FEBRUARY PRANKS AND PAWNS
I was wombed from some peculiar stories my dad told about life, I could still recall that night while I faced the insurmountable mountains of pounded yam and glided it slopes with mother's delicious vegetable soup. He said that the wisdom man uses to sail Life's dubious waters was deceit. I forced a big morsel down my throat and pondered how it could be so.
Time flew behind my father's tale, I could count 15 years this February and I'm no longer a boy who needs stories as motivation to eat meals at Night. However the play still continued and evolved between me and my dad. We now play chess and this is a game where an older man with his experience mercilessly flogs the young and impudent. All I ever received was flogging when I intelligently locked horns against dad or maybe I'm ignorant of my foolishness after all.
The goal was to capture my father's King and in this case scenario it was an expensive sneakers he imported. I have argued with him that boys like me should wear that kind of shoes while archaic men like him should stick with cover shoes. This was my first move and it seemed I was winning since I would soon travel back to school and I knew the whereabouts of dad's spare key.
Dad's move was simply smart, the key was no longer at the known place. I was disheartened almost convinced I lost, however I couldn't give up. I needed the shoe to impress my crush. I read what his move could be "to save the money keep it with the thief " I ransacked my room and to my delight I found it there. I was convinced I won this time and when dad was long gone to his office. I took my triumphant entry to his room, unlocked the doors, only to find a note dad must have written nicely set where my coveted shoe was formerly placed. "My son, don't be a pawn in the game of smartness ". I was outwitted by the man in his Sixties! I couldn't believe he actually beat me in every move and been dejected I begin to be curious about how it would be for lovers this Valentine. I tried hard to imagine how many would be played as pawns and how many more would be pranked by their feelings and emotions My mind was swayed to the curiosity of the presidential elections this February and I tried to reason if this game is not already a foregone conclusions in the hands of the Elderly.
© Ganiyu Taofeek
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