When The Light Dims

Chapter 2: SOPURU

"For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind"

- 2 Timothy 1:7

"Sopuru, are you done?" a voice filtered in as the door opened to reveal mum fully dressed in her best gold dress with a train which complemented her brown eyes, two wrapped gifts in her hands.

At the time, I was just in the middle of combing my hair.

"Let me help you with that," she suggested.

I have always liked the way mum combed my tufted curls. Taking a strand at a time, using her fingers gently from the root to the tip to detangle the curls. She packed my hair into a neat bun, projecting my large forehead.

As she was busy decorating my hair, my attention diverted to the gifts she placed on the bed. I continued staring to decipher the gifts that laid under the wrappers. They were so flat, I couldn't imagine of anything. As I was trying to guess what was in them, her eyes glinted with laughter. She picked up the smaller one and handed it over to me. My hands battled with the ribbons but I finally got it.

"A journal?" I scrunched my nose looking for something special in the book but found nothing but lines and spaces.

Mum seeing the displeasure on my face quickly smiled and said, "This is not just any journal but a private journal between you and God. My mum gave me one when I was sixteen. I know you are only nine but it seems like you are ready for something as special as this." She hesitated, watching me closely. "Don't you like it?"

This must have meant a lot to her now as it did when her mum did the same. I reached out to hug her.

"I like it. Thank you, mummy." I smiled up at her, knowing I was sincere.

Then she unwrapped the second gift revealing a brightly colored pink gown with frills from the waist down.  She assisted me to get into my new dress. Wow! I caught my reflection in the mirror. The girl in the mirror with a diamond shaped birthmark on her neck looked nothing like me on a casual day.

"You look like a princess," mum said as she placed a cute tiara in my hair.

Dad appeared at the door, grinning from ear to ear. He stretched out his hands and bowed in front of me. "Everyone is awaiting your presence, your highness. Shall we?"

I blushed as I placed my palm in his and followed him downstairs to meet our family and friends gathered in the living room. Pink balloons and gold ribbons streamed down the ceiling and walls. A pink banner with the inscription, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY SOPURU" at entrance was the second thing I noticed immediately. With the room filled with loud afro beats and enough delicacies to go around, everyone was engrossed in the merriment but as I reached the bottom of the stairs, the music stopped and all heads turned to my direction.

"Happy birthday!" Everyone cheered.

After paying my regards to almost every person in the room, I abandoned my parents to play with my friends.

"Your gown is so pretty, Sopuru." Adora ogled at me. The other girls hummed in unison.

"Thanks." I gave a humble smile.

"You look like a princess," Anheeka  grinned from ear to ear as though she was the birthday girl.

"More like the frog princess. On my birthday, my father got me a real tiara and my dress had butterfly wings." Amelia stood in 2-inch heels and a dress similar to mine with a contemptuous gaze.

The one upper was at it again. But not on my day. I took a defensive step forward. "No one asked you, Ameliur." My eyes twitched.

Anheeka got in between us and took my hand. "You know what? Let's dance."  She dragged me away.