BIYAR

MARIAM

"Kuchi, you are shouting too much just calm down, it's okay, besides am okay now. I am the one that shouldn't always depend on people anyhow" my voice came out in amusement.

"Still, people are so manner-less. What if it happened to any of those girls, would they laugh? You too on your own, why are you laughing?" her voice came off a bit frustrated

"Yayi, ki dena damun kan ki. I am fine, how are you feeling now? Hope you are better?" I asked trying to calm her down instead. She was sick and I was checking in on her, when she remembered the period incident.

"Yes, you know as far as you are a naija person, malaria runs deep in us. So, I will be strong and resume on Wednesday. Anyways, I am going to put you on loud speaker, somebody wants to talk to you" her voice came off in excitement and that means it can only be one person that would make her giddy like that but my mind doesn’t want to accept it; No, it can't be can it? It's not who I am thinking is it?

"Kuchali Omari, who is it?" I decided to ask. "You know who nah, ki dena yanga kamar bah ki sani bah."

I was speechless.

"Sis, give me the phone". That voice. I could recognize it anywhere, the one that use to make my chunguli mind to skip. It belongs to Malik Omari; Kuchi's cousin, he started Jss2 with us up until Jss3, he then left and went somewhere else, I thought he had gone to another school; when I asked Kuchali, she refused to tell me and I didn't want to press her the more.

"Mimi, yah ki ke?" he asked. I froze up a bit because I was still a bit tongue-tied, I could recall when I used to have a massive crush on him, why- "Little sis, are you there?" I laughed in response instead to my thoughts being cut off and the endearment. I can remember why I stopped liking him because I was just like a sister to him.

"Malik, don’t you know your father and mother’s children? Who is your sister?” I teased.

“Wow, see who is talking? That’s the first thing you will say. It’s good to hear your voice.” He laughed in response.

“That aside, how have you been? Which school did you go to? Are you going to write WAEC before us or you would graduate till Sss3, would we at least-”

"Mimi calm down. I am good and I am fine. As for school I am coming back to continue with you guys but I will resume on Wednesday, so I heard you got uniform prefect, it's not a surprising thing, with the way you are neat and organized, I didn't expect less" my questions were cut off by his answers, and one of his answers made me pause as I asked again. "Sorry? Did you just say you are coming to our school? Like you’re coming to Pacesetters. Wow"

"Mimi duk abunda kin ji kenan?" his tone had hints of amusement in it.

"Yes, that is the only thing I could hear. I mean wow. What class are you? Why am I even asking, definitely science class with your brain for mathematics” I responded to both he and myself.

"Sorry to burst your bubbles, I am actually coming to art class and congratulations on being the uniform prefect”

“You’re coming to art class? Wow. Amazing. Thank you, although all Ss2 prefects are shadow prefects. I’m sure the seating arrangement would be redone.”

“With all the wows’ you’ve said, you may soon turn to an ambulance”. He responded.

“Excuse me oo, do you both remember that it’s my airtime you are using to do congratulations and wow? Anyways, I don’t even know why I’m bothered and stressed; Malik would buy me airtime" Malik Omari and I laughed at Kuchi’s shouts in the background. My mind was still having a pondering question that I wanted to ask and I did. "But Malik, where did you go, for a year and a half?"

"That topic is for another day, little sis"

"Malikkk" I drawled out.

“Sorry, fine girl, you’re not my sister”, he said but he didn’t sound sorry at all. I smiled as I remembered when we behaved like a trio, more like dragging Malik with us everywhere but let’s just pretend that he’s the third person to complete our group.

We had friends here and there who were on and off but it was the three of us who were close. Malik Omari was Kuchi's cousin from her father’s side. I am really curious as to why he's coming back.

Where exactly did he go?

"...so just come on Wednesday now, you hear. Let three of us just come Wednesday. We can tell junior students to bring chair for baban yahya from the common room". I didn't even know Kuchali was speaking, my mind had already gone far, but I managed to hear the rest. Things are just getting more and more interesting in my life. That's good. That's good.

"Okay, until Wednesday then. Bye Kawana, bye little sis".

"I won’t even tell you bye, bye Kuchi". With that we hung up not without me hearing their faint laughter.

After I came back home on Friday, my mother came back about thirty minutes later, she was surprised to see me back early. When she heard why I was home, she raved about me being a girl, I am supposed to calculate my period, have sanitary pads with me always. And then, it diverted to how men observe little things like this in girls when they want to marry. If I could count the internal eyerolls in my mind from the beginning of the speech, it would be much. Since, when I did, I tell her that marriage was my interest? When I reminded her that I was just eighteen and I haven't finished school, she now went on with, how in other places my mates are married. Which other places?

I wanted to laugh but I dare not, if I didn't want to receive motherly slap, with a side of belt of danger. The same person telling me boys shouldn't take my time, is the same person telling me that my mates are married.

After all the push and pull with her, when Mrs. Thelman finished her advice, she cooked food for me, her reason for going to cook, was that she didn't want me to faint in her kitchen and her food will burn, then the house will catch fire.

How bad was it for her to open her mouth to say she loves me, all this story for the gods she's saying.

