2nd may 2024
It was eight pm in Kaduna, Nigeria.the sky had gone dark and the wind had gone cold.the moon had completely disappeared due to the series of clouds that covered it,the city was covered in puddles of water and mud.The power had gone out and the city was left in darkness. Yasmin sat down with nothing but an almost dead torchlight, her glasses shined as the light reflected it and her huge yet still pretty eyes stood out, her dark long braided hair was sealed in her black cap covered in white floral designs. her mothers old phone placed by the side of her lap at 6%. Her light brown skin glistened in the light provided by the solar lamp the neighbours had turned on. She sighed constantly,mumbling to herself about how she could be inside wrapped up in a blanket whilst watching TV in the bright light,but her severe fear of darkness would not let her.
After a while her legs began to ache and her eyes began to shut. She felt a weight of overpowering tiredness that could be solved only with a good night's sleep but she had sworn on her life that if she was going to enter the house is if the power came back or her mother came back home and neither was happening anytime soon. She pulled up her black headphones wrapped around her neck up to her ears blocking the sound of blood thirsty mosquitoes circulating round her head. She laid herself down on the cold verandah floor and turned on the music from the phone and connected it to her headset, ignoring everything around her and shutting her eyes thinking how her day might go tomorrow at school,being a twelve year old in the 9th grade wasn't easy,she was often bullied and referred to as a child or baby and sometimes she was even cut off her sentences with her class mates saying children don't talk in the midst of adults when most of them were just older than her with a few months and were infact her age mates,saying it didn't bother her was a huge lie as it really did but one thing she did was remain patient throughout without trying to lose her temper, even though she did at times she remained carefull with what she'll say or how she'll say it. Suddenly she heard the screaming sound of the transformers meter and opening her eyes she saw the verandah light bulb shining as bright as it could.She ran into the house with excitement hitting the front door hard against the wall whilst hurriedly walking to her mothers room where the phone chargers were,she hastely plugged in the phone and threw two pillows down to the carpet where she liked to sleep.she brought out her blanket and layed her head on one pillow whilst stretching her leg against the other and after a while she fell asleep. After a not so good twenty minute sleep she found herself alone in the darkness once again.she then realized that the electricity had gone out once again, about to go out she saw the flashing headlights of her mom's car shining against the white rusty gate,she quickly ran back in and laid down back on the carpet hoping to escape her mom's wrath. She kept saying to herself "I hope she didn't see me" whilst crossing her fingers and rocking back and forth on the floor,as soon as she heard the front door open she lay quite and still, not moving a single muscle.the sound of her mothers heels echoed throughout the hallway,her steps got closer and closer to the door and yasmin got more nervous the closer the sound got, just then they was silence and the next thing she heard was her mothers fingers gripped around the door handle and without delay her mother opened the door as wide as she could. She looked at Yasmin laying on the floor and to yasmin's suprise she gave her a peck on the cheek and whispered the words" I love you so much"and hopped on the bed and instantly falling asleep.Yasmin smiled at her mother lying lifeless on the bed and whispered back "I love you too" she closed her eyes praying that tomorrow would be a good day in school and not as terrible as it usually geos.She checked the time one last time before tomorrow and the screen reflected 23:56.she pulled off her glasses and tightly held her pillow within twenty minutes she fell asleep only then to find herself awake at six am in the morning