“It would rain again,” that, Wemimo was sure of. She hoped her parents in Ilaje were safe. The incessant rain in Ilaje had embraced flooding of its environment. The town had many rivers and the primary source of revenue is fish-farming. Farmers were now complaining about the extinction of some fish species.
Driving into the estate she lived, she viewed the vegetable oil company she passed every day. Now, she wondered why an oil company was established where the masses lived. She was piqued at the emitted exhaust fumes entering the atmosphere. Passing through a gas station; she remembered how before, gas stations were built far from where people lived, now they are built near people’s houses; causing an increase in cases of explosion and loss of lives— and the first time she saw a gas station opposite a petroleum station, she didn’t believe her eyes.
Coming closer towards her gate she admired the only farmland in the street, the land flourished with fruits and vegetables. When her family moved in years ago, the street was a site, they freely plucked vegetables and fruits. Currently, the only farm on the street is not a free commodity. Her neighbours had no trees in their compound, their surroundings thoroughly cemented— even when the government had already made a law about planting a tree in every compound. She at least, has a small garden in her backyard that reminds her of Mother Earth’s fruitfulness.
Hooting her car horn, she waited for the gateman to open the gate, her phone rang and she answered the call. Listening to the caller, she sighed and said, “you are right, the climate is changing. The rainy season ought to start in April, but instead it is starting in February, catching my parents unaware.”
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Read – Bystander – A Flash Fiction by Hanghuwo Ndawedwa, Namibia
Wooooow.
This is excellent