“Children, wake up!” Her mother’s voice permeated the sleep she hadn’t realized she’d drifted in. At last count, they’d been driving for 13 hours with an hour spent at Ore eating bushmeat with boiled yam and vegetable stew. It was probably the only highlight of the most boring Saturday she’d spent since she’d started SS1 a few months earlier. Something told her that it foreshadowed the rest of the trip. She’d tried her hardest to get out of the darned visit to her village, even conjuring up an exam in the first week of the following term, but her parents didn’t budge. Her spirits lifted when she spotted her grandmother approaching the car.

“Okpo zi no?” Her grandma asked enthusiastically. Ufuoma’s father dropped the case he was carrying and curtsied to his mother. “E Mama, we’re here” he responded, hugging her.

“Omote me,” she said, approaching Ufuoma, “you’ve grown so much!” she continued in Isoko. “You are looking so beautiful these days, may glory be to God. How are you, my daughter?”

“I am fine, Mama,” she replied. Ufuoma fell into her grandmother’s arms, taking in the strong scent of urie that lingered on her. She then smiled, knowing that she was going to end the night with a hot bowl of her granny’s peppersoup.

The family was still gathered around their grandma when they heard some people come through the gate.

“Di gwo” the two boys said in unison as they approached her parents. “Hello,” they said, slightly waving to Ufuoma and her siblings.

“You remember your cousins, Norode and Zino? You met them the last time you were here.”

“Of course we do!” Ekotome replied. Ufuoma rolled her eyes. Her older brother was one of those ITKs who knew everything about everything even though she strongly suspected that he did not, in fact, remember them seeing as it has been almost six years since they’d seen them.

Zino walked over to her, relieving her of the suitcase in her hand. Ufuoma might have been a little more grateful if he hadn’t used it as an opportunity to graze her hand in a way she was sure she was supposed to be uncomfortable with. Surely, incest was frowned upon in Isokoland!

**

“I got your slippers, your dinner, you dessert and so much more,” Ufuoma sang to the mirror. “Anything you want, just let me cater to you,” she continued, singing along to the radio and pointing at her reflection. When she woke up, she’d hoped to see what Delta State television had to offer on Saturday mornings but after watching her Dad watch news for ten minutes, she’d retreated to her room.

“… Inspire me from the heart, can’t nothing tear us apart.” She was doing a slow ‘wind’ when her little sister, Roke, walked into her room and jumped on her bed.

Ufuoma ignored her and continued singing.

“Ufuoma,” her sister called to her.

She turned around but kept dancing. “What?”

“Can I sleep here tonight?”

Ufuoma’s shoulders slumped. “What?” She turned the radio off then sat next to her sister. “Why?”

Roke was playing with the bedspread. Not looking up, she replied, “I’m scared.”

Shit. “Why now? There’s nothing to be scared of.”

It wasn’t that Ufuoma couldn’t understand why she would. They shared a room in Lagos so she understood that she was probably used to having someone with her, but Ufuoma was glad for the opportunity to have a room to herself. It’s a little weird, she thought, looking around the room. The house had over six bedrooms. And those did not include the annex, which was her grandma’s house or the boy’s quarters that her cousins resided in. She’d have been considered an ‘omo olowo’ if she’d lived in a house of that magnitude in Lagos and she sometimes wondered why her father spent so much money on a house they barely stayed in, especially five years earlier, when Oyede didn’t even have electricity and they had to rely on a generator.

Ufuoma held her sister. “Don’t worry, just pray and everything will be fine.”

Roke frowned. “Please, now. I am so scared. I couldn’t even sleep last night. I swear there was something in the wardrobe. I even tried to open the window to escape but I couldn’t.”

“Why didn’t you use the door?”

“Eh hen. When the wardrobe is right next to the door? You want it to catch me?”

“Do you want to go to another room?”

She shook her head. “It will follow me there.”

“So how do you know it won’t follow you here?”

“Because you will protect me.”

Ufuoma sighed. She put her hand over her sister’s. “Okay, but if you take the whole bed you’re going back to your room.”

**

She was sitting on the steps in front of her house chatting with Norode. To her greatest surprise, unlike in Lagos, NEPA had yet to strike in the two days they’d been there. However, her father kept complaining about how the air conditioner was going to hike up the electric bills so she was sitting out to enjoy the cool breeze… not that there was much. She’d noticed that even though it was already Harmattan season, the weather didn’t get as cool as it did in Lagos, even in the mornings and evenings.

