'KUJUFURA'.

"Kini kini Usman Usmanka".

"Nabande osun lamibo".

The mystery behind the tongue.

Part One.

If kuju had ran faster, if she only she was 10 times smarter today, if only she had prayed for a favourable day perhaps, just perhaps. Kuju Inoso was a professional pickpocket and over the years she has taught so many street children the act of pickpocketing that it became the only means of surviving on the streets. She had this special trick she uses-her confusing beauty- kuju was too beautiful to be a human and some had gossiped that she was from the marine world and some others had concluded it was God's gift. She would normally wake up very early in the morning, wash her face and her mouth and dash out to the market. She would meet a good looking customer mostly males and she would start a very lively conversation, smiling at intervals and touching inappropriate places, she would make the customer drunk with both her beauty and the conversation, one would wonder what this conversation was all about. She would make it look like she was friends with the person after which she would whisper "kini kini Usman Usmanka" and before you say jack Robinson she would slip her hands into the person's pocket and take whatever she sees there. It was hers. She wouldn't run, she wouldn't panic. kuju would just walk away silently leaving the customer confused. It was her jazz!. Kini kini Usman Usmanka had become the popular word on children's lips, every child at every corner was muttering it. The town of okunri had found their new jazz. 18year old Kuju sat on the floor of an uncompleted building as she calculated her proceeds for the day. "Five thousand naira". She said laughing revealing her open teeth. She could buy herself some akara and agege bread tommorow morning at Iya Remiti's place. Iya Remiti was the popular woman who sold the best bean cake in Okunri. She had two naughty children who always had catarrh dripping from their nostrils, they were so truant and hated seating in the classrooms. There were the famous "Okunri chipmunks". Kuju yawned lightly as she stretched her legs laying down on the bare cemented floor as she thought of what life held for her. Her parents were dead, her siblings were dead and she was left alone in the world to struggle and fight for herself. Kuju didn't have any idea what life held for her and she wasn't even hopeful, she wasn't like most poor people who looked forward to the supposed surprises of tommorow. Everything about kuju was in the now, she never cared about the future, she didn't believe in the future, all she knew was today and nothing more than today. Was it the story of the light at the end of the tunnel? Kuju would not believe any of that. That was how lackadaisical she was about the future. According to kujufura, the word future is applicable to only people who were lazy. Sleep soon came knocking after which she dozed off. The light rays of the morning sun shone on kuju's face as she yawned, stretched her body and stood up. "No food for a lazy man". She grabbed her torn bag that contained few clothes and some money and walked to a nearby tap to wash her face and mouth after which she set out to the market. She ignored the urge to stop at Iya remiti's place for hot bean cakes and agege bread. She made up her mind that she wasn't going to talk to any customers today, she had bigger plans and her net was already flung into the sea ready for a big catch. She walked to a provision shop at the beginning of the market, an old woman was sitted at the front looking tired and unprepared for the days business. This old woman had competitors left and right, they were all selling the same thing; That was the market for you and one couldn't blame her for wearing such forlorn look on her face. She must be tired of experiencing the same thing day in day out. "Good morning Usanu kene". Kuju greeted genuflecting. Usanu meant wise old woman and this was used to show respect to elderly women. The old woman smiled, her face radiating with happiness. "Odidi, odidi okpoko!". Which means beautiful woman. The old woman hailed smiling revealing her brown ugly teeth. "How you dey?". "Iye o". Kuju said speaking in the Okunri dialect knowing fully well how much old women loved seeing young girls speaking the dialect fluently. "I say make I come help you sell market today as I no get wetin to do". "Guna Guna o! Thanks Thank you o". The old woman smiled. "I go get plenty customer today oo as you fine like this". Soon, kuju begun sales. So many customers trooped into the shop to get different things, some asked for kuju's phone number, others asked if she was married, some even went on to ask if she is from the water. Those questions weren't any of kuju's business. All kuju wanted was for the day to be over already. So many big cars stopped at the front of the old woman's shop buying so many cans of milk and cerelac. Some even winked at Kuju while their wives were seated at the front of Prado Jeeps and some even dashed her money and bought her snacks.

Towards evening, kuju stuffed all the money made both the ones they dashed her and the ones from the sales into a mini Ghana must go bag, chanted " kini Usman Usmanka" grabbed her bag, the Ghana must go and walked out of the shop.

