Kubwa Village II

Anna opened the door and lo and behold, Derek was standing there, smiling and winking at her. She got scared, slammed the door, and screamed in fear. Her parents ran out of their bedroom and met her on the floor. Her back was against the door and she was looking petrified.

"What is it? Who is it?" Her mother asked, worriedly but there was no response from her. She rushed into the kitchen and came back with a glass of water, she gave her a little out of it and placed the glass of water on the table.

"Darling, let's take her to her room," She added and her father carried her up in a bridal style and took her to her room. Anna's mother was confused. She wondered what her daughter had seen that made her so terrified. She was about to go back inside when the knock came again. She unlocked the door slowly and tucked her head outside. She saw an unfamiliar face, smiling brightly at her.

"Sorry, good evening," She greeted, smiling back at her.

"Good evening, madam. I am the owner of that house," The woman said, pointing at the house beside theirs.

"I only came to welcome you since you just moved here but your daughter was so rude to slam the door in my face. She glared at me as if I was a ghost," The woman complained, trying to peep inside but Anna's mother obstructed her with her body.

"Oh! That's so nice of you but I have been living here since I was little. I left here when I got married. The place you built your house was actually a refuse dump before I left here. Seems everywhere has changed. And about my daughter, she was sleeping when she came to open the door for you. I guess that was why she was seeing something else. Forgive her for her attitude. If you don't need something else, I think I have to go back inside. My family and I were already sleeping," Anna's mother said with a teasing smile. The woman got the message she was trying to pass and squeezed her face but she was quick to change it into a grin.

"Okay. Pardon my manners. I was so happy to have a new neighbor. Oh! Sorry, I got this for you. It is the most expensive zero-age tea in the market. It helps prevent aging quickly," She muttered, pressing a bag of tea into her hands. Anna's mother accepted it and closed the door after muttering a quick thank you. "Mtcheewwww.... she looks like she will be rude," The woman muttered and went back to her house angrily.

Anna's mother flung the bag of tea on the couch and went back to her room. "What! Does she think she is some sort of good Samaritan? Did she have any manners? Who does she think she is?" She asked rhetorically, marching back into her room.

"The Next Day"

Anna woke up very late the next day and had forgotten about what happen the previous day. Her parents saw this and decided not to bring the issue up since she doesn't remember and they already knew what she saw.

"Good morning, mum. Good morning, dad," Anna greeted. She was yawning and rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"Good morning, my angel. How was your night?" They both asked and she answered, "it was fine,"

"Go and get prepared for the day. We will start our business today at the Kubwa market," Her mother said, packing her goods into the bag.

"Starting our business today? How possible is that? We don't even have a shop," Anna asked and her mother chuckled.

"Well, my mother has a shop and her keys are with me. Thankfully, I am selling the same thing as my mother. I am sure she will have some goods in her shop and we brought some from America. So, it is a good start," Anna's mother said.

"Wow! It wasn't a bad idea coming here after all," Anna let out happily.

"And guess what?"

"What is it, dad?" Anna asked, looking at her parents, confused.

"There is a free university here and you can enroll there," Her father announced and Anna jumped on him excitedly.

"Dad! I knew coming here wasn't a mistake," Anna said happily.

The family got dressed and went to Kubwa market. The market was already filled by the time they got there. They opened the shop, cleaned up, and arranged the goods for the people to see. It was as if people have been waiting for them. They were encircled by people who were interested as soon as they finished arranging.

Anna and her mother both looked at each other with smiles. Coming to Kubwa was indeed a good thing. They were about to start attending to them when they saw the people checking their phones and walking away but not without looking at them with disdain. One, two, three, they kept leaving one after the other until there was nobody left.

"Why are they leaving?" Anna asked her mom, confused and afraid.

"I...i... Don't... Don't know. I don't know," her mother replied, biting her lower lip sadly. She couldn't think of what the problem might be. She was sure people were interested in what they were selling but they did not know what changed their minds.

"Don't worry, darling. They are not our customers. I am sure our customers are coming. Let's just wait. I am sure we will sell something before the sun sets," The father assured, asking them to take their seats. Anna and her mother obliged anxiously. They were both scared. They don't want anything to go wrong in the village again.

The sun had already set and nobody has stopped in front of their shop since the morning incident. The family packed and closed the door sadly. Nobody said anything when they got home. They had dinner and all went to their rooms to lay their heads. The day started with joy but ended with sadness. Anna sobbed silently in her room and drowse off.

* * * *

Anna twirled her body on the bed. Her eyes were still closed but the noises that were coming from her window were making her uncomfortable. She opened her eyes and sat up, her head was banging because of the noises. She got off the bed, wore her slippers, and strolled outside to check the reason for the noise. There was nobody in the living room and the door was left ajar. Anna creased her brows and stepped out. She was surprised to see a mob of people in front of their house and it looked like they were protesting.

Before she could raise a question, an old man pushed her mother violently. She almost landed on the hard floor but someone saved her.

Who saved her?