The Cries That Reached The Sky

The sun was smiling upon the earth, but the cries that reached the sky from the earth tells a different story. One of sorrow, bitterness, anguish and pain. In a compound where stood a black gate, people kept trolling in and out. Some wore sad face, some would walk out in deep conversation with their partner. While some looked indifferent.

Mrs. Olayinka sat in the middle of two women who seem to be consoling her from time to time. One of them looked as though she needed the consoling more than anyone in the room. Each time Mrs. Olayinka looks at the woman on her left, she would let out a loud crying, shouting “Ye”.

She kept saying words like death should come and take her instead. She would walk and flog her body on the ground. Then she would agree to be comforted for a while only to wait again. And when she is not wailing, she is lost in her thoughts.

Olamide could no longer hold it seeing his mother like that. He was seated with some of his uncles. He stood up from the chair where he was seated. He walked out of the house. He could no longer bear it. He was not supposed to cry because he was a man. That was what people expected of him. But he was barely fighting the tears now. They threaten to flood his face. If possible they would wash him away as well. He found himself a spot where nobody was and allowed the tears to flow.

“Olanrewaju! I should not cry, but seeing Iyami crying that way, how can I fight the tears?” Olamide said as though Lanre was right there with him.

He placed both hands on his head and lets out the cries he has been holding. And soon he drew attention to himself. Frustrated by people coming to ask him what was wrong and throwing him sympathetic looks, Olamide decided to walk out of where he was. He got into the street and just kept on walking with no sense of direction of where he was going. He just felt like he could keep going down an endless road. But the street had an end. So he had to take different routes until he found himself in an unfamiliar environment. He tried to turn back when he realised he could no longer find his way.

Olamide decided to settle at a spot. He needed to clear his head even though he knew any effort to clear his head at this time will only end up futile. The news of Lanre’s death has broken his mother so bad that he could not help but cry when he is not expected to.

“What makes people think men are supposed to man up includes them not having to cry when they are in pains?” Olamide muttered. He stayed till it was dark before he took a bike back home since he could barely recall the route he had taken to get to where he was.