RESOLVE

Chapter Three.

~Sarima's POV~

"No carry your life take play basketball o, oyibo man don talk am say health is wealth. Dr iguedo the goko cleanser, e dey helep comot all kinds of yama yama Disease and infections from your body..."

The robotic voice from a small speaker sitting atop a vehicle with cartons of the said concoctions in the open boot for people to see and patronise was nearly drowned out by the other noises in the vicinity.

The clouds looked like it was about to pour their frustration on the earth.

The particles of sand and dust that the wind carried along with its movement were blinding.

Owners of kiosks and shops that had initially sampled their wares outside were sending them back inside.

Trying to avoid the near chaos and spitting out the sand particles that had made their way into my nose and mouth, I could still see a yellow MTN-labelled umbrella with its insides out, the ironed ropes supposed to hold it together, jutted out, indicating that it was damaged.

It had initially been used as shelter from the sun by a fruit seller struggling with the wind for balance as she tried to fix the umbrella.

The noise from the public vehicles as they honked impatiently was incorrigible.

Squinting my eyes and dragging my feet, I scanned the vicinity for a safe place to stay until the wind would be over.

I saw the Lebanese kids that usually hung around this axis to beg passers-by for money. They were as usual in their worn-out football jerseys with their long attractive curly hair and ebony skin. Still, this time they were all huddled Inside an old abandoned keke, not in their usual spot and were equally turning to face the other side shielding the sand from entering their eyes too.

It was going to rain. The gusty weather was quite weird for a Sunday afternoon.

My long flowing gown didn't make my swift movements comfortable, so it was folded on both my empty hands exposing my ankles and lower legs as I slung over my bag on my right shoulder on my thick denim jacket which I'd worn over the strapless gown despite the initial sunny weather.

I spotted a pine tree from a distance beside an unending big fence; it had only one occupant, and I wanted to go there too, but stories of trees falling during this type of situation popped up in my head. So I decided against it, seeing as the wind carried the hard-to-notice branches along in a frantic motion.

Boarding a tricycle home would be better.

"Aunti!" I turned at the sound of the unsure voice. I wasn't sure it was me that was being referred to, so I continued my movement, too impatient to find a suitable shelter or a keke to even scan for the person who'd called out.

"Aunti", I heard it again and saw the man standing under the pine tree calling me.

aunti ke

He looked very much older. I tried to decipher if I'd seen him somewhere but couldn't. But, maybe because of the wild weather, I needed to see clearly.

He beckoned me to come as my movement slowed, and I scanned him, checking if he was one of those retards that was left to roam the streets cause it was a common thing.

His clothes were neat _Check. His hair wasn't in thick locs or the least bit dirty or bushy _Check. He had no harmful objects with him, just a big satchel bag hanging across his chest. Moreover, if he wanted to try something evil, this road was busy _Check.

"Comot for road", A short man muttered, half running past me, leaving a vestige of smelly sweat behind.

I moved away from there, approaching the smiling man under the tree, my right hand shielding my eyes from the sandy wind.