With trepidation did Nafisat lift her veil, as it hid the tears that fell uncontrollably from her eyes. She had been running for hours with no end in sight. Running for her dear life it would seem.
No, her house wasn’t on fire nor was she being chased, but she was running from the horror that was her life. She couldn’t bear to see another sibling die of malnutrition.
Dad’s sullen look and mum’s resignation were enough to tell her that Halima wouldn’t survive the day. Yet another sibling lost to the scourge of poverty another scar on her heart.
What cruel hands had life dealt her to watch her siblings die off one by one all at the mercy of hunger?
While far from home at the mansions mom cleaned even their dogs are better meals than she could dream of. With chubby cheeks and pressed uniforms did their kids March off to school.
Yes, attending school was the fantasy that kept slipping through her hands, like a mirage that disappeared the closer she got to it. Devil’s water they called it, that which seems like a relief to a man parched with thirst only to disappear when he stands in front of it.
Well, she had bemoaned her existence enough it was time to go home and bury the dead. As they usually said as long as there was life there was hope. Deep down she knew her hope was burning out, and her faith in humanity was wearing thin.
but fate works in mysterious ways and life could take a drastic turn especially when the tides don’t seem favorable.
She feared the future, but alas such fear made the present worth enjoying despite its many hiccups.
Nafisat’s pain is similar to so many kids in the world and yet only a little kindness here and there can make it all disappear.
Let us try then to be of help to those we can hence making it a little bit easier.