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Episode 3

It was the feast of saint Puis X. I could not wait for this day to come,neither could I wish the priest would prolong his homily,my mind wasn’t at mass that day,it was set for the visit and I was thinking about what Papa’s mission might be.

I had a feeling all Mama’s children would be present. I got back from church and we left for Mama’s house.
I know you would think,didn’t they miss the road today?. Do they have another driver?. Or has Mr Gbenro suddenly left his shell and memorized the route?.

Well,the last guess was right,Mr Gbenro had memorized the route and we had no problem locating Mama’s house,neither did we encounter gridlock on the way.

The house was more crowded than our last visit. It looked as if they were manufacturing footwear in the house. We entered and greeted everyone. I had not met any of Mama’s children before neither could I recognise each of them by their individual names. I only knew the name of the first son who died very long ago,he was the first out of the family of seven(7). His name was Adesogo Dorego Adelakun(R.I.P),he gave birth to a set of twin who are males and a female to make 3 children. I knew the twin cause they were members of the church ‘warders’. I wasn’t born when he died,so if I were told about him,I wouldn’t have contemplated!.

I got to know the names of the other six(6) children.

Mrs. Kiara;
Mrs. Juliana;
Mrs. Daniella;
Sir(Mr.) Sigismund;
Rev Sister Mary; and,
Mrs. Roseline.

We were asked what we would drink,Grandpa requested water but I had nothing. I was later excused from the gathering. I went outside and thought grandpa’s mission had begun,to reconcile the children.

What really caused the hatred amongst Mama’s children was her favouritism,mostly towards Sir. Sigismund.

He is the only male left in the family and Mama over-pampered him to the disadvantage of his sisters. Not that she didn’t love her children but she placed much authority on Sir. Sigismund who took the opportunity as it came. More so,he was the only male,he felt on top of the world and thinks all his sisters must be submissive to him both young and old. He forgot he had two sisters ahead of him. He was just too blind to see it that way,he became pompous and disrespectful that he thought no one could challenge his authority.
That was how it all started,some of his sisters started denouncing him and his authority. It grew into a menace that tormented the family’s peaceful co-existence and they were divided against one another. Little did they realised what some of them thought to be just an household joke till it spread like a wild fire. A ‘time-bomb’ that was about to destroy the family that was built on love,personal respect for life and intimate friendship with christ by Mama and her late husband.

I la!d at the back seat of the car when Mrs. Roseline and Daniella walked Papa to the car.

“This is the Aso ebi(family attire) we chose sir.” Said Mrs. Rosaline.

“You can take it along,I will come to your house on thursday to bring more for other members of the family and collect the money.” She added.

“Ok then.” Papa said with an assuring nod.

you people have to come together as one because united we stand and united we can build a home. If we are divided,there can be no peace,no rest of mind and each person would always think evil of the other person.
If the ‘bricklayers’ or ‘builders’ of Rome weren’t united,they wouldn’t have completed the city in the next hundred years.
In order to be united,you all must be humble. Humility is the father of unity. You should all strive to be humble so you can accommodate one another.
Your mother was a very wonderful woman when she was alive and God knows all she wanted and prayed for was for her children to be united and love one another more.
She had always prayed that,

“Lord,let my children be like a bunch of broom,make them one and fill their minds with your words so that they might focus on building the type of family,Jesus,Mary and Joseph built.”

Truly a tree cannot make a forest,neither can a single palm frond leaf sweep a room clean. It teaches that,you can only succeed exceedingly when you are on good terms with your neighbours.

Please!,try to accommodate one another. Remember united we stand and divided we fall.

These were the thoughts that flowed through my mind as we drove home. I think that would have been Papa’s epistle to Mama’s children. Was that because I knew my grandfather well or they were just pure imaginations of what he might have said?. Well,I guess they should be related.

Papa didn’t talk to me that day on our way home,Mr Gbenro didn’t,the car engine and accelerator were the ones doing the talking.
I couldn’t ask Papa what they discussed or how it went partly because it wasn’t my concern. Who was I to ask?. Do I have to interfere?.


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