As she turned to look at her husband, he gave her an encouraging look before turning to look at her daughter below her.
Opening her mouth, she said;
"You know, Temi...!" Her Mother said.
"While you were given birth to...!" Mrs. Smith said.
"It's not everything that you should know... especially when it has something to do with secrets...you have to let the person tell you first of his or her own will before getting to know something about that person's fully!"
"You had better stop that attitude because you might not know how it might be of help to you in the future!" Her mother said sternly.
"Do you hear me?" Mrs. Smith asked sternly.
Temi nodded.
"Yes, Mum!" She responded.
Mrs. Smith nodded before she continued.
"You are going to be great, Temi!" Mrs. Smith said.
"Very great...greater than all your brothers...greater than your Father and I...among all your peers, you are going to be the most successful...You are even going to exceed all of your teacher's expectations!" Mrs. Smith is blessed.
Temi nodded as she kept on saying; "Amen!", thinking that they were all blessings that were being rained upon her...but they weren't.
"Now the latter that I said, isn't just a 'was' but has always been an 'always', because when it comes to science, technology....and even if you had wanted to change courses to art subjects you would have topped all of 'em because you were so good at them all...!" Her Mother said.
Temi silently agreed, but she didn't say anything.
Taking her daughter's face in her hands, Mrs. Smith said tearily;
"You are destined for greatness, Temi!"
"You are destined for greatness, and I know you know it!" Her Mother said.
"But you have to understand that the road to that greatness...The road...the key to that door...that person!" Mrs. Smith said.
"You've got to be careful with the kind of people that you relate with Temi...the kind of friends you keep...because not all brothers are actually, 'brothers'...' if' you know what I mean?" Mrs. Smith asked.
Temi nodded, a sign that she clearly understood her Mother's adage.
Nodding her Mother let go of her face as she returned her hands to her thighs as she sighed.
"The future isn't going to be funny and exciting for you!" Mrs. Smith said again.
"I know Mum...!"
"It's not going to be as easy conquering and overcoming as you saw others do it...yours' going to be worse...!" Mrs. Smith said, cutting Temi short.
Temi stared at her Mother.
"Now, I'm not trying to scare the living Spirit and guys out of dear, but I'm just telling you what you should prepare for...!"
Temi nodded.
"I know, Mu...!"
"People are going to come into your life...!" Mrs. Smith said.
Temi sat with her legs crossed as she listened to her Mother.
"Boys, girls...Men, women, most of them are going to use you (if you're not wise enough), while others are you friend you...for a short period...!"
"Your life's filled with relationships...lots of relationships...!" Her father said.
"The good...the bad...and the ugly...it's filled with them...!"
"A person's life's normally filled with all these, but yours...!" Mr. Smith scoffed as he shook his head.
"Yours is too much!"
"If you're going to achieve the amount of success, greatness, prosperity that your Mother and I spoke of...and even the Prophet revealed, you're gonna have to overcome all of this kind of people!" Mr. Smith said.
"And not just with prayers...!" Mrs. Smith said.
"Yes and not just with prayers!" Mr. Smith said.
Temi looked at her Mother confused.
"What do you mean?"
"But I thought, it's only through prayers that one's ability to overcome all forms of temptations and evil....!" She said.
Mr. Smith nodded as he said;
"Yes, it 'is' through prayers...but if one's not physically prepared sometimes, there's no way, manner's gonna fall from heaven!" Mr. Smith said.
Temi looked much more confused.
"What I'm saying is...you have to be prepared, we have to prepare you for the days ahead, that are coming, that are on its way... because it is fast approaching!" Mr. Smith said.
"If you are not Physically prepared for what the devil had organized against you sometimes, prayer won't solve anything...!"
"Though it's done, there are parts you have to play...!"
"God's not gonna do everything for you sometimes because he wants you to develop that trust and faith in him, more than anything or anyone else...!" Mr. Smith said.
"Yes!" Mrs. Smith agreed.
Temi looked down confused.
'If God's not gonna be doing everything for me, what's the essence of praying then?'
Temi kept on asking herself.
'I 'do' pray, and God answers...even though it's 'bout irrelevant things sometimes, and He does answer...what now the difference with this one?' She kept on thinking.
Putting her chin on her clenched fists, Temi narrowed her eyes slightly as she was playing with her thoughts.
"Now, now, dear, we know what you might be thinking...!" Mrs. Smith said.
"We know that are things... irrelevant things that you might have prayed to God about, and shockingly, He must have answered...!"