A virtual parade of visitors had been streaming in and out of their house since they arrived that she was pretty much on auto pilot. Whenever someone knocked at the gate, Norode would open it, she’d get up, give a slight curtsey and a “di gwo,” then ignore them till they came out again when she’d stand up and wave them away.

She was having another pointless conversation with her cousin when she noticed his attention divert to something behind her. She turned around to see a boy around her age walking up to them.

“Hi, is it okay if I joined you? I love to talk about politics but I’ve already heard this conversation multiple times since we got here.”

She shrugged her shoulders but didn’t move. He walked over to the other side and sat next to her cousin. She hadn’t noticed him walk into the compound so she had no idea who he was. His skin was deep brown with just a few blemishes on his right cheek. His hair was cut in the near bald look that seemed to be the in thing these days. He was about 5’10 and lean but she decided to wait till she knew what his relationship to her was before deciding on his looks.

“I’m Nefe,” he told them, nodding in a way she was sure he thought was cool.

“I’m Norode and that’s my cousin, Ufuoma.”

“Yeah, I think I’ve seen you a few times. My family comes home every Christmas,” Nefe said to him, “but I don’t think I’ve seen your cousin before. Is this your first time here?” he asked, turning to her.

She shook her head. “We came here for Christmas in ’99 but I don’t remember that much from then.”

“Okay, cool. Has your cousin shown you around?”

She laughed. “Around where? What is there to see? Market, church, huts, what else is there?”

He shook his head. “Huts? Where did you see them?”

“Shey this is the village, abi? I am sure there are some somewhere.”

“Don’t mind her. She just likes to sit at home and watch television.”

She tapped her cousin’s arm. “Norode, what’s your own? And this one that you are talking, when have you even offered to take me anywhere? Gosh, this place is so dry sha. I can’t wait till I get back to Lagos. Nefe, do you live in Lagos, too?”

“No. Ekpoma.”

She nodded knowingly. “I see. No wonder.”

“Meaning?”

“Meaning that you are probably used to this kind of thing.”

“Which kind of thing?”

She ignored her cousin as he began to laugh and continued, “You know, village life.”

“You Lagos people are all the same. Ekpoma is a city – it’s not a village.”

She giggled. “If you say so.”

He hissed and just shook his head.

The three of them sat in silence for a few moments before her cousin turned to him and said, “Can you imagine that Angola is going to the World Cup?”

Nefe hissed. “Hmmm, let’s not even talk about that. Can you imagine Togo and Ghana are going but not Nigeria…?”

Ufuoma stood up.

Both boys looked up at her. “You’re leaving?” her cousin asked.

“Before, nko? I am sure politics is more interesting than football.” She hissed. “In fact--”

“Onanefe,” a voice from behind interrupted her. “We are leaving.”

Ufuoma turned around to look at the older man waving to his son. “Di gwo,” she said, slightly curtseying.

“Omote na,” he turned to her, “yanze bo ne.”

She went to him as instructed.

“How are you enjoying your visit, so far?” he continued in Isoko.

“It’s nice. Thank you, sir.”

“Good, good, we will be coming again on Christmas Day. See you then, okay?”

“Okay, bye.”

 

**

“Ufuoma, come here!” her mother called from outside. There was quite a bit of commotion out there so she knew that they’d come back from buying the ram. Her sister had already run ahead of her and she reluctantly followed.

She stepped out of the house and followed the noise. Right next to the car were two huge basins. One was filled with huge chunks of meat while the other had a good number of dead chickens. On seeing her, her mother said, “What are you wearing? Go and change into a t-shirt, we have to clean and cut this meat.”

She groaned. “All of us? Won’t that be too many?”

“Yes, that’s why it’s just you and me.”

She groaned. “How come I am always doing all the work here? Why isn’t Ekoto going to help us?”

“Because I helped to kill the ram, burn it and everything. Please, just leave me out of this.”

“Yeah, right. I’m sure you just watched.” She folded her arms across her chest. “Mummy this is not fair. He’s going to eat the meat too, why shouldn’t he help?”

“Didn’t you already hear him say that he helped kill the ram? Now stop wasting time and just go and change your clothes – we have a lot of work to do.”

As she turned around, her brother said, “Oh, Onanefe asked about you.”

“Who?”

“The Oroka boy,” her mother replied.

