CHAPTER SIX
A lot did change but a few essential things stayed the same. The port wasn't looking different from when he lost saw it. It was as crowded as he remembered, even more than the port of New York.
As he stepped out onto the dock, his heart leaped for joy. He was overwhelmed with excitement and a strange feeling of belonging there.
Just above his head, the sunset graced the evening sky with its amazing beauty. High up in the sky, a mix of yellow and orange stun the white clouds, beautifully forging impressions only your imagination can understand and disappearing before you can guess what the image could be. The air, was fresh from the evening mist, cold and damp on the skin. Finally, a familiar aura.
Deji sighed in relief. Happy to be back in his ancestry home.
He spread out his arm amid people and threw in a deep breath. Indeed, the feeling of being home is ecstatic, how had it taken him so long to realize it?
Exhaled. He crouched, touched the soil with his right palm, and touched his forehead before placing them lightly on his lips. His eyes glowed in the dusk, as he inspects what he left behind years back. Back then, he was just a boy and was eager to get away. To explore and get proper education and exposure. That he had achieved. Now he wasn't the eager lad who wanted to get away anymore, Now he is the man who's grateful for coming back home, back to where he belongs, back to his root and heritage.
As Deji stared into the hovering darkness, a tear escape his eyes. A tear he quickly wiped off. Men don't cry, no, not in his culture. The tears weren't of pain or misery, rather it was tears of satisfaction and relief. One of gratitude to his ancestors for their protection. He'd gone out and has been guided by the Spirit of his forefathers and they have led him back home to them. And for that, he was immensely grateful.
Beyond the horizon, above the heads of people busying about their businesses, Deji caught eyes on a familiar figure waving at him. But then a lot of things, people inclusive looked familiar, he thought. He recognized the woman selling food to people, just around the corner of the port. Now, he thought of it, the place looked different from what he remembered. Unlike before, it looks more convenient. His thoughts wandered to other traders at the port. Every man with his wares, that hadn't changed too.
"Master Deji!"
Came a loud familiar voice from the crowd.
The sound of his name pulled Deji out of this thought back to the crowd and the noise. His concentration on the crowd had made it calm and quiet, the noise was only a distance away from his ears until he heard his name and was forced to look in the direction of the voice.
From the distance, Deji sighted a middle-aged man waving and leaping towards him. He sure looks familiar he thought to himself.
"Abubakar"
He called out of reflex. Then it hit him.
"Abubakar"
He repeated but this time not out of reflex but out of certainty and excitement. As he strolled towards the named stranger, covering the distance. He remembered him.
The two clasped in a heartfelt embrace the moment they met halfway to each other.
"Master Deji, e find to see you, I happy you come"
Abubakar greeted, repeatedly bowing to Deji as though he just recalled embracing his master was a mistake in the first instance.
"Master Deji, you fine well, you fresh too"
Deji chuckled at his failed attempt to express himself probably.
"Everyone happy say you come. Sir and Madam, everybody wait for house for you, make we go"
Then Deji remembered, how could let himself get carried away and be so absent-minded on his first day.
"Catherine,"
He jerked and looked behind him only to find the carrier boy standing by his boxes. But there was no Catherine. His heart sank, his breath caught his chest and throat dry. He pulled at his tie to allow respiration. Where could she be in the crowd? How had he lost her? Unanswered questions crowd his mind making it difficult to think. Filled with despair, he called her name out loud in desperation, but that didn't help. He couldn't hear his vocals in the noise.
Catherine had no clue where she was. The port seems like a land cut out from the rest of the world. It was strange, yes, but beautifully strange. It was a sight she had never seen before, a sight that fascinated her in a way nothing had ever done. Now she had no regret.
Contrary to what she had seen and been exposed to, there was nothing to compare it to. The port was crowded with people with skin like Deji. There were men, women, and children with incredible skin. She had always thought of the color black when her father told her tales of Africans and when she saw Deji a part of her had adjusted that image in her mind. Now she stood speechless, lost in the beauty of the Nigerian man, woman, and child.
"Ẹsẹ mi"
A child wailed a little distance away from Catherine sprawled on the ground clinging to her leg. Fixated on the little girl, Catherine wondered why the child wasn't with her parents or any grown-up considering how crowded the port was. Unable to bear seeing the little on the ground and painfully clinging to her knee, she strolled over to her and squatted beside her.
She had never seen anything like it, her shiny black kinky hair neatly knead with black threads into a remarkable bound. She couldn't resist touching it. It felt different, different from hers or anyone's she'd touched. Deji always cut his low so she never got to know what the texture of his hair is like.
She had to resist taking pictures of the little girl with her camera. After all, she needs help.
"Are you alright?"
Catherine met her gazes for the first time since their three minutes encounter.
A deeper peek into her eyes and Catherine realized for first the time her eyes were wet from crying glowed through a glimmer of light from the setting sun.
"let me"
She whispered. Catherine shifted her gaze to the child's knee and gently took the child's hands off to get a closer look.
"You are hurt, don't worry. I will wrap this up for you"
She offered, taking off her scarf.
"This will hurt a little"
She warned. Catherine took off her scarf and tore a reasonable length of it and carefully wrapped it around her knee to prevent it from getting infected. Then she helped her to her feet.
"there you go. You have to get it treated. Make sure you inform your parents"
She instructed. Then it dawn on her, in all the time she had spent there with the little girl, nobody came for her.
"Where is Mummy? Daddy?"
She asked concerned.
"Catherine!"
Catherine jerked and sprang up to see Deji walking prickly towards her. There was one other person at his tail struggling to catch up with him.
Had she forgotten she was in the company of someone?
"oh Didi"
She called, nervously tightening her grip on the tiny hands in hers.
"What the hell, you got really scared. I thought something bad happened, why did you run off like that"
"I'm sorry. Just that I saw her out here hurt and no parent in sight, I had to help"
Explained Catherine.
"What is her name?"
Deji asked, noticing the child shielded by Catherine.
"don't know. She didn't say. Or I haven't asked yet"
Deji crouched to the little girl's level. And asked, smiling wide not to scare her.
"What is your name? Where are your parents?"
When he got no response from her, he looked back at Catherine and said.
"it seems she doesn't understand English"
Alarmed. Catherine stared back at Deji in awe, as if to ask what they were going to do? How would they...
"She only understands Yoruba"
Deji turned to face the little girl. He hadn't spoken his mother tongue in years, would he still be able to communicate fluently again?
"Ki 'ni oruko re?"
He asked sounding a bit rusty.
"Oruko mi ni Oreoluwa"
She responded, revealing a set of white teeth. Deji turned to relay the message but met Catherine smiling brightly at his conversation with the Oreoluwa.
Catherine didn't understand what was said, however, she marvel at the sounds she heard. The unknown words held a melodic rhythm in her ears.
"She said her name is Oreoluwa"
"Ole what? No never mind. How about her parents? It's late"
"Nibo ni iya ati baba rẹ?"
"Iya mi n ta ounje baba mi ti lọ si ile"
"We worry for nothing. It turns out her mother is one of the traders here"
"She will be alright"
He added, patted the little girl's head, and send her on her way.
"O lẹwa ati pe Mo fẹran irun rẹ. O ṣeun fun iranlọwọ"
Oreoluwa let out and ran into the darkness.
"What did she say? Tell me?"
Catherine inquired when she heard Deji giggle at what Oreoluwa said before running off.
"Compliment Ifemi, she likes your hair, says you are beautiful, and thank you"
Catherine met his gaze, pleased with his words. She admitted she didn't understand anything Deji nor Oreoluwa said. But she understands when he calls her "Ifemi- my love.