CANDY CRUSH
Hello everyone, my name is Jerry and I am the only boy child of my family. I have four sisters and they love me very much. My mother's name is Mrs Jessica and her sister's name is Mabel. I love Aunt Mabel very much because she buys me candies anytime we go out.
Mummy tells stories of how I stated liking candies but I never get to hear it. In fact, she deliberately never allows me hear it. But I know I was 1 year old when I got weaned. My father complained but my mother always seemed like she had no choice. She says emphatically that she didn't plan to stop breastfeeding me, I decided that I wouldn't take anymore. I had always asked why I stopped but she never tells me.
One day, Aunt Mabel came to take me out and we had a nice time. I was so happy we were going to visit the candy store surely. She saw the excitement and decided to shake my expectation.
We were supposed to take a right detour from the road toward the candy store, but instead, we took the left. She saw how suddenly my mood changed from lit to beaten. I struggled to maintain a smile while munching my doughnut but wasn't really happy.
Then she stopped abruptly said to me, "David, would you like to go to the candy store?" I screamed a yes and off we went.
After the whole day's fun, we reached home in her red Jeep. I could sense the curiosity on her face to know why I loved candy so much. I knew she was going to ask mother so I decided that that day was the day I was going to know too. So I made plans to not only cling but clinch her clothes till she asks mum.
"Sister, why does little cousin love candy this much?" Aunt Mabel asked my mom after dinner. Instantly, a smile crept to my face. I started preparing myself so I could make the perfect sad face incase she refuses. It wasn't necessary though, as my mother had started to tell the story without a moment's pause.
"Well, it's not a story I like to share often, because I almost lost my handsome son on that day. Remember that housemaid I fired a long time ago?"
Mother asked Aunt Mabel. "How can I forget? You fired her right after that fire incident. Come to think of it you never really told me the nitty-gritty of everything. I was just happy then that you all survived.
"It was on the day of the fire accident. Earlier that day, Jerry's dad and I had decided to go sight seeing. We wanted to celebrate his promotion at the office. We left Jerry with the house help and gave her instructions to behave herself. We were still at Olumo rocks admiring the beauty of nature when a caring neighbor called to tell us that our house was on fire. We ran back as quickly as possible. On getting there, we saw neighbors gathered outside trying to put out the fire. The fire had lasted for about 15 minutes or so. I asked about the whereabouts of Jerry from a neighbor. Imagine my shock when he said they thought Jerry was with us. The foolish house help had forgotten totally about Jerry and she didn't tell the neighbors that Jerry was inside the house." My mom continued the story ,after drinking a glass of water.
The fire was subdued almost at the same time I heard the news. I ran in as fast as possible with tears freely dropping my eyes. I searched for Jerry in the kitchen and in the sitting room or what was left of them. I couldn't find him. I was trying to push away the thought that I might have lost my only son when suddenly I heard someone giggling in the bathroom. I went there and I saw Jerry there with a packet of chocolate candy smiling. I felt so relieved. It turns out he had followed a trail of left over candy that our careless house help dropped en route to the bathroom. When he got to the bathroom, he stayed there enjoying the candy." That's the story, mom concluded. My aunt and I smiled even as I gave a bar of candy a big bite.
Ben James et Anene Ebubechukwu Anthony
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