THE UNKNOWN HANDS (EPISODE FIFTEEN)

STORY SERIES

...give me out of what she is eating” she would say, and I would explain to her that there was nothing in the old woman’s mouth. The girl was later to prove me wrong on one occasion as she drew my attention to the old woman taking something out of her

mouth, throwing it away and putting another from a small leaf-parcel. I watched closely and discovered that the girl was actually right. Iya Agba had a ground tobacco which she was fond of putting in her tongue like most aged women. When I explain to Idowu that what Iya Agba was chewing was not meant for small children, she simply frowned, referring the old woman as being selfish.

Two days after my arrival into the Fatokun’s compound, I had the opportunity of visiting their farm, a few kilometers from Ayedaade. I marveled at the size of the farm and it actually disabused my mind of my previous thought that my father’s farm was the largest anywhere in the world.

The Cocoa plantation was a sight that would bring happiness to any farmer. Nearly all the trees carried the oval shaped yellow fruits waiting harvesting. Before this could be done, we had to clear the weed which had almost overtaken the plantation. We were then engaged in doing this while the women remain in the hut; preparing what we would eat. Later when we started hearing some whistling, we knew it was time to go on break.

The Cocoa plantation was cleared within a week and harvesting began in earnest. I enjoyed working with the Fatokuns so much so that I almost forgot all my earlier troubles. I even began to see the man as my own father since he treated us all the same way without any discrimination.  Not even when there were slight quarrels between his own children and I did he take side. He would find out our bone of contention and get the matter resolved amicably. As a matter of fact, it was normal to find such squabbles as the ones that developed between us since we were still children. I was seen as a total stranger in their childish thinking. They felt that there should be a difference in the treatment we received and some of them did not fail to remind me that I was a wanderer and an intruder into their family each time there was a disagreement between us. I learnt to keep up with such accusations even though at times I was stung as if swarm of bees had attacked me. Throughout those periods, I ensured that I was really never at fault. My butterfly never thought itself a bird. I knew that the only way I could endear myself to everyone was by behaving well. Apart from the fact that Baba Fatokun regarded all of us as his children, there were many ways in which he was exactly like my father. He was always full of words of encouragement and he thanked us for every little effort we put into the farm work. Besides, he was never starved of words of advice for us on how we should live together in harmony and love… to be continued on Saturday.

Story series is published every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Don’t miss it

Make  http://fedricxconsult.blogspot.com  your homepage today to read articles, story series, Kirikiri news and lots more.