When I got the dinner invitation, I wasnt unaware that it would be a congregation of figures whove become dominant characters in our urban legends, those whose private lives have been elevated to a status that is, even for them, a wild dream. So, I was there, conscious of a surprise, conscious of the honour. And my own surprise was a symbol of majesty from my childhood, seated beside me, her fragrance a notification of a class indescribable. I noticed that she was, like me, shy and reserved - quiet! But I kept eating, I kept thinking, I kept remembering those years of her magical existence. We were noticed for our scanty contributions to the talks about politics, politicians, art, travels, cities, people, culture, ideology and whatnots, and, at intervals, our host would pause and ask for our views on contested positions. This he did, without putting us in the spotlight. He wasnt loud. We eventually found our voices, with conversations now between and among neighbours. When I was a child, I began, addressing Her Majesty in a tone only a little louder than whispers. There was a calendar in our room with that iconic portrait of you and your Dad and Mum on the red carpet, about to board a plane. I think its a 1991 or 1992 calendar. I used to point to you and tell my mum that I want to marry you. She told me that youre a jinn, that youre not the daughter of (name withheld), and that youre just always around him as a spiritual protector. She laughed, the peals bold and of course spiritual. So at what point did you stop believing that? I liked that she tilted towards me, perhaps enthused over this revelation. Not that it meant anything. ;) Until tonight, actually, I said. Until tonight! And that inspired the joke of the decade, So your mum was one of those tale-tellers who have kept suitors away from me? I should sue her for damages... And as she spoke, with that Abuja Middle-class Accent - a confusing mix of the British and the American, with slight tribal or African inflections - I was possessed by that childhood naïveté that blurred my appreciation of this puzzle, and then my imagination went wild. Sometimes, only the realisation that youve reached the age of reason, no longer condoning arbitrary decisions, checks you.😊
Posted on: Sun, 21 Dec 2014 08:51:29 +0000
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