“Who?” She was thoroughly confused.

“What is all this ‘who’ ‘who’ nonsense, you obviously know who it is,” he said with a smirk.

She glared at him. “Whatever, let me go and change jo.”

Oh, she thought as she walked into her room. Nefe: the cute boy who isn’t my cousin asked about me? Hmmm.

**

“Do you kids want to go to the Disco?” Ufuoma’s father asked, stepping into the house from visiting his mother.

Ufuoma and her brother burst out laughing. “Daddy, ‘Disco’ ke? This isn’t 1975.”

Her mother shook her head. “Whatever you call it, you are not going.”

“But Norode and Zino are going. So if they want to go, let them go. They cannot spend everyday just sitting in the house… at least let them go out since it’s Christmas Eve.”

“Daddy, it’s okay, I can stay home,” Ufuoma piped in. A village club? She really wasn’t in the mood to dance to Isoko music all night. Who would they be playing, Evi Edna Ogholi?

Her father shrugged his shoulders in exasperation. “Do whatever you like. I was just trying to make your visit more enjoyable for you. You keep complaining that you are bored but now you don’t want to go out. Do what you like o, but don’t let me hear you complaining again,” he warned as he walked up the stairs.

The rest of them sat and kept watching the boring documentary for a few minutes before her mother tapped her lap. “Okay, go and get dressed.”

“For?”

“For the disco, where else?”

“Mummy, can I go too?” Roke asked.

Her mother smiled. She patted the cushion next to her. “No, stay with me – we will enjoy ourselves. Ufuoma, did you hear me?”

“But Mummy, I don’t mind staying home.”

“Your father wants you to go. Ekoto, go and get dressed, okay? You people should go out – just make sure you behave yourselves.”

**

From the outside, the club didn’t look like much. In fact, it just looked like a small house with a sign that read, “Club Vaughn,” but on stepping in, she understood why her father referred to it as a ‘disco.’ The place looked like a scene from a 70’s movie. There was even a disco ball and the roof had what looked like Christmas lights. It’s not like she had any other clubbing experiences to compare it with but she was sure the clubs in Lagos were far superior.

“Breathe, please, in case you didn’t hear me,” she sang and danced along with the music. She was shocked that they were playing the latest songs. She followed her brother and cousins to a table then watched the rest of the club goers dancing. It’s not that she expected them to be wearing ‘up and down’ or wrapper but they were dressed like they watched MTV.

Twenty minutes later, she and her brother were the only ones still at their table. She was enjoying herself, dancing in her seat when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She looked up hoping it wasn’t Zino. She breathed a sigh of relief to see Nefe.

“Would you like to dance?”

She looked at her brother.

“Go. Are you just going to sit down all night?”

She rolled her eyes. She knew he was probably glad to see her go with someone he recognized because even though it hadn’t been explicitly stated, he was saddled with the responsibility of taking care of her.

She looked up and nodded at Nefe. He watched as she got up then took her hand and led her to the dance floor.

“Would you wind for me, slow wind for me?” he sang along with the song.

She shook her head. “I don’t wind. Sorry.”

“You’re a Jamaican Queen, oh yeah, I’m an American King-a,” he mouthed to the music.

She laughed, dancing as far from him as possible. “You are dreaming- I am Nigerian.”

He moved closer to her. She was still dancing unenthusiastically, just moving from foot to foot till the song changed.

“You like Eldee?” he asked, noting the change in her demeanor.

She nodded and kept dancing for about two more minutes. “So you were asking about me?”

“When?”

She crinkled her forehead. “When they were killing the ram. Or was my brother lying?”

“Oh, yeah.” He reached out to take her hand but she moved it away.

“Why?”

“I was just wondering where you were. Have you gotten to see more of Oyede?”

She shook her head.

He hissed. “You are missing out.”

“You are lying.”

“I’m not lying – there are things to see.”

“Okay, but you have to be exaggerating.”

“You’ll have to be the judge of that, I guess.”

“Okay, whatever.” She turned to look at the other dancers.

“What would you like to drink?”

She smirked. “What are they serving? Palmwine?”

He frowned. “They have minerals like Fanta, Coke, 7up…”

“Okay, I’ll have Sprite.”

**

“Please, please, Ufuoma, sit with them,” her mother said, pointing to the children’s table.

“But I am not 6 years old, now.”