"Guna o! My pikin". The old woman smiled lightly, waving as kuju left the shop. She whispered loudly to herself on how her business was going down because of the competition and this made her co-sellers so confused. They had seen big men and women trooping in and out of her shop today and they expected her to be grateful, thanking "Yahweh" for a good day. Unfortunately the old woman was unaware of what kuju had done. Kuju heaved a sigh of relief as she walked to the uncompleted building that housed her when one little boy stood in front of her stopping her from moving further. "Fine Sisi how you dey? You fine o". Kuju didn't know if she should laugh or shout. The boy was so small and should probably be nine or ten years old. He was well dressed and looked healthy but how dare he stop her. Okunri indeed had so many chipmunks. She hissed loudly, pushed him aside as she continued walking. "I fit take care of you o, you go fine pass like this". The boy shouted at kuju's retreating figure. As kuju was about to enter the street leading to the uncompleted building, she heard sniffing and she immediately turned to see a boy of about eleven years old looking tattered and unkept. He was crying and catarrh rolled down his nostrils. The nonchalant kuju won't stop to ask what happened, she won't even spare a glance but today was different. She walked over to the boy and stopped right in front of him touching his shoulder. " Why are you crying and why are there blood stains on your shirt and hands?". She said raising her voice slightly. She didn't like being too soft on little children, her mother had taught her to be hard. "Pull their ears when they are stubborn, force the truth out of their mouths with a hot stinging slap, leave thick marks of koboko on their skin and scold them for crying too hard, why should children cry? The world itself it's hard and they should be hard also. Don't pamper a child, Inuri? You hear?". Kuju's mother had once told them. The little boy stared at Kuju with a mixed expression of both fear and comfort. "I said why are you crying?". Kuju said increasing the tempo of her voice, she was getting annoyed. The little boy just stared at her and shook his head. "Where's your mother?". He said nothing. "Where's your father?" "Where are your family members?" "Why are you standing here crying?". The little boy just kept staring at her lips as she spoke. "Are you deaf and dumb?". Kuju shouted this time around. "Speak up now before I beat you". The little boy stared at her, his hands trembling. Kuju was becoming frustrated with the whole situation and for some reason she couldn't will her legs to move and leave the boy there. "Let's go". She said dragging his hands as she pulled him with her to the uncompleted building. So many thoughts crossed her mind; she thought of what she was going to do with the boy, she was scared of being caught with him, she wondered where she was going to keep him while she goes about the days job, she thought about how he was going to feed. "Sit!". She ordered the little boy who obeyed instantly, he sat on the cemented floor looking from corner to corner. Kuju also sat on the floor heaving, she didn't know if she was tired or not but today was just different. She opened the Ghana must go bag and before she knew it a criminal smile crept onto her face. A lot of money. "One, two, three, four...." She counted until she got to 200 after which she wiped the sweat off her forehead. "200,000". She screamed. Most People would think of enrolling in a cheap lesson class down the road, or save the money to rent an apartment, open a shop or do something very useful but that wasn't kuju's business. She never cared about tommorow. She pulled four rubber bands from her unkept shuku hairstyle and tied the money in bundles; fifty, fifty, fifty, fifty!. Kuju raised her head up only to see the little boy staring at her. "What? Are you hungry?". She asked and he just nodded. "Sit here and be silent, I am coming and if I look for anything I would beat you blue black and I am sure you know what that means and if you take anything and run I would look for you and beat you." She stood up and left the uncompleted building with a little money in her hands. Kuju walked to a nearby shop and bought 5 sachets of pure water, two cellophane of grounded sugar, two cellophane of groundnut, two sachets of milk, and two cups of white garri. She quickly paid and walked back to the uncompleted building and on entering she met the little boy in the position she had left him. Good! .Kuju sat down as she turned the garri into a small ceramic bowl, poured the sugar, the milk and the groundnut and added water as she stired with a plastic spoon. She handed the boy another plastic spoon and all he did was stare at her. "Come closer". Kuju said and he shifted closer to the plate. "Eat!" And he began eating. They ate as a thick