mi, are you okay?” her sister asked her and she nodded slowly,
“How is iya Agba?” Shade asked
“They would not let me see her, they said when you come.” Shade said to her sister who nodded and led her sister to the doctor’s office.
“Do you have anyone older in your family?” The doctor asked.
“Perhaps Mama direct children?” the doctor asked her.
“No, sir we stay with her.” Shade said,
“Is anything the matter… I have gotten all the drugs.” She said tearfully and the doctor shook his head.
“I am sorry, we lost her.” The doctor announced calmly and without a thought, Shade dropped the bag of drugs in her hands and wept uncontrollably while the doctor consoled her, Ashabi could only stared.
“It was not what she expected, though Mama Agba is almost ninety, she didn’t want to lose her but after the death of almost all the members of her family, she had come to understand one thing, death can happen to anyone and from far away, she heard the doctor talking about corpse. She was buried according to the Islamic rite, she was a Muslim but not a practicing one.
“One sachet of water please.” Said a driver as he pulled up by the roadside close to where she stayed.
“Yes sir.” She said sweating, it was so hot that day that she could not wait to go home to have a cool shower. It is been a month after the death of her grandmother and three weeks that their aunty left them with the promise of coming over to the village to check on them or find a way to come join her in Benin.
She watched the man gulped down the water and gave her a hundred naira notes.
“Give me one more,” He asked
“I hope you have change today.” The man asked her as he collected another sachet water from her hand.
“Yes sir…” she said looking at the man and wondered if he bought something from her before.
“Do I know you?” She asked him and he smiled.
“I have bought purewater twice from you and both times, you went away with my change.” He said
“I will never run away with someone’s money except if you give it to me.” She said
“Oh no, don’t take it to heart, on those two occasions, I gave it up, I was only pulling your legs,” he said to her.
“Okay sir, she said and gave him his change.
“You can have it.” he said to her and she hesitated for a while before she shook her head, the money will go a long way but she just have to let it go
“Don’t worry sir, you can have the change.” She said to him and he smiled, without collecting the change, he started his car and zoom off,
“How rude.” She said to herself and walked gently by the side as she got a call from someone who was sitting in front of a cement store. She moved towards him with the bucket of water on her head.
“How are you?” The man asked smiling sheepishly at her, he was a man in his late forties
“I am fine sir, how many do you want?” She asked him ignoring his greetings, her elder sister do warned her to stay away from men.
“Just sell them the pure water and go your way.” She would advise her,
“What is wrong with you now? What is your name?” He asked her as he made an attempt to touch her and she stepped away from him.
“Okay, how many pure water do you have left?” The man asked her.
“Give me everything.” He said to her and she nodded without any elements of surprise, he then told her to take the water inside his store, she obeyed, as soon as she was inside the store, he followed her as well, she bent down to help put all the sachet water into a bucket she found inside the store, she transferred them into the bucket and just before she raised to her feet, she felt his hands grabbed her buttocks and she stood up hurried to turn to him.
“What is this nonsense?” she asked him with her eyes spiting fire.
“What is it… you see, I own this store and I have many more, everybody know me as the chief Adigun the philanthropist. You are not a small girl now.” The man said moving closer to her and she shifted further away from him.
“Give me my money and let me go, Your money is fifty naira,” She said to him and he smiled.
“I will give you five thousand.” He said to her and her heart missed a beat but she know that she is not that desperate.
“Give me my money.” She said to him and stretched out her hand to get the money from him.
“Don’t worry, I am a very patient man.” He said to her and counted some money to give her and without hesitating she snatched one hundred naira note from him and marched out of the store with her empty pocket ready to go get another bag to sell.
The last thing on her mind was to think of any man, she just want to live that is all. Having to face and bear some form of molestation from men daily is one of the problem she faced as a hawker and most of the time, she wonder if that is what other girls faced as well, perhaps that was why there seem to be so much young unmarried girls in the village with pregnancies.
“You need to be careful.” Her sister would warn her and that is exactly what she was following.
She returned home late that evening and was surprise to see her sister in the room lying on the mat. She was shocked and moved closer to her.
“Anti mi, what is wrong with you?” she asked her and saw tears on her sister’s face.
“I think I have malaria.” She said to her sister and Ashabi check her temperature by putting her hand on her forehead.
“You don’t have a high temperature,” She said to her and she nodded and explained to her sister that it might just be stress
“I think, I just need to relax, don’t worry, I will be fine.” Her sister said to her and she smiled with relief.
“What do you want me to prepare for you?” Ashabi asked.
“No, I am fine, just take care of yourself.” Her sister said.
“No anti mi, you need to eat something, and I will also go get you some drugs.” She said while her sister shook her head.
“I have got some drugs when I was coming.” Her sister said to her.
“And food? We have Ogi, can I make pap for you?” she insisted and her sister nodded slowly.
She took some spoonful from the pap before she slept off.
To be continued