was still cold, leaves were seen dripping of the
early morning dew…
Kunle was taking hot pap and bean cakes, it
was another week on a site where they were
building a storey building belonging to one of
the princess living overseas, either in london,
japan or wherever only
God knows.
.
.
Kunle was a labourer, he usually went to
building sites where he was most useful on
daily basis, he mixed cement, arrange blocks
and plastered building blocks for different
parts of the house.
At times too, he helped the carpenters in
making roofs and ceilings on almost finished
structures.
Even though there were so many house being
put up.
Daily paid labourers and workmen like kunle
are not well paid.
Can you imagine a grown up family man
being paid two hundred naira at the end of a
full day’s work.
All his colleagues at work were buying and
eating bread and beans, a good food routine
for workmen but kunle couldn’t afford to buy
that….
.
.
Things were not good, in fact he felt life has
not been good to him.
As he sa on a cement block eating his
remaining bean cake, he tried to recall
everything about his life…
It had been very hectic and full of struggles…
.
.
.
Kunle was just six years old when he lost his
father and mother and he became an orphan…
.
They were living in a hut built by his father
who was a small scale farmer.
He would buy cassava, yams and other farm
products, take them to ibadan and lagos to
sell, come back after a week to his wife and
two kids.
.
Kunle was the first born and his father had
just enrolled him in the only school he found
in the remote village and so he was very
happy while the mother was caring for the
baby girl,
Yemisi, one year old.
There was a day kunle’s father went on a
journey which he usually embark on with a
lorry of yam and never came back.
Rumour had it that the lorry had an accident
with another one on a hill where both lorries
rolled into a valley killing everyone but then
nobody survived and nobody saw the
wreckage to confirm the story.
.
Months after people in the village still did not
know how to greet or even confront kunle’s
mother who kept hoping and praying that her
husband would walk in one day as usual but
nothing like that happened.
Kunle’s mother did not have any work so, with
time all the money and food in the house was
finished and she had to care for two kids.
After a while, she started selling vegetables,
pepper and tomatoes.
Things were never the same again, like stew
with no salt, her life had no direction, they live
in abject poverty.
Things became worst from worse when a
snake bit yemisi while her mother left her at
home.
Her mother came back from the market
rushing the child to the hospital at night was
too late she died before the next day.
Her life was now totally chattered.
She became depressed and developed high
blood pressure, she could not go to the market
daily and so could not afford to eat a square
three meals a day and live well.
Exactly a year after his father’s death, kunle’s
mother also gave up the ghost and was buried
without ceremony.
Kunle was moved to uncle bayo’s place at the
other bend of the town.
.
Little did he know that the worst awaits him….
To Be Continue…..