silence hung in the air, it was a weird feeling for kuju to have a companion. She was used to being alone, managing her time and space but now she wasn't going to be doing that. "What's your name?". She asked as she dropped her spoon leaving the rest for the little boy to finish. His mouth was filled with garri and some were dripping down the sides of his mouth. He looked hungry and one could tell he hadn't eaten in days. If that garri was going to sustain him no one knows. "Danku!". He said after minutes of silence. Kuju nodded. Danku meant "light". Everywhere began to get dark and kuju had to turn her solar lamp on. Spread her wrapper on the floor as she lay down. "Come and lie". Kuju said to danku as she tapped the little space beside her. She thought of her family for the first time in years, it seemed like Danku had brought back so many memories, memories that had been buried in the deepest part of the earth. She thought about kirinu, her younger sister. Kirinu was the baby of the house, so cute and adorable and was always so mischievous and inquisitive. "Kuju? Can I have a boyfriend?". Kirinu had said one day. She was just 12 years old then and this made kuju shocked as to what could have made her ask such questions. Kuju stared at her younger Sister in horror. "As small as you are, you already know the word boyfriend eh?". Kuju said raising her voice after moments of silence. Kirinu remained silent feeling remorseful for knowing the word boyfriend. "Boyfriends are bad people, they will use you and throw you away like an old rag. They will make a mess out of your life and rubbish you. I didn't say you can't have a boyfriend but be careful". Kuju said holding her ears. "But my best friend has a boyfriend and he is not bad...he buys chocolate for her". Kirinu said. "I will buy chocolate for you and your best friend isn't a good friend. She didn't tell you that boyfriends are bad people". Kuju paused. "You are not up to the age yet, boyfriends are good for people who are up to the age". "But I and Arja my best friend are the same age and her boyfriend is good for her, I thought you said boyfriends are bad people. When is the right age to have a boyfriend?". "Ohhhh Kirinu leave me alone". Kuju complained. "Oya go inside zafu(fast)". Kuju sighed within her, she didn't fancy all those sex education and boy talk and kirinu pestering her about it was really frustrating. Kuju missed her younger brother Bobo, she missed her parents, she missed the times when they would all sit down on the bare sand in the evenings and moji(daddy) will tell them stories. Kuju's Moji was so imaginative and creative and he would normally cook up stories with great moral lessons each night. Kuju and her siblings always looked forward to Moji's stories; always so crispy and spicy that you would have to lick your fingers clean and smack your tongue in satisfaction. But there was none of that for her anymore, it was just Kujufura Inoso and the world alone. Was it the time kirinu and Bobo struggled for a piece of fish every night and kuju would have to separate them promising kirinu a stick of Ok lollipop, her favourite.she had no one to promise lollipops anymore, she had no fights to separate. "I want to wee, I want to wee". Danku tapped kuju lightly jolting her out of her reverie as she stood up. "Let's go". She said grabbing her solar lamp, taking his palms in hers as they walked outside. She watched him urinate at the corner and when he was done, they walked back to the uncompleted building and took their positions on the wrapper. Kuju stared at the sky from where she lay, the moon rendering light to her face. She didn't have all she wanted but she was at least peaceful, even if she takes what doesn't belong to her. Kuju woke up early the next morning to find Danku standing by the window crying, she sighed within her. For some strange reasons kuju didn't like seeing children cry because it made her very angry. Kuju's definition of children who cry was petty and blind. Can't they see the world is too wicked, too cruel for one to be weak? Can't they see that life is too hard to be soft? Why cry?. "Why are you crying?". Kuju asked angrily. He had just spoilt her mood that morning but no matter what happened she was sure going about her business for today. Danku remained silent as he stared at the ground. Kuju fought the urge to hit him hard on his back, hard like life had hit her. She rose to her feet folded the wrapper and grabbed her bag alongside some money. "Come with me". She said as Danku followed. They got to the tap taking turns to wash their face and mouth. Kuju took Danku back to the uncompleted building and ordered him to sit. "Sit and I will tell you a story". Danku sat on the floor quickly after which kuju sat opposite him "Once upon a time..." Kuju said. "Time! Time". Danku answered fighting the urge to smile. He loved stories.

