Dwayne Ella looked sternly at the clear riverbed, the small spear in his hand poised to plunge into any fish that passed his eyes.
The light of the morning sun made the water sparkle. The reflection of the sparkling morning sunlight seemed to add to Dwayne Ella 's beauty.
Dwayne Ella's two pitch black eyes closely watched every swish of the river water.
Dwayne Ella moved quickly to throw the spear in his hand when a large fish passed by.
"Got it," Dwayne Ella said with a triumphant smile.
"Father will definitely like it," Dwayne Ella said with a happy heart.
Dwayne Ella put the big fish he caught into the basket, "Well it's time to look for mushrooms," said Dwayne Ella.
On the way home, Dwayne Ella picked mushrooms and some edible leaves. Every few days Ella would go to the river and forest to look for food. Many times Ella was poisoned when trying the leaves that would be used as food, so Ella has been good at marking which leaves are poisonous, and which leaves she can cook.
Ella only lives with his father who has been disabled for a long time, due to a landslide accident, while going to work as a teacher in a remote area few miles away from their village in Igwurutali village far north of the Asia continent across the Atlantic ocean.
"Father! Today we're going to have a big meal. Look, I brought a big fish today, Ella said.
"Good girl," praised Ella 's father.
"I'm sorry! I ought to be providing and not you" said Mr. Dwayne Walker with teary eyes.
"Dad! There's nothing to forgive, if the pen of heaven has been written, then fate cannot be avoided," said Ella.
Although Ella didn't go to school, Mr. Dwayne taught Ella very well. The post office clerk was a good friend of Mr. Dwayne , he often sent Mr. Dwayne textbooks and also international magazines.
Even though he didn't go to an official school, Ella understands writing, arithmetic, reading and English, and his reading and writing are very good. This was all because Mr. Dwayne had taught him well.
"Dad, eat it," Ella said.
Ella stuck the fish with the bones removed, then put the vegetable side dish in Mr. Dwayne 's bowl.
Mr. Dwayne ate with both a happy and a sad heart, with this poor economic status, who would want to marry his daughter.
Dwayne Ella has a beautiful face, long black hair with a little curl underneath, black eyeballs and lashes, snow-white skin and a smart mind. Her only flaw was being poor.
Ella helped Mr. Dwayne into bed to rest. There was only one bed in their small house. Ella unfolded the mat and spread it on the floor, then opened their wooden cupboard. Inside the cupboard were blankets and pillows. Ella placed them on the mat then fluffed the pillow and began to lay down.
The next morning after breakfast, they went to the village hall. Ella insisted that his father go out to see the rowing boat race.
"Father, I also promised Mrs. Lee that I would come," Ella explained.
Mr. Dwayne refused, for fear of making Ella tired, because she had to push him in a wheelchair to the race venue.
Ella was silent because she couldn't persuade her father to leave. Mr. Dwayne saw Ella's sad look, then finally agreed to Ella's request.
"Okay, let's go there. Don't sulk anymore," said Mr. Dwayne.
Hearing that of course Ella felt happy, Ella immediately took the best jacket her father had and put it on. Ella helped his father sit in his wheelchair. Then Ella pushed the wheelchair out of the house. At the City Hall, Ella and Mr. Dwayne met Mr. Lee, Mr. Dwayne's good friend.
"Ella, you've gotten tall now. More than your Uncle's height," said Mr. Lee.
"And beautiful too," Mr. Lee praised.
"Uncle, you're always teasing me. What if Mrs. Lee gets jealous?" he asked half-jokingly.
"oh no...how could I be jealous. You're like my own daughter," said Mrs. Lee, who had just arrived.
"If I had a son, I would marry him off to you," replied Mrs. Lee as she laughed and stroked Ella's head.
"Come on! The match is about to start," Mrs. Lee invited.
They took the front seats, Mrs. Lee brought the lunch and opened it.
"Eat these handmade pancake," Mrs. Lee said.
Ella immediately gobbled them up, "they are the best," she praised as she gave a thumbs up and winked.
Mrs. Lee smiled as she saw Ella's cheeks become puffy as she ate the pancake.
"Good girl," Mrs. Lee praised as she gently rubbed the top of Ella 's head again.
Ella was one of the village flowers, but because of her poverty she had always been looked down upon, so much so that she had never been around boys at her age. If the others were busy taking university entrance exams then Ella would be busy going in and out of the forest to forage for food.
Mrs. Lee often asked Ella to come to her house to get some groceries, but Ella often refused because Mrs. Lee's situation was not much different from hers, only slightly better than her and her father.
"Ma! Look, it's already started," Ella said, pointing to the boats that had begin to move ahead of each other.
Mr. Dwayne, feeling that it was the right decision, went to see this boat race. It was worth the smile that graced Ella's face.
"Are you happy?" asked Mr. Dwayne .
"Very, very happy," Ella replied as she rested her head on Mr. Dwayne's shoulder.
Mr. Dwayne rubbed the top of his daughter's head and kissed her. "You're exactly like your mother, easily happy with simple things," Mr. Dwayne murmured to himself.
The sound of happy cheers broke Mr. Dwayne's reverie, the winner of the competition had been obtained, the winning Team Supporters cheered unbelievably loudly, because their team won.
Before going home, Mrs. Lee pulled Ella's hand and gave her another meal box, a meat side dish. Mrs. Lee knew that Ella almost never ate meat.
"Ma..." Ella said, stunned.
"Take it! It's only a small amount of meat, it won't make us poor," Mrs. Lee persuaded Ella to take her homemade lunch home.
"Thank you Ma," Ella said.
"Ensure you be careful on your way home," Mrs. Lee advised.
Before Ella and Mr. Dwayne went home, Mr. Lee pulled Mr. Dwayne's wheelchair slightly away from Ella.
"What's wrong?" asked Mr. Dwayne.
"Ella has grown into a beautiful woman," replied Mr. Lee.
"Then?" asked Mr. Dwayne.
"Don't you think it's time for Ella to get married," replied Mr. Lee.
Mr. Dwayne looked at his only daughter's sweet smile. And thought his friend had a point.
"You know our family best, do you think there will be a man who proposes to my daughter and will treat her well?" asked Mr. Lee.
"If I say I'll find one, will you let me?" asked Mr. Lee.