Chapter 1

Translations

ogini- what

jor- abeg

Mechionu- close your mouth

Dalu- thank you or well done

ndo-nu - sorry

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"starry! starry!" mum screamed

"yes ma?" I ran to answer my mum

"This will be the last time I call you for dinner again, ogini? come and sit down here and eat jor"

"sorry ma, I was just thinking and a new song came into my head, oh it's so melodious you need to..." I never got to finish my sentence as I was cut off by my dad.

"mechionu! starry, when will you realize that we are poor. will that new song of yours out food on our table? No. will it pay for your education? No"

"But Dad! how can you say that? you never know what could happen in the future. Maybe... just maybe I will be able to change the situation of or family"

"And when will that happen? huh? in the next fifty year?" said my elder sister Milly.

"Yeah star, you need to stop dreaming over thinking about the future and face the present. Stop think of writing songs and start thinking of how to get a job" says my brother Justin

"But Justin, this is my future! and my passion, I won't stop writing and singing. I believe I have a gift that will take me to places, a gift that will tour me round the world" I say, tears welling in my eyes.

"yeah right, and when will that be? starry we are black people, the racism in the world is crazy. Consider these things, do you know what many of those musicians do to get famous and rich? to boost their songs? are you gonna be able to do all those things?" says Jane my second eldest sister

"Jane, I don't need to do anything. I believe in God..."

"we all do star..." interrupts Jane.

"As I was saying, I believe in God and as long as he's in my side, I don't need to do anything cause I'm always gonna conquer"

"For the love of God starry! just shut the fuck up and let's eat! The food getting cold! am hungry and so is everyone! but all you can think about is your little singing dream. But you won't understand, would you? You're not the one whose been working hard all day" says my big brother Pete and everyone grumbles in response. That's right, I come from a big family.

we are twelve in number; my mum, dad, Milly, Jane, Justin, Pete, Kara, simmy, Felix, Fin, Paul and I, starry.

"Fine let's eat" I say with a sniff

"eyes closed. Father in the name of Jesus, we thank you for the food and water you have put on our table. We say may your name be highly exalted for in Jesus Name we have prayed"

"Amen" we all say.

silence engulfed us all as everyone focused on their dinner. I stared at the soppy soup and dry stake bread in front of me. I took a spoon full of the soup and sipped it. Ugh. it didn't taste good. I'm not sad or anything, it's what we can afford though

I took two more sips of the soup and ate a little chunk of bread. I drank water to flush the horrid taste down and stood up.

"mummy dalu, Daddy dalu" I said.

"ndo nu, sleep well my daughter"

I walked quietly to my closet of a room. our house isn't really big, correct that. Its not big at all. the woods creak, the house is literally falling apart. You can call it a 'batcha house' I fought so hard before I got my own room. And trust me, it wasn't easy. There's a little bed in the corner where I sleep and a little space for me to move around.

It used to be only me, but eventually my little sister, kara, when she gets scared or when she just can't sleep. She'll creep in and cuddle with me. I don't mind though, she's only a year and nine months old.

Then suddenly, it became permanent and I got used to it. I'll wrap my arms around her and stroke her head while I sing her a lullaby. eventually she'll fall asleep and I'll do so to. that's how it's always been.

Getting ready for the night, I wore my faded pink pyjama and combed my natural curly hair packing it into a bun. I hopped on my bed and closed my eyes. As usual, I felt the familiar small body crawl in next to me.

I opened my eyes and met her big brown eyes staring at me. pulling her closer to me, I kissed her forehead and whispered into her ears.

"I love you Kara, now let's get some sleep"

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And.... that's a wrap! chapter one! what do you think?

vote and comment!!!! bye! 😊