Today being Saturday, Kuchi called to check in on me, that’s how I also found that she seemed to be battling with Malaria too.

Wait... I hope when I told my friends see you on Wednesday, they didn’t think that I meant we would all be going back that day? But it wouldn’t be a bad idea actually, because I don’t know if I would be able to face my classmates after the embarrassment I felt. It’s okay Mariam, Monday would take care of itself.

SIMEON

"Shimmy, Shimmy please open the door" his scared mother stood outside her son's room along with Doctor Dele, who was trying to calm her down. She woke up in the early hours of the Saturday morning around four. She heard sounds, which woke her up, she is a light sleeper, she subconsciously became so, after years of abuse, she learnt to be conscious and alert of her surroundings and any sound woke her up.

She heard her son's shouts and 'talks' as he locked his room.

She heard him respond to her earlier shouts.

"Hajiya just stay where you are, if you come you will be injured and sanitary towel cannot cure this one"

"No are you okay, she's fine. Stop pushing me away. I just want to see her, aren’t I allowed too?" another voice that sounded like Simeon and not him at the same time spoke.

Doctor Dele had not really seen this deep side, but he could understand that Simeon was having a very deep episode. His mum on the other hand had seen it several times but ever since they relocated, he hadn't had it.

"Do you have an idea on what must have triggered this?" his doctor asked his mum, she shook her head in the negative as she responded; "Not really, but he's been repeatedly talking on sanitary pads, ever since he woke up. I can guess why that part of his memory would come forcefully", when he urged her to continue, she recounted the event that made Simeon help in buying pads for her, with Mummy Ishola.

They listened again, he wasn't shouting anymore, but he was talking.

"Doctor, are you sure we shouldn't just open the door?" His mother asked worriedly, she didn’t know if he had disturbed their numbers but at the same time, she wanted to make sure that he was okay. She was happy she had enough money to rent a bungalow for them, instead of living in an estate, she was scared that they may start talking or worse stigmatize them, because it had happened before, it got so bad one day, that four of her former neighbours, came with a man of God to talk to her. They lied to the man of God and told him that she ran away from her husband with her obanje child to disturb them. One of the issues she had with Simeon was the fact that she was easily trusting and now those so-called neighbours betrayed them.

She had to move again.

"If you open the door, he will turn violent on me. He will think that I am about to abuse you again". She knew the doctor said what he said partially out of fear, and partially he said the truth, so she understood. When Simeon was like this, the other couldn’t differentiate any man close to his mother. They were contemplating on their next course of action when they heard him again.

"He said he will help"

"He won't help, you trust a strange man with mother, it will happen again"

"But Hajiya is not screaming. She isn’t asking for help, is she?”

"Shimmy Mummy is here, open the door. I am fine" earlier, when this started, she had to call Mummy Ishola before she called Doctor Dele and was advised to give Simeon time. She listened again and discovered everywhere was quiet, but they heard a dull thud. The duo now went to open the door. His mum saw him on the carpeted floor, and wasn't surprised when she saw his bedsheets on the floor or his blanket near the toilet door, she was not also surprised when she saw he shaved his beards halfway and he was topless, she could only cry.

Doctor Dele handled people like him but Simeon is special, he had to admit that.

Mrs. Samuel then went down to her son, carrying his head on her lap, she sang an all-familiar song, he knew.

Fierce as a lion

Wise and gentle like the dove

Your flower is unharmed,

Your precious stone still shines,

For the lion has kept it safe.

After arranging his room, she made a little heap on the floor, with the help of the doctor, she pulled the sleeping boy on it. Since the both of them had been busy, she just fried eggs and served it with bread and tea for Dr Dele. They didn't say anything for a while both lost in thoughts. She was Simeon’s flower and precious stone, and he was the lion.

"Asides from the day he fainted in my office, did anything happen again before this moment?” she heard the doctor ask.

"No not at all. But since he came back from school on Friday, he has been chanting on how mean and unfair people were. I didn't know it will be serious like this"

"I want to try something from today throughout Tuesday. When he wakes up, I want to see his reaction if he sees another man with his mother, if it will trigger him" she wanted to refuse, because she knew the results would be bad but the doctor was adamant about it. "I understand your fears ma, but we have to understand the trigger. I also want to see if his mini amnesia will be there, from there we can see the progress of things".

"Thank you so much, I don't know how we would have coped if not that Mummy Ishola knows you" she could only respond.

He just smiled. "It's alright, we just have to keep a positive attitude and hope for the best"

"So, when would you advise would be good for him to go back to school? So that I can call the school and inform them. He can’t keep on missing classes and school; he is so far behind". He thought for a moment, before responding "I would say give or take, let us observe him to Tuesday or Wednesday".

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Yayi, ki dena damun kan ki= it's okay, stop disturbing yourself (when talking to a female).

Naija= Nigeria/Nigerian

Kidena yanga, kamar bah ki sani bah= stop forming like you don't know (when talking to a female).

Chunguli=small.

Yah ki ke= how are you (when talking to a female)

Duk abunda kinji kenan= is that all what you heard? (when talking to a female)

Baban yahya= big brother.

Obanje = possessed child