My journey [Episode 2]

I woke up this morning with a lot on my mind, Mama didn't need to come to my room to wake me up.I did my house chores and got myself ready to go to Mama's shop, I needed to see my friend who was leaving for the city today without mama's knowledge,if I tell mama,she won't let me go instead she would start with her lectures about me focusing on my own life,this I have heard a lot of times.

"Enohor,are you ready",Mama called out from her room.

"Yes mama".

"Oya,carry this and make sure you start peeling the yams immediately you get to the market, I don't want that old witch to cook her yams before mine", She said as she brought and lifted the basket of yams on my head.

The old witch,that is what mama calls her rival, Mama karo, she also sells boiled yam in the market, she and mama always quarrelled over little things.They have always accused one another of stealing customers.
I left the house and walked quickly towards Ajiri's house, Ajiri has been my friend right from childhood,but she continued her secondary school education while I stopped,now she is moving to the city with her aunt to further her education.Immediately I entered Ajiri's house, I greeted her parents,dropped the basket of yams and went straight to her room, she started grinning from ear to ear immediately she saw me.

"Eno,  you came to see me", she said as she hugged me.

"Yes" I said as I stared at her box full of her things on the bed.

"I only came to say goodbye, I need to get to Mama's shop on time because she has no idea I came here"

" Thank you Eno,i will really miss you ", she said as she hugged me tightly.

She helped me with the basket of yams I dropped earlier and I immediately headed to the market,On getting to the market mama Karo was there already cooking her yam,mama would be disappointed if she know mama Karo got to the market before me.As I was peeling the yam, I noticed mama Karo and another woman whispering to each other about something. I paid close attention  to what they where saying that is when I discovered they were talking about mama, this made me pay more attention because I wanted to know what they where saying about my mother.

"Do you know that that old witch slept with the agent yesterday again", I heard the other woman say in a very low tone.

"I always suspected she sleeps around especially with that agent but I was not sure" mama Karo replied in a similar tone.

Immediately I froze, my hands became heavy from holding the knife,my eyes became blur,i couldn't see clearly as I tried to fight the tears  that was going to roll down my cheek, mama would not do that,i know for sure because my mother isn't that desperate, I m fifteen years old but I understood clearly what they meant and kept on trying to convince myself that it is not possible. I didn't even notice when Mama Karo and her friend stopped talking, I peeled the yam slowly and tried not to think of what I just heard.
Mama came to the stall later in the day but I didn't say a word to her,The day went quickly than I expected,she asked me repeatedly if I was alright as I looked moody since she arrived but I told her I was alright.
That night I went to mama's room to ask her if what I heard was true because I didn't want to doubt my mother.

"Mama, where did you get the money to pay that agent yesterday?",I asked  as I stood right in front of her.

" I begged him to give me more time",she said without looking at me,she kept on folding the cloths on the bed.

"Mama,don't lie to me, you and I know that this man is wicked and your pleading won't have mattered",I said getting frustrated

"Why are you questioning me like this"

"Mama did you sleep with that disgusting man?".
I wasn't expecting the words to come out of my mouth like that,immediately it came out I got scared of nothing in particular.

"What did you say?"
I couldn't repeat my question because all of a sudden it seemed hard to say.

"Mama answer me,tell me the truth or else I would scream for the world to hear".I said but to me sounded like a threat.

She looked at me with that sorry face,and gave me a nod.

"Am sorry"

I froze immediately, I opened my mouth, no words came out.Tears just rolled down my cheeks.

My Journey[Episode 1]

I fell on my knees still crying as I held on to his leg,i kept on pleading with him not to close mama's shop,all this fell on deaf ears.

"Please Sir, wait till mama comes back ,she will pay you",I said still weeping. He looked down at me irritably and looked back at the boys almost immediately.

"Keep moving does junks out",he shouted as he forcefully kicked me away from his leg. Immediately the boys started throwing mama's pots and plates out of the stall.

I had come to open the stall on behalf of mama this morning,she went to buy tubers of yam that she was going to cook and sell from the big market in town. Since Papa died, mama had been the only one catering for Me and Efemini,my brother.Efemini works as a mechanic apprentice at Pa Lucas's shop, when mama wanted to enrol Efemini as an apprentice, all of the shop owners wanted money,So mama went to Pa Lucas's shop as her last hope,he was Papa's friend so when mama needed to enrol Efemini he didn't collect money.A small stall was given to mama in the market where she sells boiled yam, she pays for the stall every week, but lately sales had been really bad and mama had not been able to meet up with the payment, so the shop agent brought some boys over to throw us out of the stall and lock it up.
I was becoming weak but I continued to beg, the agent didn't even act like I existed,he acted like he didn't see me begging,i stood up immediately when I noticed that school students were making their way back from school, some of them were my classmate in primary school so I didn't want them to see me begging and crying,so I stood up and started dusting my cloths slowly,they walked past me some looking dirty like they have been playing all day,some with their bags on their head and some on their back ,The ones that knew me kept staring at me as they walked by,while others just chattered away.I was suppose to be one of them,i was suppose to be in school too but mama had no money, I thought as I stood there watching the agent lock the shop and leave.
I picked up all the pots an plates on the floor and put them right in front of the shop and waited patiently for mama to arrive.when mama returned I explained all that happened immediately her face changed.

"Go home with the wares,i will sort it out",she said.

I wanted to ask her how she would sort it out since we had no money,but I was to tired to even say another word,so I picked up the basket full of wares and went home.when I got home laid on the mat in my room just thinking of all that happened earlier,it was just so embarrassing for me,i felt hot tears rolling down my cheeks,i didn't even bother to clean it, I just let the tears flow till I slept off.

In the evening Efemini woke me up to eat,i was surprised I slept for that long and nobody woke me up earlier.As we ate in mama's room ,I noticed mama focused on her food without saying anything about her stall.

"Mama, have u spoken to the stall agent?" i asked as I put a spoon of rice in my mouth.
"Yes"
"so the stall will be opened tomorrow?" I asked again
"Yes"
"How did you do it,mama?"  I asked with a surprise look on my face,we didn't have money and the man would not just open the stall like that.

"Abeg Enohor, let me eat in peace,your questions are too much", She shouted.

I was surprised,this is so unusual, but I let it go becomes I didn't want to bother mama further.I cleared the plates after eating and we all went to sleep.As I thought of mama's outburst,i drifted into sleep again.