FLOWERS IN SAHARA

' 🄾🄽🄴 '

The moment Lolade opened her eyes: her eyes adjusted to the darkness of the room out of habit. Rubbing her eyes as her sat up on the foam, she stood up and walked out of the room.

She pushed the door open ignoring the creaky sounds the door made knowingly funny well that the other person in the room wouldn't hear it. She walked straight down the corridor till she came to an open space and the early morning clouds gathering already.

Maybe knowing the time just by looking at the sky was an olden day mechanism that should have gone into extinct but just with one glance; Lolade needed no one to tell her it was just past 5am.

Yawning lightly again, she walked back into the building turning corners with dexterity without the use of light or lamp.

She arrived at the backyard that had different coals and ashes scattered all over the back. She walked towards one and started gathering firewood on top of each other. Grabbing a keg of kerosene and matches from an enclosed space; she started a fire and allowed it to burn illuminating the whole backyard before she placed a already black kettle on the raging fire.

She hurried back into the room she had walked out from before and could see the figure on the bed bent over the bed muttering prayers quietly. Without a word, she walked around the room packing and arranging everywhere still in the darkness.

She then went back to the backyard to put another kettle on fire before walking towards the bathroom. Lolade slowly removed her clothes as she hung them on the nail in the bathroom.

Even in the darkness, she could clearly see the cemented wall turning green from been covered by spirogyra. The cracks that ran along the walls didn't help matters as they made it look like the walls were going to fall apart anytime soon.

As Lolade poured the first bowl of water on her head, she laughed internally at the person would be taking his or her bath when the walls came apart.

By the time she was done and walked back to the backyard: there were more people walking to and fro and the skies that started to become brighter.

Lolade wore a small smile as she greeted the neighbours while walking back to the room. The figure who had bent over the bed a few minutes ago was already walking around the room trying to bring out the ingredients to cook.

Lolade smiled as she walked up to her and led her to a chair. Kneeling in front of her with her two knees, her smile widened a little as she moved her hands to signal to the other.

The older woman who Lolade was an exact replica smiled as she also moved her hands in reply to her. For a while they kept talking using their hands. Lolade laughed at the hand sign the older woman made as she shook her head and made another hand sign and walked out of the room back to the backyard.

She placed a pot on the firewood as she started cooking carefully tending to the food on fire and as soon as the food was done, she carried it back to the room dropping it in a corner of the room. She then proceeded to grab a bucket under the bed as someone knocked on the door.

"Lolade, its almost 7,are you not done yet?" A female voice hollered as Lolade rushed out of the room.

"I'm done, let's go" Lolade hollered back as she walked out of room. Three other girls were already standing outside the room also carrying bucket.

"Let's go" Lolade said as one of the girls gave her bucket to Lolade to hold.

"We have Ala's subject today o" She said as another girl hissed as they all stepped outside the building.

"So we have to be fast today ehn??" She asked as Lolade laughed.

"No worries, let's just get to the road already. Its almost 6;30" Lolade replied as they reached a locked shop. Lolade retrieved a key from her pocket and opened the door.