Under the moonlight

Chapter 3

Dembe's pov

I could not sleep that night. Kojo's face kept showing in all my dreams. The silly boy haunted me even in my sleep. And what was that about 'our spot'?  The stream was my spot. Mine. How could he just come and think he could be part it that? He was surely going to get a piece of my mind and maybe a taste of my slap, because I was definitely going to show up at the stream. My spot.

The following morning I woke up with eye bags, a clear evidence of not sleeping enough,all thanks to the almighty Kojo.
I tidied up myself and started doing my chores before Mama could start screaming about my husband's house. Why was she even obsessed with this talk about husbands? We're they on sale or something? Furthermore, I had just turned 18. Getting married was not really what I wanted. At least not yet. Many girls in my village got married when they are as young as 12 years old, their source of pride they said, but not me. Marriage came with children and I was just not ready for children, I was children myself!  I thought.

"Good morning, D! " shouted Kia as she ran into our homestead. She looked really nice. Her braids were just done recently, clearly outlining her face.

"You look like a mango stepped on by an elephant. Did you not sleep at all? " she asked laughing. That laugh of hers could make babies have second thoughts about coming into this world. It was too loud.

"Do not laugh like that around here, Just in case you make the walls  collapse. "

"Come on, it is not my fault the gods of laughter found me adorable and made me their favorite. Some of you really need to loosen up. Anyway, what is wrong with you? You really look tired and the day has only began. Or do you have a spirit husband that I do not know of? "

"Kia! I will punch that laughing spirit out of you. " I said bursting into laughter.

"Let me finish up here then I will tell you.  You can sit pretty and daydream about my brother because he has already gone out. Or you could help me out, you know. "
She  made a silly face but I was used to it.  Lazy girl.

Kia was my best friend or rather the sister I never had. She always had my back and so did I. She had quite a mouth.  Kia could talk herself dry if her life depended on it. During the village fights we had, she would spit out words while I punched. What a team we were! And of course, we got into trouble together, like the day we fought with Kojo.

We were on our way from the market, each with a basket of fruits. Mine was just full of mangoes and nothing else while Kia's had pineapples, avocados, plums and bananas. She liked different things, she said.
We were deeply engrossed in our chit chat until someone suddenly stopped in front of us and pushed me back.
Both of us were only ten, so, probably all we were talking about were those mangoes, but for someone to interrupt us like that, it was very rude.

"Give me one of your mangoes!" he said reaching into my basket. He sure had some guts.
I gave him the touch-my-mangoes-and-die stare but he did not seem to get the cue. He took one and so swift was my hand to slap his making the mango fall back into the basket. He dropped the mango and so did his sense of reasoning as he started throwing harsh words at us.
Kia, who was surprisingly quiet the whole time, did what she knew best:open her mouth and make it rain insults.
She suddenly went quiet and that is when it occurred to me that she had just been slapped quiet. That did it.
I pushed Kojo to the ground and sat on him as I slapped him.

"I am only leaving you because you are a girl! "  he kept on saying.
Too bad I was not letting him go.
I continued hitting him as Kia shouted and cheered on. Crazy.
Then I felt someone pull me off Kojo, I tried to resist but gave up when it dawned on me that it was Mama.

"Child, you are going to kill me, one of these days. " she said pulling my ears. 

"I will get you one day, Dembe, and you will not be able to run. " I heard him shout, but I did not care, my ears were on fire !

We each went home to a thorough whooping by our parents, but at least my mangoes were safe and Kojo had learnt his lesson. Or at least I thought.

Touch not my mangoes. :-)

******

The mango fight is kind of silly, but I loved it.=)

Have fun!

Love,
Daisy. 💋