The Crush

I dipped into a great ignorance of what to eat and what to prepare for the Policemen. And I was sort of lazy this morning but can't help it than to prepare something for breakfast; I can't keep us hungry.

I resumed my patronizing humour in my best tone as I pouted, "Please, your attention, would you like bread and an omelette with a coffee? I'm actually confused about what to offer you guys for breakfast...

I got some yam, potatoes, and plantains; I got some noodles and pasta; I got some snacks like biscuits, gravy, ice cream, yoghurt, all types of milk and Juices.

I got rice, beans, wheat, pando yam, semovita, semolina, and Cassava flakes.

Just like a lot of proteins like cow beef, Goat meat, Lamb, Chicken breast, chicken wings, chicken thigh, all kinds of fish and other seafood in the freezer.

Please help me in choosing what to prepare; my head is full."

"What is an omelette?" Curiously asked by one of the policemen they both stared up at the balcony towards me with no clue.

"Oh... Bread and fried egg." I responded

One of them, "Oops.. you need to come easy out of your library... Is been quite away from learning the English language." He Jestly said and we all laughed.

"Indeed, I can see you live in a great luxury apartment, and your dad is updated. He kept all that for you, mounted solar energy in the whole House and there is always light in this beautiful House. I would like to take a look at the inside of this beautiful place." The other cut him off. "If you have soup in the house, I will love to swallow like Eba to keep the belly filled for a while."

I responded "I don't have soup, but I will prepare it later. For now, I will offer you the bread and omelette, tea, milk and honey for breakfast, and later on, I will prepare Eba for lunch. But what soup do y'all think I should prepare?"

"Any soup." They responded

"I can't prepare any soup, so which soup would do? (Egusi, Okra, Vegetable, Ewedu, Afang, White soups, Kuka, Taushe, Gbegiri, Bean, Bitter leaf, Banga, Oha or....?), Please mention." I asked in my cheerful best manners.

They both chose Egusi, and one of them hummed, "Hmm, like you are a chef in the profession? See how you mentioned the soups I haven't heard of before." Jokingly I smirked and left to the kitchen. I prepared omelette, tea, bread and milk with honey and I served them. "God bless you, let the heaven grant you peace. We appreciate your kindness. Thank you." One of the policemen blessed me, and I felt a light in my heart with relief.

"Thank you, and bless you too." In my cheerful response

"Certainly, you are the good woman with the kindest treatment. May Allah grant you peace and someone who's going to be of peace to you... Thank you, thank you, thank you."

"Thank you, sir, God bless you too." With a pleasing cheer, I walked back inside in thrills.

I ate my breakfast, and when I was done eating, I stepped outside to credit my phone and buy the recipe for the Egusi soup so I could go online to surf the web before lunch. On my way, I saw the same young man coming towards me, and I doubtfully looked at him as he approached me with "Hi, good morning. My name is Yusuf, I am living in that House with a dark roof over there." Pointing at the same House I saw him entering the last time.

He continues in search of his words, "I would love to be your friend if you don't mind.

I guess you are new here and I want to be the first person you offer friendship."

He speaks good English with a blissful expression, a nice smile comes onto his face with a happy sigh, and he has a thick voice and a humble gesture as he speaks to me; he is so cute. I remained calm and silent without a word as we walked down the street.

He continued talking, and as we were about to reach the gate of my House, he puzzled, "I've been talking to you since, and you don't seem to reply a word; I hope we are cool?" He immediately returned to his gentility... Please don't be offended about the way I approach you; I'm sincerely sorry if you are not cool with that... But thank you for your time though. But please, what is your name, for Allah's sake?"

I reluctantly "Salma."

He grinningly "Thank you, Salama. Please can we be friends?"

I defiantly responded, "Yeah, we're friends."

"Can I have your number please?" He requested.

I frantically "No!" At that point, we are at my gate, and I offer him a farewell wave, and I fall into my House.

