What a beautiful morning, the smell of the hibiscus flower drifts through the fresh, crisp air. Such an inviting fragrance. Birds and insects fly around in no particular direction, the cock crows as the gold rays of the sun filter through the pale blue sky. The sound of nature's orchestra conducted by the supreme being plays through the environment. I stare up, squinting as I try to count the wispy cotton clouds. “Ada steady your head!” She says to me in a very patient voice. “Sorry, granny,” I reply ashamed. I am ashamed because she is so patient and gentle with me. I steady my head as I position my little plump body firmly between her knees. I let my hands caress her old legs. My fingers graze her protruding veins around her ankles. I try to feel every scar until I reach her knee and give it a gentle tap. I feel safe and secure between mama Adeola's knees. It is the most warm and inviting place in the world.
Her fingers move through my hair, slowly and steadily. She completes one braid, then parts with a dark brown comb and starts another. Her mother had used the same comb on her, and I will use it on my daughter one day. While she braids, she pauses to sip some warm ginger beer from a yellow glass beside her, I know she is about to tell me a story. She hands me a peppermint, first unwrapping the orange wrapper for me. I smile and joyously rattle the smooth candy around my mouth. Minty flavor explodes in my mouth as I listen to granny tell me a story of the dog and the cat, as she completes another braid.
“One night a witch visits a man at night, the witch leaps over the fence, and flies through the night sky on her broom to his window. Standing at the entrance is a dog. It barks at the witch and attacks it ferociously, telling it to go away. The witch flies away angrily. On another night, the witch flies to another house. Guarding the entrance is a black cat. The cat stares with its yellow eyes at the witch, purrs softly, and lets in the witch. The witch smiles a wicked smile and performs her enchantments around a sleeping man. She leaves out the window, with the cat perched on her broom, and they fly over the treetops towards the moon. So this is why in our society, the dog is our best friend, and people think cats are evil dear Ada.” Granny says to me. “Are cats really evil?” I ask. Granny lets out a chuckle. She is done with my braids now, I bring my tiny hands to my head and pat my braids. I look up at granny, and we smile at each other. I never want these moments to end.
The moments did end. My granny passed away ten years ago in her sleep. I sit by my window on Sunday mornings, reminiscing about her calm voice and ginger beer breath. I miss her stories, and I miss her. Not even the humming of bees can cheer me up. A teardrop escapes my eye and rolls down my cheek. My heart aches as I long for the Sunday mornings on her porch. I can hear a soft meow, I turn around and hug my cat Adeola.
