Boda Sk Again

In December 1985, we moved to a new house. I cried myself silly because I was leaving my friends behind. Pa assured me that they would visit me. I had been to the new house several times with Pa but he never told me it was gonna be our new home. The house was like a homestead. I am referring to the way Texans call their homes sitting lonely on acres of wild wilderness. There was a big plantation of cocoa, sugarcane and oil palm. I was devastated because the only thing we used to wake up to was the singing of the birds. We went to bed with the loud croaks of the frogs that lined the flower beds. The neighborhood had its charm though. It was peaceful and quite beautiful. There were just three houses down the long street. One day we woke up to the chirping of bats in the living room. We screamed and screamed, scattering in every direction until Pa killed them all. I asked Pa in sly tones where the heck he brought us to and I got a baleful glare for an answer. He informed us we were the ones that came to disrupt the ecological habitat of the different animals so we should prepare for the worst. My mum shuddered in fear and cautioned us about snakes. I was cock sure we were gonna receive a monkey next as a guest. I whispered to my four year old brother that he was gonna wake up the next morning with a monkey in his bed. He howled and cried non-stop for several minutes.
Broda Sk was the hunter and the farmer rolled into one. He loved to get his hands dirty. He loved nature and agriculture. He actually graduated form college with a degree in Plant and Animal Science. He was very happy with the new environment and he introduced us to the joys of eating crabs, frogs and birds. He would set traps or use the catapult. Many squirrels had suffered the catapult fate. We became very happy in our new environment. My uncles decided to ship their kids over and it was a mad house. Christmas was fun, though very cold.
My mum became friendly with our nearest neighbour, Mrs B. She was a beautiful young woman in her thirties. She was married to a medical doctor who was a skirt chaser. She had three lovely kids. She used to come to our house a lot, complaining to my mum about her husband. She was the one that called my mum's attention to Aunty Kehinde's big belle. She encouraged mum to confront her housemaid. Of course, she denied being pregnant. She said she was filled with pounded yam. She had been ill for like three days before the confrontation. Mrs B yelled and screamed at her. My mum believed her that she wasnt pregnant and asked her to return to her duties. Mum was confused. She didnt understand how and where she could have gotten pregnant. She had been with my mum close to three years so she was a trusted employee. She was very hardworking if a bit slow and not very smart. Not up to two weeks after the confrontation, she told my mum she wanted to leave. She wept bitterly, saying she missed her twin and her parents. We all cried because we didnt want her to go. She was very nice and took care of us real good.
Mum sent for Mama M, the lady who brought her from Benin Republic. She promised my mum another girl within two weeks. She spoke privately with Aunty Kehinde but she kept hammering on the fact that she missed her twin sister and wanted to go back to Sogodoe, a coast town in Benin Republic. Mama M brought another girl. She was tall and dark with a head full of kinky afro hair. She couldnt speak a word in Yoruba but she appeared smart, strong and agile. She had a very pretty face with a small nose and full pouting lips. Basira was quiet beautiful with that kinky afro and she came straight from Togo.
Aunty Kehinde left after staying for another one week to show Basira the ropes. They could barely communicate but there was some achievement. She knew what to do. Barely two weeks after she got to our house, all hell broke loose. She had prepared some tomatoes to blend. NEPA did their rubbish and so my sister and I offered to take it to the main road. We told her not to bother, she could continue with her chores in the house. We communicated with sign language and it was quite effective. She walked briskly to my mum's bedroom and started to tidy up. My sister and I left but we were barely out of the yard when she remembered she did not take money from my mum's dresser. Some change were always kept there.
We went through the front door then we heard the screams. We stopped and listened. It was Bashira, she was screaming and saying things we couldnt understand. The screams were coming from my mum's room. My sister dropped the bowl of tomatoes and dashed towards the noise. The door was locked. We listened to the mighty struggle within, then we heard Broda SK's voice. He was in there with Bashira. My sister was frightened and started knocking on the door, calling my cousin. We jumped out of the way as the door suddenly jerked open and Broda Sk flew out of the door with Bashira in mad pursuit. We gaped open mouthed then ran after her. She was sobbing and muttering. I guess she was cursing Broda Sk to hell. She ran inside the kitchen and came out brandishing the biggest butcher knife with a murderous look, my sister and I made a beeline for the front door.''help, housemaid gone berserk''.
She dashed out moments after us and noticed Broda Sk had gone into the sugarcane plantation. She dropped the knife and sobbed uncontrollably. My sister and I stood a safe distance away and watched her. At first, I couldnt understand what had upset her so much but then I remembered Aunty Kehinde and I understood. Suddenly, there was a movement in the sugarcane plantation, Bashira jumped up and started picking rocks, throwing them in the direction of the movement. It was soon obvious that my cousin couldnt stay still, the rocks were hitting their mark. He ran in circles in the bush while Bashira pelted him with concrete rocks, then he started screaming begging for her mercy. She wouldnt relent.
My sister suggested we call Mrs B so we ran for help. It was Mrs B that consoled Bashira that day o. She sat outside and Broda Sk remained in the bushes until my mom came home. My mom was furious. She knew what her nephew had tried to do, though Bashira couldnt explain the situation herself. Of course, Broda Sk denied everything but Mum was really mad. She asked him to go to his mom's for the night. He cried and begged her but she wouldnt relent. He tried to wait it out till Pa came home but my mum wouldnt budge. He knew Pa had a soft spot for him.That night my mum started wondering about Aunty kehinde.
Just yesterday, I told my mum that her nephew might have a twenty one year old kid in Benin Republic. She relunctantly agreed, still trying not to believe that her precious nephew had been a hell raiser and the bed patner to some of her housemaids.