 AUTHOR = TOYIN ODEWUNMI
The first kiss
For Oshare, the moment would be when she first kissed him. She had felt so full with emotions that night. She suddenly felt like the waves of an ocean were about to drown her soul. Her heart was like a bottle that was so full it could take no more, she wanted to topple over and reveal her secret desires to him. She was also very angry. He just acted so normal
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Sometimes she wondered if he truly had feelings for her or what exactly did she see in his eyes that night?
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When they got to the river that divides their journey, he stood under their favorite spot, the large baobab tree.
“So…goodnight. I’ll see you tomorrow”
“good night,” she heard thundering from the cage in her chest. She knew she couldn’t let another night pass without letting him know.
“What are you doing tomorrow? Can I come to, ”
that was when she did it. Slowly without a warning, she drew his head closer to hers with her right hand and she put her lips to his. It was the briefest she had ever had. He pulled away so gently that she wanted to smack herself in the face for doing it anyway. Maybe he’s one of those weird ones who prefer boys or maybe he wasn’t just attracted to her.
But Oshare won’t forget that night. She won’t forget the brisk way they turned their separate ways that night, the way her heart fluttered with a million melodies, the way the stars shone ever so brightly, the way she greeted Mathias cheerily at the gate even when she knew it was way past her curfew time. The way her bed seemed warmer and her sleep so heavenly. She just can’t forget the night she first kissed Kofi Appiah.Â
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When she woke up the next morning, her heart and mouth sang tunes she thought she’d forgotten. She felt like standing on top of the highest mountain in Samsara to scream:
” I love Kofi Appiah!” She smiled at the image it conjured. Her grandmother would go into a fit. Hadn’t she being warned by the whole village that men were dangerous? She sighed at the memories of her escapades with Dapo Giwa. His promises to take her to “Men are wicked Oshare, when will you ever learn? Eh? Your mother was abandoned by that good for nothing Nigerian. Eh! He didn’t even look back. I had to take care of her because she was already pregnant with you” the voice of Mama rang in her ears loudly. She sighed again. “At least Kofi is not a Nigerian so Mama cannot object” Dapo Giwa was her first love. Everyone thought it was a match doomed from the start. Everyone except Oshare. What would they say now if they saw her with Kofi? Nana, her best friend said people had started running their mouths about her relationship. “They said you’re a prostitute!” that was two months ago and they haven’t stopped talking. One evening, as she was returning from Kasanta market heard some women whispering behind her, “Fool, she thinks all men are fools. Soon Kofi will find out her dirty secrets and will not marry her.” Oshare didn’t let things like that bother her. Her mother was full of grace and she carried herself with pride. This she taught her daughter. Oshare held her head high and walked on ahead of them till she didn’t hear their voices anymore. Her mother was always gossiped about too. The villagers hated her for getting pregnant for a Nigerian. The young men wooed her but Sisi didn’t listen to them, her heart belonged to Daniel Dede, a tall and fair skinned Nigerian who stole the heart of every damsel in Samsara then. When he declared his love for Sisi, the whole village went berserk. How could she marry a foreigner? Sisi refused saying that their love would sustain them. She was wrong for Daniel left her pregnant with Oshare and he never came back to |
