Boss

beginning:14

Life didn't make any sense, Dami thought as he stared deep into the empty road. He turned to see his siblings sleep soundly. A strong wind came causing Dami to close his eyes defensively.He pulled the blanket he found in the bin over his siblings to keep them warmer. The one they had been using wasn't enough to protect them from the wind.

He sat up to lay his back against the wall as the cold moved down his spine. He turned to look at the carton his siblings slept on. He wished he could enjoy the warmth of it.Instead he moved his eyes away from them to stare at the rest of the beggers that were sleeping under the bridge. Most of them sleeping on the bare floor like he was,the rest of them on carton or clothes. Memories of when he used to see little kids beg on the streets when he and his mother went to the market flashed in his mind. He never thought he'd become one of them.

It had been two years since his mother died,since his father sent he and his siblings out of the house. It seemed like a nightmare he was going to wake up from when it happened. Days went,months left,then reality struck him. No one took he and his siblings in,no one gave them food or water because of the so called rumours about them being cursed.

He had to beg to survive,he had to sleep on the streets to survive. The pain of the hard years filled his heart so much he sobbed inaudibly . He didn't want to be heard by his siblings or the other beggers who were sleeping. He cleaned his eyes with sleeve of the big shirt he was wearing. He prayed morning came early . It was almost time for his siblings to write their exams. He needed to look for a new way to earn money and pay for their school fees.

He was tired of hawking in traffic. He didn't earn much from hawking sachet water,he only earned enough for them to eat. He thought about joining a building construction team. But when he made enquiry about it,he needed a training fee to be a part of the team. He searched around for one that would accept him without paying,one that would pay him money for his assistance not one that he'd pay money for. He asked the thugs around if they could help him with getting one. They all suggested he kept begging or a bus conductor job.He did a conductor job seven months ago but quit when the louts who got him the job kept taking all his money.

Dami closed his eyes hoping to get some sleep but opened them back when he heard a voice.

"Kilo se e to sun? (why aren't you sleeping)" the middle aged woman who was lying down about ten steps away from him asked. He turned to her direction to see she was still lying down. How did she always know anytime he was awake?. He had his back turned against her.

He didn't want to wake the beggars who were laying next to him so he replied her with a nod . He hoped she saw his reply through the little light that shone from the street lights. He blinked his eyes repeatedly as he folded his arms a bit to sit comfortably.

"A daa(everything will be fine)" the woman sighed. Dami didn't believe everything would be fine,his life might end up being like one of those louts's. Maybe if his siblings are able to graduate school and have a good job. He promised he would make it happen by all means. For him, nothing will be fine,he had stopped going to school. Nothing was going to be fine,his mother had told him the only way for him to become a great person was to go school,make good grades, graduate and have a good job. How would a primary school graduate get a good job? He even had to stop speaking English to avoid being bullied. It was either Pidgin or Yoruba. A tear fell from his left eyes as he closed eyes. He didn't want to think about it.

Morning finally came. The weekend would be a long one, Dami thought as he folded the blankets and carton his siblings slept on.

"Make nobody touch my thing ooo,if they no wan die. He get wentin my eyes see before I see am ( anyone who doesn't want to face death shouldn't take my things)" Dami said at the top of voice. Then turned to watch the rest of the them fold their blankets too.