1

There was laughter loud enough to be heard by passersby from a small hut surrounded by several other spaced huts. One of the occupants, a five year old girl wearing a short, old, yellow gown, ran out laughing and another came out- a handsome teenager wearing old shorts with his upper body bare.

"Anita my dear, you are so funny. And you are gifted at storytelling too"said the youth.

"Yes, brother. Thanks for the compliment" the little girl continued laughing while the youth stood at a corner and folded his arms then shook his head in amusement.

His name is Samuel Amadi a native of M village where he resided with his little sister. They were both orphans and had once lived in the city before being brought here by their paternal uncle who lived here with his wife in M village. Their parents died due to assassination by unknown gunmen. At that time, he was just 8 while Anita was barely a year old. His aunt seemed to be a kind lady and they thought she pampered them like her own children genuinely until when Anita turned 4. She became pregnant and turned them to slaves and was even able to mislead their uncle into mistreating them too. But they were given a day off sometimes whenever their uncle seemed to be normal but then the next day, there'd be trouble. Now, their cousin had barely turned one but was favored by his parents and sometimes, Samueland Anita questioned their existence.

During the 30 minutes day off, Anita told Samuel a story today that was really funny. That was why they were laughing. Now after that laughing bout, they both scurried into different directions, fear evident on their faces.

As expected not too long after they left, a beautiful woman tying a wrapper on her chest arrived holding a whip.

"Where are those two bastards? Show yourself. Come out" she yelled. But no one answered her.

"My wife, what is going on? Who angered you? Don't shout anymore,it's not good for your health" a handsome man in his forties came tying a wrapper and wearing a white singlet on top.

"My husband, when are those children ever going to learn eh? You..you always give them a thirty minutes day off or rest, whatever you call it. Now it's over, I called for them but no one answered. Can you believe that when i came out to see what was delaying them, I heard them laughing. They were saying that I'm brainless and deserve to die. My husband, do you think I can take it. When i reached here, they ran away. My husband, it's not fair ooo" she complained adding pepper and salt to her words. Immediately, her husband became angry and then took the whip from her hand.

"My dear, go back inside and take care of Obinna. Leave this to me, I will show them why I'm an adult and they're still kids. Go inside" the man stormed off to the direction that Samuel ran to.

The lady made sure that her husband had left before clapping her hands in amusement.

"Is this me, Adaobi, the barren woman who has become like Elizabeth and Sarah. Hahahaha. As long as I'm here, no one can snatch what is mine from my hands. Stupid children. One day, your corpse will visit the soil in parts. Nonsense" she hissed before leaving.

Meanwhile, Anita had run to the stream carrying a big bucket that children of her age naturally couldn't lift accompanied by two women and some children either heading to the stream or going on errands.

"God, I hope big brother will be fine" she prayed while doing her best to laught with the other kids