Hey lovelies! It’s our first Wednesday and I have something interesting for you. Before then, I’d love to thank you all for the birthday wishes and your support. It is so nice to know that you all have my back… I am really grateful.
Here is a short story written by me. Narrated by the sister, AISHAT, FALILAT is the story of a young girl named FALILAT, (hence the title) from the Northern part of Nigeria and her ordeal about something which seems to be normal. This story is partly nonfiction because some parts has been removed and replaced accordingly by the writer. Enjoy!
FALILAT
Photo Credit – Slam-gang
Father has promised that all five of us must be educated. “What will be my gain if I spend more than half of my entire life in Lagos and deny my children education? Allah forbid I do such”. He runs a ‘Bureau De Change’ here in Lagos. We live a comfortable life together with Mother and there is peace in our home.
Lest I forget, Father left Kaduna for Lagos with his uncle since he was only twenty years old. Through hard work, he established his own ‘Bureau de change’ company at thirty-two, twelve years after he got to Lagos. Father then went back to Kaduna that same year to get himself a wife who later birthed Falilat, Aishat which is me, while Azeez, Sodiq and Malik were born after we came back to Lagos. You would doubt if someone told you we weren’t Yoruba. We speak Yoruba so well since we were all brought up here.
Mother owns a store where she sells provisions and soft drinks. Precisely eight years ago, we used to attend a primary school two streets away from home. While I was eight years old and was in primary three, Falilat, my elder sister was twelve years old and was in primary six.
Falilat had always been a happy child until she got into primary six. Everything suddenly changed. She liked to be alone, cried most nights and sometimes skipped meals.
I always tried to address this but Father and Mother wouldn’t say anything. Even Falilat herself refused to open up to me.
What is the reason for Falilat’s sudden change? You will find out next Wednesday. Until then, remember to always make the most of yourself. Do things that make you happy and less tensed. JohannWolfgang von Goetheonce said,
“One ought, every day at least, to hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture, and, if it were possible, to speak a few reasonable words”
– Victoria Deola Olatunji