I went straight to the room, and I dropped the phone on the chest of the desk. I was nervously confused, and I stifled a heavy sigh of weariness. I didn't know what it was or what I was feeling at that moment. I was flying around my space, and I was trying to get the notion, so I went to the window corner and watched through the window as the young man went into his residence.

I was restless and helpless, and it woke me up quickly; I don't know what I was feeling, but it was a great sensation; the feeling was something I never felt before.

I was reminiscing how he talked, his brown eyes, how he stared at me, the good smile and white tooth, the fragrance he wore, and his dark chocolate skin.

I want to see him again; I want to talk more with him, I would love to share some moments with him, and I want him in my hospitality.

I don't know what it really means to be in love with someone, but I knew what I was feeling was a new experience. My night was sleepless, I was tossed and turning in bed like a revolver. I put on a movie, trying to get lost in it, but it worsened the situation; I was applying my thoughts in every scene in connection to Yusuf.

I discontinued the movie and switched off the Television, I went back to bed and covered myself under a blanket with the phone in my palm, I switched on the network logged into Instagram and started watching timelines, scrolling down to posts till point where I lose interest in everything I see online and I dropped the phone off.

"Indeed, If this is love that I am feeling, then it is torture; I can't help myself in this living striking at it with my partisan when the coming rapture; I've been trying to be better for my future, but it is high in here with the nature. Why the nature so hard for this culture of foreknowing captures? I can't figure out anything for the venture, and life could be chilly pepper hurting the eyes posture. For my gesture is immature I'm feeling poor and insecure.

How did the fore come about? I'm really feeling Knurl holding me tighter in uphoarding sore in my gore.

What's that all, all I came for? Hurting me all the time without any lure for the poor in this core? It's more, more, more of a struggle and to strive than the pleasure in this world. All I see is a war bubble tour, and all we have is to listen to the word of this Ball rolling.

Here it is again a new journey of a need, fighting hard for the feeling to succeed. What to achieve is the urge in seed and fertilizer we increase to gain it faster for the need, but yet is greed; the more the win, the more the need and no satisfaction for this win.

This time, selective listening, I am trying to apply this thought in my mind. I consumed a lot from these self-thoughts, and I feel unhealthy in my system like a wine; I need a new line to take notes of every idea I perceived and received from this orchestra orchestrating in my illusive oration of a dream for my time.

Mind mapping here again, and I need a flash card, flashlight, and flash drive to the traffic light.

In this notebook, I waste sheets, my outlines are unclear, my sentence methods are unfair, charting is in peer, and Cornell notes are barely here.

I need descriptive grammar that would give a lot of meanings in one word, but the linguistic prescription is a need for a word, and I'm just trying to couple a language to be used and how to apply it in this world.

Where is my spider diagram?

Please... I'm mad already, and with this feeling,, I'ma green (Gremlins) in the (Black-Red-Green Method)." I was panting and dreamily lost, soliloquizing all alone. Me-self soliloquist!

I found myself wrapped in a fur cloak in the morning with a dying eye loaded with sleep, and my eyes closed with hard yawning; I stood up for the window and turned for the last look at Yusuf's house; she and sleep were dropping me off and murmur "Oh.. sh..." I shook myself up, slapping my face "Wake up, you are falling asleep; you need to observe your prayers." I murmured, "Yusuf was the cause of this!"

I went to the restroom and washed up, and my eyes got wide open as I returned to prayer. When I was done, I returned to bed and zoomed down the world of dreams and only heard a knock on my door, and it was a security man in my need.

I checked the time, and it was 1:00PM. "Oh my God. Wah dah hiiiiiiiiich....?!"

I opened the door, and the policeman greeted me "Good afternoon, sister; how are you? I came to check up on you to know about your well-being because we haven't heard from you since in the morning. Hope everything is well with you?"

"Yes sir, Good afternoon sir, I'm fine sir. I slept late last night because of a movie I watched, and I never knew it was already a day... Sorry sir, please have you guys eaten anything today?" I remorsefully.