“I know, sorry, sorry, please just sit with them, they are little children and they would need help so please.” Her mother turned around and left, not giving her the opportunity to further protest.

She sighed. After spending hours watching visitor upon visitor descend on her house on the pretext of greeting her grandma, she’d wondered if she’d ever get to eat. She suspected that the news of the ram had spread far and wide so everyone was stopping by to get some. She’d initially thought that a ram and fifteen chickens was a bit excessive but after seeing all those people leave with bowls of meat, she was surprised that they even had enough to eat.

Fifteen minutes earlier, when her dad had asked that the gate be locked, she’d been excited to finally get her meal but now that she realized she was going to spend the next hour playing ‘aunty’ she wished she could just go to her room and sleep.

“Roke,” a voice from the teen table called. She turned around to see Nefe calling her sister. “Roke, do you want to exchange seats with me?”

Roke shook her head vehemently.

“Okay, Pepe, would you like to exchange with me?” he asked his little sister.

“Are you mad?” Ufuoma asked him.

“No.”

“Oh, so you are just trying to get me into trouble?”

“What are you talking about? I just want to help you. I had your job two years ago – these kids can be terrible.”

“Okay, thank you, but I didn’t ask for your help.”

“Sorry for trying.” He didn’t bother to hide his irritation.

“Okay, okay, thank you,” she said rushing him off and hoping her parents didn’t see them talking.

 

**

Her cousin came to the doorway, “Are you ready?”

Ufuoma and her brother got on their feet. “Mummy and Daddy, we are leaving now.”

“Okay. Wa yan, wa yanze,” her father told them.

“Thank you,” they replied in unison.

“Take care of yourselves,” their mother said.

“Okay.”

“Ufuoma, don’t be following boys, okay?”

“Huh?”

“Don’t worry, just go. But make sure you behave yourself, okay? Always think of your family name.”

Just as they were about to step out of the house, her mother called her.

“Yes Mummy.”

“Wait. Roke, go and wear your shoes.”
Her face fell. “Mummy, no one her age is going to be there.”

“And so? Does that mean she shouldn’t get to see these special places you people are going to see today? Take her with you, and I am putting her under your care, not your brother o, you. Okay?”

**

On seeing her step out of the gate with her little sister, Nefe had insisted that they go back for his sister. The gang of them, including two female cousins and a relative of Nefe’s, walked around the town looking at supposedly interesting landmarks like the primary school and ‘Mama Kome’s hair salon.’

Despite the lack of earth shattering discoveries, Ufuoma was having a good time. She enjoyed the serenity of their environment, the smell of the fresh grass, walking around and kicking pebbles without anyone bothering them. It felt nice to watch people ride on bikes, and even though the occasional car passed them, it still felt peaceful and quiet. Everyone they passed greeted them and many even asked after their parents.

“You know something? Why do I feel like those girls were talking about me?” she asked just after two girls overtook them.

“What do you mean?” Nefe asked. He’d pretty much been by her side the entire time.

“They kept going on and on talking about ‘The Oyibo girl.’ I think they thought I didn’t understand them. I swear they said something about my dress.”

“What?” Nefe asked.

“I don’t know, it was like conc. Isoko.”

They all laughed. “So I guess that means you really didn’t understand them.”

“Shut up. You think I know the translation of ‘onomatopoeia’ in Isoko? I understand the basic words needed to communicate, thank you very much.”

He gently took her hand. “I know you do.”

He was simply holding her hand; it wasn’t anything particularly sleazy or even monumental, but she was sure it weighed a ton because all she could think and feel at that moment was that he was holding her hand. She quickly disentangled her fingers from his.

She smiled, hoping that she was acting natural. “What are those?” she asked, pointing at some pipes and chains a few meters from the side of the road.

“Oh, didn’t you know? That’s a historical site,” Nefe responded with all seriousness.

“That?” she looked at the site again. It really was a bunch of rusty piped and chains haphazardly thrown on some unkempt grass. The place looked abandoned.

“Yes. That. It was very important during the Slave Trade.”

“Slave Trade? Okay now I know you are lying.”

“Me, lying?” He looked hurt. “There’s actually a very famous book about it, what’s it called again? Chains on your Land. You should ask your parents when you get home.”

Still disbelieving him, she looked at the rest of the group and noticed that all but her brother were trying their hardest to keep from laughing. She hissed and rolled her eyes. “Okay, it’s not by force to tell me what that is. Roke, are you ready to go home?”

