Adesuwa - Episode 2

 

Adesuwa:

"You better not let me fall!" Dara yells from above me as I groan under her weight on my back.
"Be quick about it!" I yell back at her as I try to look up with her standing on my back.
"Hey! Don't look up. I'm going to fall. And I don't want you looking up my skirt." She grumbles and I chuckle despite the strain.
"You're eighteen for Christ's sake. Don't you think you're too modest?" I ask her and she doesn't reply as expected.
"Got it!" She squeals just before she jumps down from my back . I quickly stand upright and stretch a bit to rid myself of the knot in my neck.
"Woah! It's so big!" I grin as I make a lunge for the big red mango in her hands.
"There's like six in your bag!" She dodges me as she dumps the beautiful fruit in her own bag.
"You stood on my bag for that! I get to have this one!" I yell as I fight her for the mango. We struggle for the fruit and I've almost got my grip on the thing but it suddenly tears open, spraying yellow juice on my uniform top.
"Hey!" Dara yells as she lets go of the sticky fruit. I don't let go of the thing as I lick my fingers of the juice.
"You're disgusting." Dara pouts at me but I just wink.
"Hey! What's going on there?!" Dara and I freeze as our eyes go widen at the familiar voice.
"Hey! Are you stealing from my tree?!" Mr Seun yells from behind us

All episodes of this story can be found here >> https://www.ebonystory.com/story/adesuwa

. I spare a quick glance behind us to see him running towards us.
"Run!" I squeal as I grab Dara's hand with my free hand while I securely hold my precious mango in my right hand.
"Your hand is sticky!" Dara complains but she doesn't stop running. Our laughter carries with the wind as we race down the footpath towards home.
"Adesuwa, I'm reporting you to your mother whenever I see her at the market, you rascal!" Mr Seun yells but I know he has stopped running when I don't hear his footfalls. I stop to take in deep breaths and turn to check if he's still chasing after us.
"Dara, don't let that sister of yours get you in trouble! Stay away from that menace!" He yells to my sister who is bent over trying to regulate her breathing.
"Menace?" I wrinkle my brows at the foreign word.
"Trouble maker." Dara explains for me and I nod. She's the brainy one after all.
"Let's go home." I tell her as I take a chunky bite of the mango in my grasp. Delicious.

****

"Ade, Dara mom is crying inside." Gideon runs to us as soon as we walk into our compound still in his uniform and I stop short.
"What?" I whisper yell as I come to a stop but Dara already has my brother in tow as they race into the house. What's going on?
I quickly follow behind both siblings and frown when I notice father's shoes on the front step. I look back and confirm that his truck isn't in the compound. He's back early and without his truck.
"God, how could this happen to us? You said you'll raise a standard about us. Hey! Oluwa mi! Hey!" I enter into the parlor to find my mother wailing on the floor. I look around and find my father crouched down on a small stool with his head in his hands.
"Daddy what's wrong with Mommy? Is she__" I start to make my way to our father but Kola blocks my path before I get to him.
"Not now, Ade." He shakes his head at me and I look back to my mother who is still lamenting. Dara is crouched beside her now while Gideon watches with confused watery eyes.
"What's going on!" I yell and my father's head snaps up like he's just realizing that we're in the parlor with them.
"We're finished, Ade. Hey!" My mom declares and I look to Kola for clarification.
"The loansharks. They took everything." His head hang heavily as he tells me this and I gasp.
"No." I stagger back and shake my head. The truck? Everything?
"They locked your father's shop and took his truck! How are we going to feed? How are we going to survive? House rent has expired as well. Papa Kola, I told you to borrow from the bank but you said no. You __"
"Please, woman! The bank obviously wouldn't have given me the loan and the twins needed their fees paid!" My father snaps. His eyes droop with heavy bags under them from obvious lack of sleep and his wrinkles seem to have multiplied.
"What are we going to do now?! We told the landlord that we'll pay his rent month end. That's a week from today. How will we get the money? Are we going to get thrown out in the street?" My mom lament.
"Mom we won't." Dara says shakily from her spot beside our mother as she hug her from the side.
"Dad?" Gideon looks to my father expectantly. A tear slips down my eye as I watch my father's shoulders droop lower. My eyes move to Kola beside me and he's rubbing his eyes like he's trying to keep the tears at bay.
"I can't even help my family." He looks just as tortured as my father.
"What are you talking about? You're just nineteen years old. There's nothing a kid like you can do about us getting thrown out." Mom snaps at him.
"No one is getting thrown in the street!" My father bellows and my mother stops speaking. He hisses sharply then storms out of the parlor.

****

The house is dead silent as we all sit forlornly in the sitting room just as our father had left us hours ago when he left the house assuring us that no one will get thrown out.
By now my mother's cries has died down to an occasional sniffle. Dara is sitted on the floor in front of the sofa I'm lying on with Gideon beside her. Kola paces the room once in a while and I cannot help but release a distressed sigh.
"Ade, I'm hungry." Gideon says softly to Dara and I can't help the faint smile that curves my lips at the boy. Trust him to think of food at a time like this.
I look to my mother and think better than to ask her for food. I remember the mangoes I have stashed in my school bag and grab the bag from the floor.
"Come, I'll wash them for you." I say to him when he starts to stretch his hands for the mangoes and take his hand to lead him to the kitchen.
  I look up at the wall clock on my way out. 9:34pm. Dad left a few minutes to 6pm. Where could he be?
"Thank you. I've been hungry for hours now but didn't know how to broach the subject with Mom." He happily takes the mangoes after I rinse them under the sink. I put my hands under the stream of water when I remember that I've not washed my hands after eating that mango from earlier. The water suddenly stops and I sigh.
"I guess they have locked out water again." I mutter under my breath. I have to pull the cover off the big drum of water in the kitchen to get some water and I'm just about to put the cover back after taking out a cup of water when I hear the sudden commotion from the sitting room.
"Dad!" I hear Dara scream in fright and I drop the cover of the drum and race out.
"Egbami o! Baba Kola!" Mom yells before I make it into the parlor.
"Oh my God." My hands fly to my mouth in shock as my eyes stops on my father whose shirt is soaked in blood, his eyes swollen shut.