AFEYINTOHS

AFEYINTOHS 

Echoes!
Blood on our fingers, mucus running down our noses.
Snorts of echoing words freezing and hung in the moon lit sky.
We don't know where we are running to.
We have no idea where we are heading to this stormy night.
All we know is that our house is on fire and our father held the light stick.

Papa was a drunkard, the bottle was his best friend.
He had no appetite for Amala,Okro and bush meat.
He had no lust towards Akara olororo with steaming Ogi garnished with milk.
No our papa was not a food junkie!
His addict was captain Jack and schnapps from iya Jelili's shop. 
Cold nights when every other family members gathered to share the warmth of blood ties.
Our Baami chose the comfort of his beers and spirit.

Our Mama was the one who carried the brunt of the rewards alcohol gifted to our father when he was intoxicated and in the realm of non coherence.
Dislocated jaws, broken limbs, scaled skin .
Still she smiled when he called her Iyawo mi when the reverend father blessed us in church after Baami donated to the church building project.
This hate -love relationship is what Teni and I had to grow up with.
And Maami cried herself to bed each night while her golden jewelries and London's perfumes consoled her.

The dinning table was not the only where Baami was always missing from.
He had no business with our health or safety.
We after all were not the heirs to uphold his family legacy.
We were not the hot blooded good enough to carry his strong heart and dogdness for the construction business.
We were the afeyintoh,the elegun meje ones.
The ones that would be sold away for hefty price.
I was settled with this .
I didn't have a say but the tricky serpent had other plans with Teniola.




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