"On a very fateful day, a bright morning. The lion, the hyena, Mr tortoise, the goat, the fox and others set out on a journey to find out why there was famine in their land and they were instructed by the lion to eat and drink to their fill a day before embarking on the journey as no food or water was going to be taken along. The warning not to carry food and water was resounded by the lion as this was going to alter the prayers being made to their gods .But the cunny tortoise ordered his wife to prepare something for him that he was going to be taking along and his wife refused repeating the order of the lion to her husband but the tortoise insisted after hauling abuses on her, calling her a stupid wife that neglects her duties. And she prepared a pot of hot porridge and cow head, packed it in a plastic plate and put in in a plastic bag with a bottle of water. She handed it over to her husband who smiled greedily and showered praises on her. The hyena, the goat and the rest of the crew members met under a big mango tree waiting for the tortoise to arrive so that they can all get going but the tortoise was no where to be found. Mr tortoise had sneaked into the bus which was parked at the village square beside an Iroko tree and dropped the food under the seat close to the window after which he went to the meet the crew at the big mango tree. They queried Mr tortoise for being late and he gave an excuse of how his wife didn't wake up early to boil water for him to take his bath. They all walked to the market Square. "Hope nobody has eaten?". The hyena asked and they all chorused "No". "Hope nobody carried any food?" He asked again and they all chorused "No" including Mr tortoise. "If you did you better drop it now and I am sure you all know the consequences". He said after which they all filed into the bus with Mr tortoise taking his position where he kept his food. The journey started as they set off to the shrine. Halfway through the journey, they all came down from the bus to take a break; walking around the thick bushes and this was Mr tortoise chance to fill his belly. He made sure everyone had gone far but he remained in the bus. He quickly brought the food out from beneath the seat and started eating, chewing noisily. He smacked his tongue against the roof of his mouth, the porridge was too delicious, enough vegetables were added just as he liked it. He was almost done about to take the last spoon when the crew filed back to the bus to continue the journey and surely they caught him red handed, their eyes blazing with anger and frustration, they were ready to strangle him. They pushed him out of the bus and poured the remaining food on the sand while the hyena was sent to give report to the lion on what had happened. Mr tortoise was scared and abased, his wisdom had become foolishness. Some of the crew members kicked his shell hard, hauling insults at him and his generation while they awaited the lions verdict.....