“Ah ah, where are you going? Okay, okay, okay sorry, I was just playing,” Nefe said, smiling widely and not looking the least bit sorry.

She shook her head. Even though it had only been a few days, she’d spent enough time with him to know that he shouldn’t be taken seriously. And sometimes, when he smiled like that she couldn’t stay angry at him.

“Ufuoma, they’d planned to drill oil there but in the end they didn’t – that’s what all those things are,” her cousin Ema said.

“Oh, I see. Now, that makes sense.”

“Thank God they didn’t,” Ema continued, “imagine not being to walk past here because of all the oil spills. Na God do am, sha.”

**

“Roke, you’ve got a visitor,” Norode said as he let Pepe and her brother into the living room where everyone but Ekoto was seated and watching television.

Roke ran up to her friend. “Mummy can I go upstairs with her? I want to show her something.”

“Yes. You can stay there and play.”

“Di gwo,” she replied, thanking her. Pepe followed her friend up the stairs leaving her brother standing in the doorway.

“Onanefe, why don’t you come in and sit down? Would you like anything to drink?” Ufuoma’s father asked him.

He shook his head. “No thank you, sir.”

“Okay. Do you want to stay and wait for your sister? If not, Ekoto can drop her off, there’s no problem.”

“I prefer to wait. Thank you, sir.”

Throughout the conversation, Ufuoma tried her best to be nonchalant and act like it was just anyone sitting on the couch across hers.

“Ufuoma, go and get him something to drink,” her fathered ordered. “Is Maltina fine?” he asked Nefe.

“I don’t need anything, Sir.”

“It’s alright. Ufuoma, go and get the Maltina and bring one for me too.”

“Mummy do you want anything?”

Her mother didn’t.

Ufuoma went to the kitchen and brought the drinks. She served Nefe first, and when she reached to uncap his bottle, he lightly touched her hand and said, “Don’t worry, I can open it myself.”

“It’s okay,” she replied curtly, wishing he didn’t speak to her at all. There was no way her mother wasn’t watching her and she really didn’t need any lectures after he left.

“How are you?” he asked, under his breath.

“I am fine, thank you,” she replied then walked away to serve her Dad.

After she’d returned the trays, instead of returning to the living room, she went to her bedroom to play with the two little girls.

**

It was New Year’s Eve and once again they were allowed out. Unlike the previous time, Ufuoma had paid extra attention to her appearance and the minute she walked into the club she started looking for Nefe. It didn’t take her long to find him. He was next to the bar, talking to her cousin, Ema.

She told her brother she was going to get herself a drink then walked up to him.

“Hi Nefe.”

He glanced at her then pretended not to see her.

Ema laughed and shook her head.

“What’s your problem?” Ufuoma asked him.

“Nothing.”

“Okay, I was just wondering why you didn’t come in yesterday when you dropped your sister off.”

He shrugged. “I had things to do.”

“I see,” Ufuoma replied as she started to turn around. If he didn’t want to talk to her, it wasn’t by force. She’d never noticed it, but maybe he liked Ema and she was pouring sand in his garri.

“It’s not like you wouldn’t have ignored me.”

She spun back around. “Sorry?”

He leaned toward her. “I said, you would just have ignored me like last time. I mean, I came to visit you and you just left.”

“You came to visit me? Your sister came to play with my sister.”

“Whose idea do you think that was? But you barely spoke to me and before I knew it, you had disappeared.”

“You know what?” Ema interrupted, “Let me go and get another drink.”

“Do you have money?” he asked her.

She nodded.

He waited for her to leave then moved closer to Ufuoma so he was directly in front of her. “As I said, what was the point?”

“But what did you want me to do? My parents were there.”

“So?”

“So?” she asked incredulously. “Maybe it’s because you are a guy, or maybe it’s different in Ekpoma,” she ignored his groan, “but I could get in trouble for that. It’s not like I am allowed to have male friends.”

“Your parents told you that?”

“No. But it’s understood.”

“I see.” He reached for her hand. “But I am not going to apologize for coming to visit you.”

She didn’t pull his hand off. “Did I ask you to? But I am not going to apologize for not sitting and chatting with you.”

He nodded. “Okay.”

“So do you want to dance? They are playing Usher.”

He shook his head. “No. Would you like to sit down? I can get you a glass of palmwine,” he teased.

She laughed. “Sprite would be fine.”

