MUD AND BLUES

CHANGE

Jamal looked at the 14-foot wall in front of him again. Having passed all other tests, his last physical task in the training was to scale the wall; he has tried for three days but has been unsuccessful. It was his third week of intense physical and mental training; the aptitude tests were easier for him compared to the physical; even though he was part of the athletics team in the community school, his fitness level was way below the drills he was set to, and the last course especially was too difficult; the tasks required technicality as well as strength, so he wondered why he has to scale that kind of wall with no tools. He stepped back and ran at it again with an increased pace and determination. He leapt and stretched both hands; they almost touched the top of the wall but didn't. disappointed, He laid on the floor, angry and tired.

"So you are still behind this wall. I think I should inform your grandma that you won't be coming today then," Hadiza said, entering the field with a rope in her hand. She has changed from just barking out commands to saying some sentences to Jamal during the course of the training.

"Without a proper tool, I don't think this wall is scalable," Jamal moaned.

"Who refrained you from using one?" Hadiza questioned.

"So, I can use a rope?" Jamal asked, looking at the rope in her hand.

"Since it wasn't specified that you shouldn't, then you can. Human beings didn't evolve physically because we made tools to make tasks easier and do them faster. Do you really think any normal person of your size can scale that wall without the aid of a tool?" She pointed at the sharp iron where a rope was to be attached.

"Well, my hand almost touched it," Jamal replied.

"Yes, it will almost touch it but won't. From what you have shown as an innovator, I initially thought you wouldn't have issues solving this; it is more of a puzzle than a physical drill," she said and threw him the rope. Jamal felt defeated; he used to think he was smart, yet he missed out on such details. He figured out that he was more in love with his own solution, which was to run very fast and scale the wall, than the problem itself, which was the wall. He scrached his head and formed a loop with the rope the way he was taught on his fifth day. He threw it over the sharp point, and after five attempts, he succeeded and scaled the wall. Hadiza watched from the sidelines with her basic blank expression. Knowing her, Jamal didn't expect applause and didn't get any.

"I think that is it; I could have done it earlier," Jamal queried as he walked past her.

"Come back here," she commanded. "School is resuming tomorrow, so you should visit your grandmother today and be back before 7 p.m.

"But I am very tired already; can't I skip the first day?" Jamal pleaded. But she ignored him.

"You should always clean up after yourself; you should never leave anything of yours behind, not even your fingerprint; and you should untie the rope after using it," she reminded him and walked back into the building. Jamal sighed and quickly retrieved the rope. He has missed the hood and knew he has a lot of questions to answer, as many answers as he seeks.

At half past 4pm, Jamal knocked on the front door of his grandmother's bungalow. The old house was built by his grandfather and had four identical rooms facing each other; they call those kinds of buildings face me, I face you. Normally, those kinds of buildings are sources of noise and chaos if the rooms are rented by different families; they will fight over toilet washing, corridor space, and even the aroma of food. But luckily, the rooms were shared by grandma, Jamal, and Hannah; the last room used to be grandpa's when he was alive. His sister opened the door and shouted. When he saw her brother at the door, he expected but didn't receive a hug.