Kuju stood up abruptly ready to go about her daily activities. "What will they do to Mr tortoise? Will he die? Aunty please come and finish the story". Danku cried after kuju. "I will do that if only you will be a good boy and sit on this floor till I get back",. Kuju said. "Mara baide! okay I will". Danku murmured. "You want the story? Don't go anywhere". She said as she walked out of the uncompleted building on her way to the market.

Only God knew what she had in mind for that day.

Kuju walked to the market and stood just beside the old woman's shop looking around for about twenty minutes strategising. "Fine girl you wan buy something?". She heard a familiar voice and she turned to see the old woman smiling at her. Why doesn't she remember me? She must have amnesia. Kuju concluded. "Usanu kene! Good morning". Kuju greeted faking a smile. "Odidi okpoko you wan buy something?". The old woman repeated the question. "No ma! I want to help my mother shade her vegetables". Kuju said as she waved dismissively and walked to the park just at the end of the market. The park was one of the busiest places in Okunri, if you didn't have a shop, it was the best place to sell and make lots of money, if you didn't have food, it was a good place to beg and become rich, if you were looking for a husband, a sugar daddy or a boyfriend that was the right place to find them. The beggars at the park were fondly called"Okunri millionaires in disguise" due to the fact that they made a lot of money from their trade. It was rumoured that even people who had enough disguised as beggars just to have more. The height of greed!. Kuju walked to an old bus that was about loading and went to meet the driver. He was very light skinned and had a large bulging eyes, he wore a jeans trouser that had seen better days and a creamish brown shirt that was supposed to be white. He didn't look too old and was probably in his early 40's. "Good morning Bari aye! Uncle!". Kuju greeted genuflecting. "Ahhn odidi okpoko how are you?". The driver smiled scanning kuju with his eyes hungrily. "Am fine sir! I say make I come help you do conductor today o". "No oh! Fine girl like you no fit do conductor o". "No be so o Bari aye, na condition wey pesin dey o". After much persuasion from kuju, the man consented and kuju jumped on the bus hitting it as she began to chant. "Bus to arele here! Bus to laban here! Bus to manshu here!". She chanted and when passengers started coming towards the bus she increased the tempo of her voice" Arele! Laban! Manshur! Arele! Laban! Manshur! Arele! Laban! Manshur!". Kuju ignored the stares she was getting, it was a bit strange for a lady to be a bus conductor, a beautiful lady at that. Passengers trooped into the bus and some had to lap themselves. Kuju waved off all the guys that asked for her number, hissed at the ones who winked at her, and slapped the ones who tried to harass her. But most importantly she collected all the gifts and money she received, muttering a silent "thank you". It was towards evening when kuju decided to retire, she didn't like working at night. She sat on one of the seats in the bus and muttered. "Kini kini Usman Usmanka". She stuffed all the money in her hands into her torn bag and stood up heading to the drivers side. "Bari aye! I wan go o". "Oh my daughter! Guna o Marino. Thank you so much". The driver smiled excitedly. He didn't demand for the money or ask Kuju any question. Kuju nodded her head as she turned to the direction of her home-the uncompleted building- . She entered into the uncompleted building met Danku seated just where she had left him, he was staring into nothingness and at the same time he was biting his finger nails. It was after six and darkness had not taken over fully. Danku stood up immediately kuju entered into the house. "Barina o Good evening". He said smiling obviously anticipating the completion of the story. Kuju nodded as she sat on the floor. She was exhausted and her throat ached badly from too much shouting. Her stomach growled in hunger. Kuju stood up with a little money in her hands and walked outside, she was extremely famished and she was sure that Danku was too. She got to a" mama put" arena and ordered rice and stew with boiled egg which was packed into a transparent nylon bag alongside 3 satchets of water. Kuju got back to the uncompleted building and found Danku ransacking her bag. She cleaned her eyes with the back of her palms to check if she was seeing well. Kuju walked in and gave Danku a hot knock on his head. "Are you mad? Fara Gino?". Kuju shouted as she raised her hands to hit Danku behind his back. "What were your hands doing inside my bag eh?". Tears streamed down Danku's face as he stared at Kuju. "Answer me now or I will beat you". Kuju shouted. "What were your hands doing inside my bag? Are you a thief?". Danku kept on staring at Kuju, tears running down his cheeks, catarrh dripping down his nostrils. Kuju grabbed a short stick at the at the end of the wall and used it to hit Danku behind his back. "Speak now!". Kuju screamed. "Speak or else I will continue". Danku said nothing as kuju kept on flogging him. "Nibo rani! Nibo rani! I am sorry". Danku cried out and kuju dropped the stick and sat on the floor heaving as a strange feeling engulfed her. Kuju couldn't remember the last time she flogged someone. She quickly tore the nylon bag open and emptied the content into a plate. "Come and eat!". Kuju said giving Danku one plastic spoon. Danku gradually shifted closer to the plate sobbing lightly. A tampered silence hung in the room as they ate and the only noise one could here was the smacking of the tongue against the roof of the mouth. Kuju lay on her wrapper with Danku beside her and she for the first time begun to think about what she would do next.

It was about 6:30 on a dull Sunday morning, when kuju inoso sprung up from her bed and dashed out to the streets. She walked to the old woman's house and pushed the gate open-she had made her research- she stopped at house 4 and knocked lightly on the door and after about 10mins of waiting, someone stepped out of the house; A woman who had the look of someone who was old and young at the same time. She had a rich dark skin, she was quite short and slim and had this weird aura. "Good morning!". Kuju greeted genuflecting. She didn't know the right name to add whether it was "Usanu kene" or "Orin Adabo" which meant good woman.

"Good morning my daughter, how you dey?". The woman said smiling, she had a welcoming personality. "Iye o". Kuju faked a smile. "Ehen...so what brings you here this morning. Are you not going to church?".

