" Nọmba wo ni eyi?(What number is this?)"
This the nth time he has asked me That and my purest answer was " ...."
Silence.
That's what I gave. Why? I don't understand shigbinka.
I think he became frustrated with this student with a brain of adie agbegbe that he is currently dealing with, when he shook his head and let out a sigh before looking at me with this face that says ' Really! What should I do to make you understand?'
" O DARA, jẹ ki a fi iwe ẹkọ silẹ fun bayi (OK, let's leave the textbook for now)" as he said that, he closed the forbidden book and moved a little bit closer to me.
' What does he want to do now?'
" Ni akọkọ, jẹ ki a bẹrẹ pẹlu nkan ti o le nifẹ (First, let's start with something you might love.)"
Something I might love? what's that? what his he thinking?
My heart was like the storm which yemoja caused at the river banks when Orisha olokun offered to hide her from the world.
" W-what? (K-kini?)"
""Ere kan (A game)"
"Ere? (Game?)"
He nods his head with a wide annoying smile on his usual timid face.
"Ere kan pẹlu awọn ewi ( A game with poems)"
" Awọn ewi ?( poems?)"
He repeated the same process of nodding his with that annoying smile.
He is keeping me in suspense. What's the game with poems that I might love? Or the other way round.
" Jẹ ki n kọ ọ (let me teach you)" He took out a yellow pencil and a little cardboard book from his bag " Jẹ ki a ṣere ( Let's play)"
He scribbled sensible nonsense on the book which took him forever to stop drawing cursive jargons that is barely legible to read "Jẹ ki n kọ ọ ( let me teach you)" and with that said he put the pencil behind his antenna-like ears, tear out the page he scribbled on, folded into four even squares and put inside his bag.
It was making me feel cold and uneasy. What is he doing.
"Ọkan jẹ fun ijapa ti o lọ si oko pẹlu ohunkohun ti o si pada wa pẹlu iṣu meji, gbaguda mẹta, ogede mẹrin.
Marun jẹ fun awọn ọmọ ogun ti kokoro ti nrin ni mẹfa, meje, ati mẹjọ si ile ijapa pẹlu iṣu meji, gbaguda mẹta ati ogede mẹrin.
Mẹsan jẹ fun ijapa ti o ni ori ti o ni fifalẹ lori ilẹ amọ pẹlu awọn ikarahun rẹ ti fọ ni mẹwa, mọkanla ati mejila.
Mẹtala ni ọjọ ọjà nigbati ògá jade kuro ni ibi ti o farapamọ lẹhin igi sapele lati ra raja mẹrinla, mẹdogun ati mẹrindilogun lati ọdọ alabara deede rẹ.
Mẹtadinlogun ni Whap whap, Thrash thrash ti ahọn ti ọpọlọ ti ebi npa ti o duro de awọn mejidilogun rẹ, mọkandinlogun ati ogun ọdẹ. (One is for the tortoise that went to the farm with nothing and came back with two yams, three cassava, four plantain.
Five is for the armies of ants marching in six, seven,and eight into tortoise house along with the two yams, three cassava and four plantain .
Nine is for the bald headed tortoise lying flat on the clay floor with his shells broken in ten, eleven and twelve.
Thirteen is the market day when the chameleon came out of his hiding behind the sapele tree to buy buy Fourteen, fifteen and sixteen new camouflage from his regular customer.
Seventeen is Whap WHAP, Thrash thrash of the tongue of the hungry frog laying in wait for his Eighteen, nineteen and twenty prey.")
Everything he just said was....so beautiful that i unknowingly fell in love with it. I couldn't believe it. either for me falling in love with it or for how wonderful it is.
" Gbà (Take)"
"...."
Take what?
A neatly folded piece of paper was held at my face: " Fun kini?( for what?)"
"Mu o ki o rii fun ara rẹ ( Take it and see for yourself)" That annoying smile bloomed again....so annoying.
I took it from his hand and that's when I realized that it was the same piece of paper which he folded and kept in bag. Also, the nonsense was sense. I was mistaken.
" O le kọ ẹkọ pẹlu eyi. Mo ti kọ si isalẹ lori iwe yẹn ( You can learn it with this. I've written it down on that paper)"
" O dara, mo ti gbo ( OK, I'll)" I stared At the content hungrily without giving the human a single glance.
How did he know I would love it? I never told him or anyone. How come he found out?
This time, for the first time in my life, I smiled at that human but lasted for a few millisecond hoping he doesn't see it.
" Umm, K-kọ mi (Umm, t-teach me)"
" Inudidun ni emi yoo (Gladly will I )"
He went ahead and taught me the number games several times until I could say it off head. Though he doesn't need to go through that stress.