and why i couldn't forget
When i was ten going on eleven and my little sister seven going on seven and a half, my family had quite a hard time with my father not having a steady job in the factory he's working in. There was a time he decided to follow one of his friends to collect canes deep in the forest so that he could sell it to the local furniture manufacturer nearby. My mother was extremely worried about him and said there was a fat chance even if my father was very thin that he would not come out of the forest without the tigers first, settling their hungry eyes on him from behind the bush. My father told her back that it's better to risk being eaten by a tiger than to sit in the house not being able to eat anything at all- and he repeated, 'at all'- to emphasize how hard it was our family condition at that time.
One early morning, my father went out of the house with his motorbike going for the forest. It was also a school day, so my little sister and i found ourselves were left without a father to send us to school that was miles away from home. It wasn't a bad news actually for the both of us since there was nothing better than to sit around at home and play with my little sister in the backyard during a school day. We started our day grinning while we stood in front of the door waving goodbye to our father; him and his motorcycle swallowed slowly by the darkness of the early morning.
The happiness didn't lasted long however when my mother suddenly stood right behind us and said, 'what are you both doing there with the faces hanging like that? It's getting late, now get dressed.' My jaw dropped and i said to mom 'Mom, are you forgetting something? Dad is gone, and we can't walk to school if that's what you mean.' My mother shook her head ' No, no, you're not walking. I'm going to take you to school today. There's your father's bike outside of the house.' She threw the school uniforms at our faces.
Listening to that, our jaws dropped even lower looking towards the lawn where there was an old bike laid steadily against the guava tree. It was extremely old when you look at it from far, what more if you go nearer. It has been a long time since someone had used the bike that we wonder if it still can move forward like other bicycles in the world. My little sister said that she would be ashamed forever if my mother send her to school with that. My mother shot back at her that she didn't remember having a princess as a daughter, 'so, you're still going to school with that bike today.'
We could see there was no use of objecting more to her, then we just got into our school uniforms with our sour pusses and all. After putting on the shoes, my mother had already waited on the old bike right in front of the door and said merrily 'Jump on!' -as if we're getting on a harley davidson. my little sister and i got ourselves on the back carrier of the bike. So there we went the three of us to school on the bike so old and rattled noisily that we cover our faces with our hands all along the way to reduce the shame that was making our chests throbbing like mad. The bicycle gave a great jolt everytime it bumped into rocks or holes on the streets as there was little air in both of the tyres. My sister groaned for each jolt and i said to my mother that we could get constipation for this and my mother could be sent to jail for letting her children getting a spoilt stomach system. My mother chuckled and said she never heard such a thing happened before and constipation is not that bad compared to the rest of illnesses in the world , and then she said don't worry she'll sent me to the clinic by this bicycle straight away whenever i've got the constipation with me.
Twenty five minutes later we arrived at the school gate and we jumped off the bike immediately rubbing our aching backs. We told our mother, that would be the last time we will had anything to do with the bike that we rather walk to school for the other day and hope she wouldn't mind. My mother gave a little laugh and said ' it's a god bless i have funny children.' Then she rub the backs of the both of us and said 'I'm sorry for your trouble but i don't want any of my children ending up like me ,with not a single alphabet in my head. so get in there and learn well for me will you.'
We took some shillings from her and we took her right hand to kiss it before we go in. When i laid my lips on her hand, i tasted something salty and i knew that must be her sweat. So i looked up and saw, there was more sweat on her face and her neck and her arms- dripping, and the shirt she was wearing was sticking to her skin.
Then it struck me ; it was really early in the morning when it was so misty and the coldness was eating you right to the bone, with my little sister and i were so white and shivering - there was my mother standing with the sweat from her head to her toe. Her nose was pointed and her chest was heaving upside down rapidly. I forced my legs to walk heavily towards the school gate leaving my mother behind with a thought lingering in my head - that the old bicycle had given my mother a hard time sending us to school, that day.