It was exactly on the 14th of February this year, 2024 when Uncle Davido as we fondly call him in the neighborhood had his birthday celebration and because it was Valentine's Day, he decided to share junk with the children.
I didn't know what was happening until David and Benita, the two children of the woman close to my workplace, both between the ages of 5 to 10 years, sneaked in into my shop with biscuits and bobo(a small can of soft drink ) in their hands and they were enjoying themselves. With the way they shifted to the end corner of my shop to eat those, I knew it wasn't their mom who gave them.
"David come, who gave you this?" I asked in a very low tone to avoid the mom who was at the next shop hearing me.
David's face changed as he got closer, fear was circulated on his face and I could tell that something was wrong.
"Benita, come here!" This time, out of curiosity my voice was a bit loud as I called on Benita.
"Where did you get this biscuit and bobo?" Benita is talkative so even though she wanted to snub, her scratchy mouth didn't let her, "It was Uncle Davido that gave us, he's having a birthday".
"Give you what?!!!"
That was their mom at the door. I didn't know that my call to Benita passed through the wall demarcating us and landed in her shop.
As soon as David and Benita saw their mom, fear gripped them, they dropped the biscuit and bobo on the ground and ran to the extreme corner of the building. I knew what was going to happen, so I got up to block the mom from unleashing her boiling anger.
"Kingsley leave me! These Children can never hear a word. How many times did I tell them not to collect food from strangers" The mom was struggling very hard to get off my grip on her hand to go and descend on the children.
"Please calm down. I know they violated your rule but it was a birthday and other children were given. It's not like they were called to a corner to give them poisoned food." Immediately my words landed on her ears, and she stopped struggling.
"It's not even about poison, what if the food is meant to initiate the children into witchcraft or the food is meant to collect their destiny?"
I was about to laugh at her words but a little jot of sense knocked off the intended laugh. Although she was superstitious, that's the belief we grew up with where food from strangers is soul food capable of initiating a child into witchcraft or capable of stealing the child's destiny.
I let her go and get her children, she dragged them out from the corner with a little force and David and Benita were shivering out of fear. I had to block them when they were about to leave the shop and begged the mother not to punish them which she promised that she was not going to punish them.
I let them out, and I went on to pick the biscuits and bobo they dropped on the ground to discard them and as soon as I got outside to trash them into the bin basket, I heard both David and Benita let out a loud "Mommy!" in unison. I rushed in and quickly blocked the mom who was about to punish them.
"Kingsley leave the way! If I don't correct these children, they'll still do it"
"The one you did is enough. I'm sure they've gotten their correction. Please stop"
She went on to pick up her phone and left us in the shop. I had to stay there for about 30 minutes to make sure her anger vanished before I left their shop.
Thanks for reading.
