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My Mother would try to busy herself, just to take the ideas of my Father never coming back to us. It was just the sixth month of that year and she was now heavily carrying my little sibling.


Mama would rub her big belly and call out a name, a name I never got the meaning, since it was Tribal.


Sometimes, Mama would stop calling out that name and ask me to play a particular record on the record player. She would dance for a while and retire to sit and have a glass of water, while beads of sweat were emblazoned her forehead.


Papa held my tiny and tender hands and held Mama's afterwards, rubbing her then flat belly, when he kissed her Goodbye. He looked brave but his eyes were so reddish, like a red eyed Monster. I was raised to believe every man may cry but never my tough and intrepid Father. It was impossible for him to do so.


It took Mama a while to let go of his hands and lips before he disappeared into the thick dusty air of the eleventh month of that year.


Inside the dusty and noisy Vehicle, Gabriel decided to take out his keg of water. He took a mouthful and swallowed it slowly and carefully, as if his throat had holes. He looked left and right, his eyes met with his neighbour and accomplice, Nathan, who was sleeping so peacefully, even with the disturbing dust particles cluttered in the Vehicle.


On the other side, a fine looking lady was praying to a god. She took out her sheathed bayonet and painfully impaled a cut into her bronze coloured skin. She continued praying and rubbed a potion of appalling smelling lotion on the cut. Her face was etched in pain and slight disgust of the belly crunching smell.


Soon, the Vehicle halted and Gabriel and his accomplices jumped out. It was a long journey ahead of them to their quick and gratis destination to the European continent through the endless desert route.


Gabriel was sweating slightly while Nathan was sweating rather profusely. He was jolted out of his sleep reverie moment, making his eyes vapid and red, just like Gabriel's, whenever he tried to fight back his tears.


"We are here, Man. We just have to do what we have to do so we can survive. If you are asked a question, answer the Arabian officials correctly, else you'll be tagged as a fraud and tolled back to Nigeria, am I clear?" Nathan admonished, his breath foul.

"Okay. Thank you. I just want my family to afford the best so I'm willing to do it all, my friend," Gabriel replied, his tone enchanting and intoxicating.

"Good then!" Nathan echoed in sotto voce.


Then, they were ushered into a small Cabin to dwell, while food and drink was administered to them, the food too beggarly in portion. The water was tasteless but smelled foul, they drank it anyway.


Gabriel brought out the small photo of his family and prayed to God to keep them safe. He was tough and he prayed they stayed tough as well. He was ready to get into the borders to Europe and make copious amount of money for their well-being.