"No Orin Adabo, i don't go to church". "You are not a Christian?". The woman asked with a puzzled look on her face that said "Everyone is supposed to be a Christian". "I am Orin Adabo but i don't go to church. I pray and read my bible in my house". Kuju lied confidently. She was getting frustrated with the whole topic and she wished the woman would just stop asking questions so she can get unto business. "Come in and seat". The woman said opening the door. "Zaccheas where are you?" Kuju looked at her with an utterly confused expression. "I am very sure you know who God is" The woman said immediately kuju had taken her seat on the thick brown leather in the sitting room. The sitting room was so comfy and it smelt of a well- cooked home food precisely yam porridge. The tiles were mopped to perfection, the walls were adorned with picture frames of the old woman and her family and a huge red wall clock that looked archaic. "Yes I know". "And I am sure you must have given your life to christ. A life without christ is worthless and has no meaning, a life with christ is blissful and full of happiness, christ Jesus gives you everything that the world cannot give you; he gives you peace, showers you with love and shows you his mercy, he shields you from the dangerous claws of the enemy and fights for you. He said in the book of Hebrews, chapter 13 that he won't leave you without support and in Psalm 23 he says you shall not want if you make him your shepherd, he says he will make you lie down in green pastures, lead you beside the still waters and then he will restore your soul. If you need to rededicate your life to christ say this quick....". "Enough! Its Enough!". Kuju raised her voice cutting the woman shut. She didn't come here for whatever the woman was saying and she didn't care. "Ok fine! But you cannot run from God and if you don't repent you will go to hell fire". The woman said calmly and it was obvious she was used to such people or maybe she just knew how to control herself. "Can we get onto business please?". "Sure". The woman said sadly. "So.. who are you? I mean I know the old woman who lives here and also has a shop at the okunri market. My question is who are you to her". "Oh maa Abiju!". The woman smiled " she's sleeping anyways". "Oh!". Kuju whispered. "And I am Orifo salenci" "I am kuju".

"What a wonderful name! I am mother Abiju's personal nanny but I don't live here. I come here early in the morning and leave late at night. I was hired by the Abiju's and I have been working for them for about 10 years and this was before mother Abiju had partial amnesia..." "Amnesia? You mean mother Abiju has partial amnesia? Like she forgets things a lot?". Kuju asked. "Yes! ". "That's really sad and I must commend that you are really doing a good job taking very good care of her." Kuju said and it tasted like bile in her mouth because she wasn't used to showering praises on anyone. "Yes... Thanks". The woman nodded offering a small smile. "So if you need to rededicate your life to Jesus Christ you can give me your hands so that I can pray..." "I think I should take my leave now". Kuju said standing up abruptly as she walked to the door. She put on her slippers as she headed for the gate. "God is alive ministries is inviting you and jesus is calling you". Orifo shouted at kuju's retreating figure. She shook her head as she thought about what the people who didn't know Christ were missing out on. Kuju hastened her steps as she walked back to the uncompleted building. She had gotten the information she needed. Mother Abiju suffered from amnesia. That was all she needed to know. On getting to the uncompleted building she found Danku seated playing with pebbles. Kuju glanced at the old wrist watch she had once stolen and the time said 7:53am and she considered that time too early to eat breakfast. "Come with me!". Kuju said to Danku and he stood up immediately on seeing her and followed behind her. Kuju stopped at a shop to get soap and chewing stick afterwhich she moved to the market. At the end of the market was a public toilet and bathroom which wasn't dirty surprisingly. The cleaners were really doing a good job. They took turns to bath and while Danku was bathing kuju stood outside the door supervising him and he hid his body from her and this amused kuju. "What are you hiding this small boy? What is there that I haven't seen?". Kuju said but taking a closer look he wasn't covering the organ between his legs he was covering his back and this made kuju wonder why he was doing so. Out of curiousity, kuju yanked his hands away from his back and what she saw amazed her. She saw marks on his back written in numbers; 1, 5, 6, 7, 8,9 and the last one was 11 but it was struck like a tally. The numbers were deeply crested on his skin and it looked like it must have been extremely painful. Tears ran down Danku's eyes. "What happened to your back?". Kuju asked and Danku said nothing as usual. "I will be beside the door waiting, I will give you privacy to bath" kuju left and stood close to the bathroom door and as soon as she heard the splashing of water she sighed in relief. She wondered who must have drawn those marks and why. Soon, Danku stepped out of the bathroom and followed after kuju who was walking to Iya Remiti's place. A smile spread across Kuju's face as she walked. "Good morning Iya Remiti". Kuju greeted smiling. "Morning odidi okpoko! E don tey wey I see you last o". Iya Remiti smiled happily. "No o! Na hustle I dey hustle o". "No wahala! It is well". "The usual Iya Remiti". Kuju said . The Okunri chipmunks were no where to be found today. "Iya Remiti you no tell me say you dey house fine girls for here o". Someone spoke and kuju turned back to see a handsome guy, he was probably in his early twenties and looked clean and polished. "Richie Richie!" Iya Remiti hailed "Na my customer be this o". "Hi I am Richard". He said stretching out his hands for a shake. "Kuju". She said declining the offer of a hand shake which made Richard withdraw his hands in disappointment. Iya Remiti handed Kuju a nylon of 10 akara(bean cakes) balls and agege bread. Kuju was about to shove her hands into her bag when Richard stopped her. "I will pay". "Thanks". Kuju muttered as she made to leave with Danku. "Um.. can I get your number please?". Richard came to stand in front of her. "I don't have a phone". Kuju said dismissively as she began to walk away. Okunri men are not to be trusted. Kuju walked back to the uncompleted building as she quickly took her seat on the cemented floor alongside Danku. She tore the nylon of agege bread and cut it into two handing Danku one side, she took five balls of akara and handed it to Danku while she kept five for herself. "Eat!". She told him and he began eating. Iya Remiti's bean cakes were irresistible. After they were done eating kuju lay on her wrapper shutting her eyes forcing herself to sleep while Danku lay beside her. "What do those marks on your back mean?". Kuju asked after an hour of silence. Danku said nothing. "Mmh Danku". He still said nothing and kuju kept quiet not wanting to pressure him. "Aunt maria". Danku murmured softly after minutes of silence. "Who is Aunt Maria?". "Nanny!". "Aunt maria was your nanny". Kuju said and Danku nodded. "Moji and Mau(mother and father) are very busy and they bring aunt maria to stay with me". "Is Aunt Maria from Okunri?". "No she come from manshur". "Oh.. okay so what did Aunt Maria do to you?". "She put my thing inside her thing". Danku said his voice breaking. "And I feel pain and then I started crying and she will push me to wall and bring out a razor and she would draw a number on my back and then---I---will--cry--louder". Tears poured down Danku's face. "Blood will come out from my back, plenty blood and she will rub my head and tell me sorry, she will treat me but the mark still be at my back". Kuju was speechless and angry at the same time. "Why does she do that to you?". "I don't know but she do that anytime I was crying". Kuju didn't know when she pulled Danku into a warm embrace, rubbing his back. "Why were you crying that day I saw you outside?". Kuju whispered into his ears. "Something". Kuju let the matter off. She released Danku who immediately lay on the wrapper as his eye lids fluttered shut.

