Twelfth: The Eight Day Of Christmas 
“So tell me about life outside this country” his question caught me off guard as we sat down into the village field. It was quiet and I had learnt this was because it wasn’t yet time for the village league and they were preparing for a tough match in less than 3 hours.
“No one really asks me that question, everyone assumes it was all fun and cruise, there are no tears outside Nigeria and everything is technically easy” I sad laughing making him join me. I was enjoying his company. We had walked round the village with him explaining each significant figure and houses. If he could tell a story for every house or statue we passed he would. He had even shown me the stream where everyone took their bath or swam in and had warned me never to consider drinking the water from it.
“Well, it was a good life.” I stared with a smile contemplating if I should be honest or just tell a lie. “Things are differentthere, we have good roads and uninterrupted power supply and water too. When a shop or a bank tells you that it’s open 24/7 it’s actually going to be open 24/7″ I said smiling “such places were likened to the power house that no matter what happened you can always just go there” I added shaking my head.
“It must have been nice oh” he said with a nice smile on his face, I liked his smile, it wasn’t forced like Jake’s smiles and it looked welcoming. I had met Jake in my last year of college and we had hit it off real quick, he had been one of my numerous boyfriends but this one was supposed to last or so it did until his parents decided that he cannot marry a Nigerian Igbo girl. He hadn’t even tried to fight for our 3 years plusrelationship then engagement.
“Yeah it can be” I snapped out of my sadness.
“Anyway, it’s not always rosy there. The one thing that made it fun and manageable was because I had my family with me. When I was in college I met friends who were in Canada alone during thanksgiving they had no one to spend it with, Mum tried to fill in the void, you get?” I asked him begging tocontinue “but you could tell that they missed their families.” I finished off.
“What is the one thing you miss there?” He asked still interested.
“Food, I had unlimited access to any kind of food I wanted,down here, it’s all carbohydrates and few things” I replied with excitement and joy.
“Happiest moment?” he asked.
It felt like we were playing the 1000 questions.
“Hmm, happiest moment?” I laughed as I remembered “I had a lot, but my happiest had to be the day we went to visit a farm and I saw eight workers milking cows, it reminded me of a popular song.” I said laughing.
“What’s yours? “ I asked looking at him “I dunno, but it has to be the 18th of October when the Endsars was ongoing my guys and I turned up it felt nice” he said with a smile, that smile.
“Saddest day?” he asked me after a minute.
“Well apart from the day I lost my dada” I paused as the memories of the accident flashed “sorry about that “ he said and I could have sworn I saw sadness in his eyes and that felt good. Outside anytime I told someone I had lost my parentsthey either pretended they cared or outrightly speak up of how lucky I was.
“Has to be the day my fiancé broke up with me” I said surprising myself and him.
YourPenship
David Vera Sorochi
Edited: Onwuzuligbo Judith