Living In The Ghetto - Episode 20

 

Simi walked toward Chimaobim and grabbed his shirt. Chimaobim hit her hand and it fell off from the grip. She staggered back and weakly gasped for air. The atmosphere smelt lively and the environment roared like a wounded lion. Everybody taunted Simi. They all booed her. She couldn't fight again as she felt her energy had been zapped away.

"Ah!" A little girl said staring at Simi's broken lips as blood trickled down slowly like a slow flowing river.

Simi took a glance at little girl face written with so much disgust, then used her palm to touch her lips. Her palm was soaked with blood and her lips hurt badly . Chimaobim stared at her while drops of tears trickled down from her eyes down her cheeks. He shook his head and walked away with his keg of water after he had placed it on his head. 

Amaka filled her keg with water, and a girl helped her to place it on her head. She followed Simi closely while they walked home. 

***
Chimaobim felt fufilled with himself as he walked home. Getting to the house, he saw his father sitting outside as usual with a neighbor. "Weldone," his father said. 

The neighbor waved at him. He tried to nod, but he was limited by a keg on his head and he only tried to lighten his face a bit to emit a smile

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. Walking into the passageway, then to the backyard where they all have their containers of water arranged accordingly. Dropping the keg, he made to walk back to the room and Mama Hassan walked close. She was at the tap when Chimaobim fought with Tobi. Her gaze fixed at Chimaobim and he pulled his face immediately. "You do well. You deal with am well well," Mama Hassan said.

Her hands moved in the air as she gestured. Mama Hassan was a new tenant that moved into Kevwe's apartment some months after she packed out. She is married with two kids.  Chimaobim glanced at her, smiled and walked away.

Iyawo walked out from the general kitchen. The kitchen was shared by everybody in the house. It was constructed with no door and window. The zinc had been dealt by the smoke and it had turned dark. The walls weren't exempted. Most tenants who don't want to cook in their rooms, come out to cook there sometimes. The kitchen was more of pen for chickens, lizards and other domesticated animals most times.

"Hey, Iya Hassan," she said smiling.

"Hey, Mama Emma," Iya Hassan replied. 

Iyawo had given birth to only a child, Emma. People who knew her before she delivered still called her Iyawo and only few called Mama Emma.

"I see you dey hail Chimaobim," she said trying to adjust her wrapper. The wrapper almost fell off from her waist.

She placed her palm on her face and cleaned off the drop of sweats that accumulated all over it. Dropping the pistol, she stood up and shifted her mortar.

"Oh. Chimaobim deal with that useless gir--" Mama Hassan said and kept pointing.

"Which girl?" Iyawo said, and tightened her wrapper again. 

She quickly adjusted all the things she was holding and walked out of the kitchen as she used her hand to cover the evening sun that blurred her view. "You mean Simi?"

"Yes. You get am. That troublemaker girl," she replied.

"She be trouble maker? Really? I no know o. She been dey nice to me?" Iyawo said.

Mama Hassan gestured. " Ah! I dey happy because she meet who pass am today. That girl don look for my trouble one day..." Mama Hassan said.

Mama Hassan was so much happy as she said it. She placed her hand on her chest and looked up, swinging her legs everywhere. Iyawo adjusted a bit and moved toward Mama Hassan.

Read " The Dormitory (A Sequel) " by the same author ( Obinna Tony )

. "So wetin happen today? Abeg calm down and explain," Iyawo said.

"Chimaobim beat am pa. She come dey bleed blood comot from her lips."

Iyawo shook her head. "Oh," she blurted and walked back to the kitchen. 

She looked back at Mama Hassan and shook her head. Mama Hassan continued with what she was doing and started singing. Iyawo continued pounding her yam. She would pound and her eyes would move toward Mama Hassan. After Mama Hassan was done and made to walk away from the backyard, she called and waved at her.

"Make una Sha be careful. Simi dey dangerous," Iyawo said and spat. 

Mama Hassan took a glance at her, removed her eyes and repeated it twice, then gestured her hand up in the air and made a sound with her tongue. "Only God sabi wetin she get with Simi. Well, I dey see dem together sometime. Na she sabi Sha," she thought and tapped her laps as she walked away.