"He 'did' answer though...!" Mrs. Smith said.
"Mum, how did you know...?" Temi screeched as she asked.
"We've been there, Temi...!" her Mother said she chuckled gently.
"We've also prayed concerning things that were much more irrelevant than what you do secretly...!" Mrs. Smith said.
Temi's eyes widened in surprise as she looked at her mother with suspicious eyes.
"So mum, did you and dad you know...pray 'bout some stuff together?" Temi asked mischievously.
Mrs. Smith laughed as she understood what her daughter we saying and where she was coming from as she said;
"You are not serious, Temi...!"
"And no...no, your dad and I never prayed 'bout those kinda stuffs, in fact, we...!"
"When you girls are down chatting, you let me know!" Someone said, interrupting the mother and daughter time as both mother and daughter turned to look in the direction of Mr. Smith.
Looking at hem with his chin resting in his fist, Mr. Smith said;
"We were 'bout something that had to do with life and death here, and all you girls jumped to talking 'bout was of....dirty things...naughty stuff, that only God knows 'bout!" Mr. Smith said in a loud voice.
Temi looked at her father, before adjusting her sitting position.
"Sorry, Dad!"
Mr. Smith turned to look at his wife.
Mrs. Smith lowered her head as if she didn't know that her husband was looking at her.
Sighing, Mr. Smith turned his head as he went on to say;
"Life is not a game...nor is it a club...or a bar!"
"It's a jungle, that if you don't fight to survive, you can't live. There's no guarantee that you would survive all the harshness of the weather." Mr. Smith said sadly.
"People would come into your life...!" Mr. Smith said as he slowly looked up.
"People would come into your life...some for good, to help you, guide you, and teach you!"
"While some...others...most of everyone that would come unto your life are for bad...that is, most people that you would come across in your life would hate you, for no apparent reason!" Mr. Smith said.
"They would hate you...some would envy you...others would attempt at even killing you!"
"Some wouldn't even kill you...!" Mrs. Smith said.
Temi furrowed her brows as she turned to look at her mother with evident confusion as she asked;
"Huh?"
Mrs. Smith nodded as her husband responded;
"Yeah, that's true!"
Turning to look at her father, Temi asked;
"How?"
As her father opened his mouth to answer his daughter's question, his wife beat him to it.
"Some people, just as your father said earlier would want to kill you, for no apparent reason...!" Mrs. Smith said.
Temi nodded.
"I understood that...!" She said.
"Good...!" Her mother said and was about to say something else when Temi cut in.
"Due to jealousy...!"
"Due to jealousy!" Mrs. Smith pointed at her daughter, a sign of agreement as she slowly, nodded her head, with a smile on her face.
Temi pursed her lips as she looked from the left to the right.
Nodding slowly, Temi asked;
"Okay, what does that mean? How does that relate to what you just said?"
"Your father said, that some might kill, for no apparent reason...!" Mrs. Smith said.
Temi nodded.
"Uh-huh!" She said.
"I said, others might not even kill you...!"
"That is pretty confusing, but yes that's what you said, so that's why I'm agreeing with it!"
Mrs. Smith smiled.
"But you don't know what I mean...!" Mrs. Smith said.
"I 'do not know what you mean!" Temi admitted instantly.
Mrs. Smith nodded.
"There are people that would be jealous of you...want you dead... and would make sure they get to you, and some times they do get to others!" Mrs. Smith said.
Temi nodded.
"But there are others, who, would want to kill you, but, they wouldn't want to just yet!" Mrs. Smith said.
Temi slightly narrowed her eyes at her mother.
Mrs. Smith smiled slightly.
She knew her daughter was confused, but she also knew her daughter might have a little clue as to what she was trying to say. So she decided to ask her.
"Can you tell me what I'm trying to say?" Mrs.s Smith asked.
Temi frowned.
"I'm the one confused due to something you said, so you should be the one explaining to me, not me doing the talking!" Temi yelled.
Mrs. Smith smiled gently.
"Tell me what you understand by what I said." Mrs. Smith said gently.
Temi groaned, but she had to do what she had been told.
Looking down, she narrowed her eyes as she thought for a moment.
Mr. and Mrs looked down at her as she waited patiently for her answer.
One waited patiently and was even ready to give her their whole day, while the other was anxious as was getting slightly impatient.
Temi might have gotten the answer, but she wasn't sure, therefore she played with her finger on the rug, as she used her long and beautiful index finger to draw imaginary lines, moving her beautiful brown eyes about the room.