I was 9 years old when my mother asked me to go and buy garri that she wanted to use in making eba one cool evening.
Before I left the house, my mother warned me not to branch anywhere when going to buy the garri and when coming home, to which I nodded in affirmation that I’ve heard.
I successfully bought the garri, but my real calamity started on my way back home. Some boys had started playing football on the street and they asked me to join them.
I immediately forgot all my mother’s stern warning, I placed the nylon containing the garri on a nearby plank and decided to pay for 5 minutes.
We started playing and with all my energy, I performed great dribble skills and scored a wonderful goal against the opposing team and everyone around began to praise and hail me. I loved how it felt and decided to score one more before going home. One goal turned to two and two to three, before I knew it, the sun had set.
I hurriedly picked the garri from the plank and ran home. On getting home, I met a furious mummy. “where have you been?” she yelled as she saw me enter the compound.
I lied that I was at the place where garri was sold and had to stay long because she was looking for change for me. Mummy bought my story, but as she took the nylon from me, we both saw that the nylon had torn and more than half of the garri had poured out.
“What tore this nylon like this?” mummy asked. I told her that the seller must have given me a bad nylon. My mother took me by the hand and we headed for the sellers shop so she could go and complain.
But as we stepped out of the compound, I realized that all through my journey home, the garri poured on the road and made lines on the ground.
My mother still held my hand as she followed the line of garri till it led us to the plank on the field where football was being played. Apparently, there was a nail on the plank where I dropped the garri, so when I carried it home, it made a hole in the nylon and hence the traces.
Right there in the presence of everyone who just cheered me some moments ago, my mum gave me resounding knocks on my head with hot slaps that made me see stars.
I slept that night on an empty stomach as mum said I had poured my own share away but the lessons I learnt still lives with me till this day.
Dear friend, you can lie about where you are at the moment, but you can never deny the traces in due time.
If your parents send you to school but you decide to become a sex worker along the way, you can lie to your parents, but later in life, STDs and unwanted pregnancy will become the traces you can never deny.
If you’re asked to do a job but you decide to buy low quality materials for the job, the traces will come out in due time.
Anytime you branch where you’re not supposed to be, always remember, there is a nail waiting to puncture the nylon of your garri. It will definitely leave traces you can never deny.
I hope you learnt something?
Facebook Comments Box
