Okechukwu Chidi maclatunji :
“…Chidinma, I’m going to give you a mark that you would never forget…” That was one of my mom’s most popular lines while growing up. Now, don’t ask me whether she meant it, I would need to find out from her but truth is she fulfilled that promise.
I’m sure she doesn’t know this but somewhere on my left thigh (thank God it’s in a hidden place) is this scar given to me by my precious mom. I have to live with memory of that day as long as I am on this side of eternity.
I was a troubled child while growing up and you know …troubled people trouble others. Looked like, I must always be in one trouble or the other whether self-generated or circumstantial. Well on this day (don’t know exactly how to classify it), I was sent by my mom to our customer to get two sets of meat pie (here, everything made of flour is meat pie). This chore was my little brother’s assignment but in a bid to outdo my lil bro, I offered to go.
So, I arrived at the bakery, made my demand, got the “meat pies” and along came the “devil”. I just couldn’t resist the aroma. Should I eat one? No, mom knows the exact number I should come back with. What do I do? Just then, an idea flashed my mind, I could return home with the exact number and have my fill of this much desired meat pie. How? I’m the genius, am I not? Just scrap around each of the meat pie and I had 12 pieces, that’s what makes up 2 sets. And so the journey started, as I dug into each, my appetite increased, I just couldn’t get enough, so I kept on and on until I thought “…don’t go further than this or mom would find out”.
“Chidinma, what happened to these meat pies?” This was my mom’s reaction as I handed her the basket of snacks. “What?” I replied looking like I didn’t have the slightest idea what she was talking about. You know when children behave like they are smarter than adults. My mom looked at me almost with tears in her eyes; I had succeeded in wasting her ‘market’, now she would be unable to sell either of the snacks. “Why didn’t you just take one…Chidinma why are you like this? Don’t you know you’re a woman …” Not knowing where this would lead, I felt I needed to defend myself. I denied that I had anything to do with the state of the snacks, insisted that that was what they looked like when I got them, I cried how badly I was being treated and how every good thing I tried to do always turn against me. As I ranted, my mom kept staring at me. Then it happened, I turned and walked away in feigned anger. Thinking I had won, nobody prepared me for what followed next. My mom ran after me, caught up with and pounced on me. She gave me the beating of a lifetime. Oh, thank God for the timely interventions of neighbours. They succeeded and tore me away from my angry mom but not before she inflicted that scar on my left thigh.
My mom had fulfilled her promise of giving me an indelible mark as well as left me with this memory I would never forget.
Source: http://storried.com/chidinma-and-the-irresistible-meat-pies/ 1 Like 2 Shares |
