Double Trouble

“Koko, are you listening to me?” asked Atim as she realized that her cousin had not responded to anything she had said to her in the last few minutes. Looking up she noticed the faraway look in Koko’s eyes and panicked “Koko, is it the baby? Are you in pain?” she questioned as she grabbed her cousin’s hand and shook it. “Say something, anything. Oh! Abasi mbok“* she cried in Efik as she threw up her hands towards the sky.

My ‘Blankie’

As a child, my favourite subjects in school were reading, spelling and dictation. I couldn’t seem to get enough of anything to do with words. Most of the other subjects were just a chore but I came alive when I had a chance to learn words.   

Many children become attached to a particular toy or comfort blanket, a ‘blankie’. Books were my ‘blankie’. I was never more comfortable than when I had a book to read. I would devour as many as I could lay my hands on in the shortest time possible so I could start on the next one. I seized every opportunity I could to read; travelling in the car, waiting for a doctor’s appointment, in between meals and sometimes even during meals if my mother let me get away with it. I would rather read than sleep or eat.