**

“Are you going to tell me where we are going?” Ufuoma asked Ema. She only had a few days left in Oyede and her cousin insisted there was something she wanted to show her.

“Stop bugging me, you will see it when we get there – and there it is,” she finished with flair, pointing at Nefe leaning against a wall.

He straightened up when he saw them. “I thought I was going to be waiting here forever.”

“Shut up. Don’t forget that I am doing you a favor, o. I am coming back in exactly three hours and if you are not here, I am leaving.”

“”Leaving?” “Two hours?” What’s going on here?” Ufuoma asked them.

“Why don’t you ask him?” Ema waved at them then walked off.

With her arms folded Ufuoma regarded him suspiciously. “What’s this about?”

He hid a smile. “You’ll see, just follow me.”

“How far is this place?” she asked apprehensively. “Because if someone sees us, I am dead.”

“Don’t worry, no one will see us,” he replied, turning onto a bush path. “Just follow me.”

Normally, wild horses wouldn’t drag her through a bush path enclosed by thick, tall grass that looked like it was the breeding ground for snakes and possibly crocodiles. In fact, she wasn’t that okay with it, but decided to put up a brave front and follow him. Besides, when next would she get a chance to do this?

After about ten minutes, he said, “Here we are.” He stepped aside for her to see.

She looked at the water gently flowing ahead. “We have a lagoon here?”

“Actually, it’s a stream.”

“Okay, we have a stream here?”

He nodded. “This is Delta state.”

She looked around. “Wow,” was all she could say. The stream itself was rather narrow, with slightly murky greenish water flowing through it. Right next to it were rocks of varying shapes, sizes and colors the seemed to change as she moved. The vegetation looked rather dense but it was obvious that it was a place that people came to often because there were bare areas that looked like a result of the constant trampling of feet. About five feet from where she stood were a few swings made of rope and old tires. She sat on one and started to swing.

“This is nice,” she commented.

He laughed. “Look at how you are smiling. I told you there were things around here.”

She nodded. “You did exaggerate though.”

“Well, that was for you to judge, right?” He sat on the swing next to hers. “So do you have a boyfriend?”

She stopped mid swing, except she was already half way in the air, so the tire swung back forcefully. She almost fell off but she managed to maintain her balance. “What did you say?”

“Do you have a boyfriend?” He was looking directly at her.

She averted her gaze. “How does that concern you?”

He shrugged. “Forget it.”

They sat in silence for a few seconds but it felt like hours. She really didn’t know what to say to that question, and what answering it would mean. Would he ask another question after that? What would she say to that? She wasn’t even sure she knew how to be a girlfriend. “So what university are you hoping to get into?”

“I don’t know; wherever I get in.”

She smiled. “You could always try Lag.”

“I really don’t know. My parents have been talking about The University of Ghana.”

She raised her right eyebrow. “Ghana, ke?”

“Yeah, you know how these universities are. By the time they mark the papers, a year has gone. Then when you enter the university you are not sure how long it will take you to finish a four year course.”

She could understand that. “So why Ghana?”

“My aunty –my mother’s sister— is married to a Ghanaian. So I could stay with them.”

“Na wa o.” She got off the swing and walked to the water.

“What are you doing?” he asked, slowly getting off the swing.

“I am thirsty, so what do you think?” she said, cupping her hands and putting them into the water.

He immediately ran to her and put his hands on hers. “The water is not clean, you can’t drink it!”

He looked so worried that she couldn’t help but burst into a fit of hysterics.

Frowning, he asked her what was funny.

“You.” By that point she was sitting on some gravel, her hands behind her, supporting her weight. With her head hung back, she kept on laughing.

He shook his head and sat next to her. “I still don’t know what’s funny.”

“You’re so gullible. You think I am stupid enough to drink this water?”

“You never know about these things.”

Still laughing, she took her slippers off and let the cool water roll over her feet. “This feels nice, try it.”

That led to a foot fight in the water and before long, they were splashing water at one another.

Suddenly, he stopped and just held on to her hand. Then he moved closer and closer and from reading a few Mills and Boon novels, she knew what was coming next. She tried her best not to panic but she didn’t think she was succeeding. A kiss! Her first real kiss! Not the rubbish she did with Ayo Adekunle in Primary 6. What was she to do with her lips? Should she throw her hands over his neck? Would her eyes automatically shut? Did she even want to be kissed in the first place? She liked him so that meant it was okay, right?