The next morning kuju did the usuals which now included Danku. They had garri and sugar for breakfast but Kuju was scared to leave Danku alone in the uncompleted building for fear that he might run away or do something she wouldn't like. She quickly thought something up and went to buy a cup of beans and half cup of rice, she placed it before him alongside a bowl. "I want you to pick this before I get back, put the good ones in the bowl and the bad ones on the floor. If you don't pick it before I get back I will beat you". She said and dashed out of the house assured that Danku was going to do as she said. Kuju had carefully planned out her strategy for the week and her net was flung into the sea as she awaited a big catch. She stopped at mother Abiju's store . "Good morning Usanu kene". Kuju greeted genuflecting. "Ahhn odidi okpoko beautiful girl. How you dey?". "Iye o! I say make I come help you sell market today". "Guna o! Thank you". Kuju started selling attracting a whole lot of customers. From different corners customers were trooping in. And that was how after the business of the day, Kuju would chant her anthem and leave the shop. Not one penny for mother Abiju. Kuju did this for the seven days in a week and was almost a millionaire but mother Abiju's store was skeletal and dust had begun to take over. Kuju sucked mother Abiju's store dry until there was nothing left save for few satchets of milk. She wasn't even feeling any pain nor guilt. Even when she noticed mother Abiju was looking extremely skinny and dry she didn't feel nothing. Mother Abiju's landlord had come to the shop severally to embarrass her. Doesn't she have children? You may ask. Bukuri was struggling to get on his feet while Dorino was leaving a wayward life after years of being a drop out. Two boys mother Abiju birthed but none had anything to show. Sometimes, mother Abiju would cry and cry when she remembered the sacrifices she made for her sons, when she looked forward to the day they would grow up and start fending for themselves and for her as well. She remembered the times she went on her knees pleading with God to give her the will power to raise her boys in his fear, grace to raise successful men. Mother Abiju was a good mother to Bukuri and Dorino, she was the role model of almost every woman in Laban; Where she lived before. She did everything she could yet the harvest wasn't pleasant enough.

TO BE CONTINUED.....