A DREAM COME TRUE

Aunty Agatha waited for me dressed up on the streets. She brought out a sandwich and a drink from the second bag she was carrying and gave them to me. I ate and drank the bottle of coke she gave me. Then she gave me an apple. This deli­cacy I still remembered in my later years. A child deprived of a decent meal for close to three years was now having a sumptuous breakfast. In my mind I thanked God for this blessing. While I was eating, my mind went back to my dream. Was this an assurance of my mother’s watchful eyes?

Aunty Agatha was very patient with me. I finished my meal. She then asked me to follow her. This I did without hesitation. She opened the door of her car and asked me to sit at the back seat. I did, and then she drove away. She was an angel sent to me to save me from the terrible life under the bridge of Lagos, having lost my adopt­ed brother David whom I still have no news of.

 
I sincerely pray he is okay. I pray that some day we will meet and God willing we will survive and be alive to tell our stories. I did not forget my wrapper. I pleaded with Aunty Agatha to let me keep the wrapper my Mother gave me. She smiled and said that when we get to the house she would give me soap to wash and iron it. I hugged her and thanked her for her kindness. Apart from my mother I could not remember when I received or hugged some­one in appreciation for their kindness. For the two years I spent under the bridge I knew no kindness except that of my adopted big brother David

NKEM THE VICTRIOUS ONE