She braced herself and waited for it to happen.

“Are you okay?” He asked from less than six inches away.

She nodded. Please just kiss me and have this over with, she silently begged.

And he did. It was tender and short. It was simply lip on lip. He parted his lips and lightly kissed hers a few times. He didn’t open his mouth and stick his tongue in hers. She’d seen enough movies to know she’d have to deal with that at some point but from the looks of things, not on that day and for that, she was grateful.

When he stepped back, she smiled. It hadn’t been too bad, in fact, she kind of liked it. She smiled even wider. “So you are going to Ghana, huh?” she said as she walked back to her swing.

He laughed. “Nothing has been decided.” He sat in his swing.

She held on to the handles then used her legs to get the swing going. “So after we leave on Saturday I won’t hear from you again?”

He’d begun swinging too. “Would you like to hear from me?”

She shrugged and swung higher.

“I can always write you,” he said.

“Write me a letter? Not those ones you guys get from books, I hope.”

He looked a little confused. “Books?”

“Yes, little tiny pamphlet-like books, I’ve even seen one sef. It was as small as those Enid Blyton Books.”

He shook his head. “I don’t know what you are talking about.”

“You see, I went to Lesson right before JSS2 and for one whole week, I got a letter everyday from a secret admirer and it was obvious that he didn’t come up with stuff like that on his own.”

“Like, what?”

“Like, “just as the morning dew feeds flowers, so does every look from you feed my soul.”

He burst out laughing. “Wow. So you like that sort of thing?”

“NO! “Hello?” “How are you?” is what I like. “Your blooming look lingers in the core of my heart,” is what I don’t like.

He was still laughing. “For someone who hates those lines, you sure know quite a few of them. I think you secretly like them.”

She bent down and stoned him with a pebble.

He ducked. Still laughing, he said, “Let’s start going before Ema leaves.”

She looked at her watch. She hadn’t realized so much time had passed. As they got back on the bush path, she said, “But I will tell you something, though.”

“What?”

“As much as I want to forget those letters, I just can’t.”

He laughed again. “I can imagine.”

**

Ufuoma was bringing her suitcase out when Nefe and his sister walked into the compound.

After greeting everyone, he said, “Pepe wanted to say goodbye to her friend.” He was looking at her.

Ufuoma looked away and saw her mother watching them.

“So early in the morning?” her grandma asked him.

“E Mama, she knew they were leaving early.”

Ufuoma picked up her suitcase and gave it to her father to stuff into the boot.

As she slipped into the backseat of the car, Pepe came to her. She pulled a letter from her pocket and whispered. “This is for you.”

Ufuoma practically snatched it from her. “Thank you.” She quickly sat on it but when she looked up, she could see that everyone had seen the exchange. Shortly after Nefe and his sister left, they said their goodbyes to her grandma and cousins then they were on their long journey to Lagos.

About four hours later, when Ufuoma was sure that everyone but her father was sleeping, she reached for the letter and pulled it out. It read:

Dear Ufuoma,

So I started off trying to come up with one of those letters you love, talking about your brown eyes and how they can cure cancer. I thought it would be funny and ‘unforgettable’ but I couldn’t write it. I even searched through my father’s library for any books that might inspire me or possibly the one your secret admirer stole all his letters from, but I couldn’t find anything.

But I shouldn’t have even wasted my time, abi? You said you like letters that just say, “How are you, I hope all is well,” abi? So, Ufuoma, how are you? I hope all is well. Today was the first time that I really hoped I could spend an extra week in Oyede till I remembered that I wasn’t the one leaving earlier so I guess it wouldn’t have made a difference.

I hope you get to Lagos safely. And you see, even if you are in Lagos and I am in Ekpoma we can still keep in touch. I’ll email you soon. By the way, Pepe is already missing Roke.

Yours,

Nefe.

Ufuoma folded the letter and smiled. She wasn’t sure what it all meant. Did it mean she now had a boyfriend? And how could she have a boyfriend she wasn’t sure she’d ever meet again? She put the letter in her handbag and laid back in the chair in preparation to sleep.

“So Ufuo, did you have a good holiday?” her father asked.

She smiled at his reflection in the rearview mirror. It certainly wasn’t a Christmas she would have had in Lagos. “Yes, Daddy. I definitely did.”

Email Enagwolo at enagwolo@gmail.com