The sound of the nature whispered in her ears. The sound reached her senses and filled with uneasiness. The calm and quietness were replaced with a sudden chirp of birds. The rattling of windows said that the wind has started its activity of blowing. Only the blowing disturbed her quiet sleep. The engines too cooed slowly as if the pain of loading men was unbearable. The world was still asleep but she could no more. She had to get up. She had to make her eyes wide open so as to attend a slew of chores which lay waiting for her attention. Even when her eyes stay closed, her mind wandered. The wandering was seamless and never stopped. It drifted to the kitchen, to school, to laundry, to grocery shop, to supply store, to chemist, to bank and many odd places. She tried to focus but failed. She uncovered the quilt that lay in top of her giving her an escape from the mad world outside. She quickly freshened herself and ran to the kitchen area. The unkempt hair had to wait. She hurriedly gave a nice bath to the soiled utensils. Thanking the milkman, she put on the kettle for a morning coffee for her beloved husband. The mixer was started for the chutney which will accompany the idli and will go her little one's mouth. And that's when the clock chimed. She lifted her gaze to see the time. It was just 5 a.m.
“I wanted to tell Mama that it did feel different to be back, that our living room had too much empty space, too much wasted marble floor that gleamed from Sisi’s polishing and housed nothing. Our celing was too high. Our furniture was lifeless: the glass tables did not shed twisted skin in the harmattan, the leather sofas’ greeting was a clammy coldness, and the Persian rugs were too lush to have any feeling. But I said, “You polished the etagere.” " The above text appears when Jaja and Kambili return from Nsukku, their Aunty Ifeoma’s house, and witness their place as dull and lacking warmth even though the house glistened like a palace. The warmth that Aunty Ifeoma’s house had carried during the days they spent despite having a nondescript house and where they prayed every day for Peace and Laughter. Laughter among all the things. Because Laughter was valued in their house everyday despite living with shortcomings something that Kambili hardly got to experience in own h
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