I flitted around preparing for my surprise birthday/engagement party. My boyfriend of two years was going to propose. I was floating to the sky from the pleasure, but a bleak shroud of grief held me down. My reflection in the mirror testified that I looked gorgeous in my red flowery gown.
“Achile, come say happy birthday to your sister,” Mummy announced. Achile ambled into the room with a glassy stare fixed on me. The looniness in his eyes slowly faded and the years became real. I rushed to his side and held his arm. “So, you are turning 22 today?” he smiled with intense eyes that looked over my body. Gladness for being remembered filled my heart. The best birthday present ever.
“You became a woman,” he added as he brought his eyes to my face. “Yes, brother. I am getting married soon.” His eyebrows twitched as he laughed. The abrupt display of mirth confused me, I was still confused when he said;
“Don’t be long oh, return quickly so that you can help Mummy with dinner. You know she’s heavily pregnant and Baby Pat won’t let her rest.”
The last time my mother was pregnant was fourteen years ago. And Baby Pat no longer existed. I picked up this memory and wrapped it in my heart. It joined the stash of memories I had compiled over the years. I wondered if he also had gatherings. If he saved the moment when I massaged his back and he confessed that I was his favorite sister. Did he remember how Baby Pat had died in the accident that took his memory? Were all these lucid moments gatherings of memories that would never be fondled by him?
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Read – The Crayon Family – A Flash Fiction by Taiwo Adewuyi, Nigeria