"Yes, we've eaten; we got some food outside." He nodded.

"So sorry, I will prepare the lunch soon. Thank you, sir." In my Kind

"It's Okay, thank you." He responded and left

My phone rang, and it was Suleiman. I picked "Hello good afternoon, sir."

"Good aftern,oon dear, how are you doing today?" He responded

"Fine sir," I replied

He proceeded "I called to check up on you and to tell you my hid. The beautiful moon-like face is charming, lighting this world; I want to stand feeling this lifting and sober, and I'm speaking of this to stay from doing wrong to my emotional state. You are being so majestical, having me out of the blue, and my veins only blow your desire into my heart, making me vulnerable. I would love to know more about you, but this is unprofessional and harmful to my job. I can't help but tell you, and please don't take it personally; I just find ease after this sigh, and please forgive me if you find it not cool. Thank you."

"Okay, thank you for everything. I have nothing to tell you more than appreciation, but I'm sort of busy right now. Please let's talk some other time. Thank you, sir." I patiently responded and ended the call.

"Is too early for this, I'm too young for this, y'all shouldn't messed with my brain at this age of mine. I can't handle these feelings and thoughts. I'm hungry, and I have to eat something; I don't have time for this.

I'm not done with Yusuf and Suleiman is bringing his to the table. I guess both of them don't know I'm just 16 years old sick girl trying to secure a peaceful life.

But, like in this life, I'm not here to have peace and freedom of mind. From one thing to another, every day is a new chapter and episode; what a soul." Soliloquize

Another call came in, and it was Dad: "Hello, Salama, hope you are doing great. I am on my way back home, and I am coming to your place, see you soon. Take care." And ended the call.

After the call, I realised I had a lot of work to do. Clean up the whole House, cook my dad's favourite meal and for the security men.

"Damn!" I sigh

My dad's favourite meal is Pounded Yam And Egusi soup which is 'Melon seeds soup', and I want to prepare that for him before his arrival.

I went to the kitchen and started peeling the yams, and once I was done, I sliced them into a dish and rinsed them, placed them into a clean pot, added some water, covered and put them on fire.

I blended the Melon seeds and Piper Guineese with some chilli peppers, sliced the onions, scotch bonnet, spinach, and long bell pepper and set aside.

I washed the dried catfish with hot water, washed the Chicken and the Goat meat and placed them in a pot, added some water, some chopped onions seasoned with some spices and placed them on fire.

I switched to cleaning up the house, and on time, the food was ready; the house was cleaned, and I Served myself some food, and the policemen and I reserved some for my dad.

Sayidu is one of the Police officers' names. He assisted me with the pounding, and it was a perfectly smooth Pounded yam.

As we sat down to eat, my dad arrived, and we all enjoyed the delicious meal together. The aroma of the Egusi soup filled the air, and we all savored every bite.

After the meal, my dad praised my cooking skills and thanked the policemen for keeping an eye on me while he was away. He sat with us and shared stories of his journey, making us all laugh with his anecdotes.

As the evening approached, the policemen bid us farewell, thanking us for the hospitality and the delicious meal. Sayidu commended my cooking skills and expressed his gratitude for the warm welcome.

After they left, my dad and I cleaned up the dishes together, sharing a moment of bonding and closeness. I felt grateful for the love and support of my family and the newfound friendships that had entered my life.

As the night settled in, I reflected on the events of the day, from the quest for breakfast to the unexpected encounters with Yusuf and Suleiman. I realized that life had a way of surprising us with opportunities and challenges, and it was up to us to navigate through them with courage and kindness.

And so, in the quiet of the night, I closed my eyes with a sense of contentment, knowing that no matter what the future held, I had the strength, resilience, and love to face it head-on. And with a peaceful heart, I drifted off to sleep, ready to embrace the adventures that awaited me in the realm of Eldoria.