One christmass

Christmass as much as it is fum, especially for children, can also, sometimes, be a heart breaking experience, when you are unlucky.
The term had just ended and I had come first in my class again.I was so excited about the result , especially, because my mum had promised a lot of things , should I top the class again; and that I just did. In my excitement, as soon as I got my result I dashed off homeward and did not bother to wait for my friends. They can always come home when they are done.
At home mum did not hasitate a bit in fulfilling her promises. Soon I had a bicycle and some new clothes these were not part of my xmass gifts and clothings. My friends where happy because of the new bic and we all took turns to ride it.

Joan was one of the best of my friends and lived with his parents in the same compound as my mum and I. He was not the brilliant type, but what he lacked in brain he made up for in mouth. He was a jack the lad of a boy. He could easily talk you into doing whatever he wants you to do. Once, he had asked to ride my bic just down th hill but ended up riding it for the whole evening. Joan was not a bully, very far from it he was someone to be with, but he had thiis coerciive power in his mouth, that our play -mate, though decided by no constitution, or collegiage, took him as our leader.

Soon after the schools closed, flurries of activities began in prparation for the xmass celebration. New things were bought: clothes, shoes,toys and so on. Mum boutght a toy gun for me. It was a very nice gun, at least till a certain period, as I would soon want another type. When I got my gun Joan had not got his, so invariably we shared mine when we played.. Joan praised my gun to be the best among the other guns he had seen, so I thought it wise to allow him have it any time he wished;So he had it more times than I did.
Before two days joan's parent bougth a gun for him as well. He broougth it out when we were playing one evening and brandished it with such inimatable glamour, quintessential to him. Though it was obvious my gun was superior to joan's he succeded in Countering all arguments to that effect. One of the twins had said:
" Joan Chike's gun is better than yours." Joan in his usuall manner proceeded to enumerate the reasons why his gun was superior to mine.
" My gun has only one light" he started " and yours has two.Don't you know that guns with two lights are too childish? Secondly your gun is plastic, Chike, and mine is rubber, so yours can easily be broken, whereas it would be hard for mine to break." Like this he went on and on, soon we all wished we had his type of gun.

It is a norm in this part of the country , for families to travel to their home towns during the xmass celebration; and to this every child looked forward. my mum and I had not travelled to the village for the last two celebration, so the memory I have of my village was now all too hazy. And I was not so sure whether we would be travelling this xmass. By the twnety second of december people were already leaving for their villages and the street was gradually becoming empty. Those who had private cars travelled with theirs and those who had not, chattered some commercial vehicle to convey them and the enormous luggages and properties with them. Once I saw a family packing to travel, I had thought they were packing out of the street, as they had virtually all their property on th Daina truck they had chartered.

On the twenty third afternoon, I was playing with the twins, there were now few of us remaining,as some of our friends had travelled, when joan joined us. Shortly he announced that he would be travelling the next day. The twins also affirmed that they would travel the day after the next. Joan proceeded to descrbe his village and what he did there during his previous travels.
" You know, my village is very very very beautiful, you don't even see stones on the ground only sand. Early in the morning my cousiins and I with other children would rush to the Udara tree to pick the ones that fell during the night as one is not expected to pluck it by himself else you face the wrath of some malignant spirits that dwell on the trees. After we collected all we would count it to know who picked the highest number of Udara, and most of the time I was the winner" he said this with utmost pride. We had nothing to say we just continued listening
" In the afternoons" joan continued " you know the afternoons are always hot, we all go to the stream to swim. After we removed our clothes we would stand at the cliff Beside the stream and jump into the stream hahahahaha" joan laughed which left all of us bewilded. Then he continued. " You know that silly boy Chika would always take our clothes and hide, so when we came out of the stream we would all start looking for our cloth" he said this as if we all had been to his village and knew Chika as well.
" The most interesting time in the village is at night, especially when the moon is shinning. We would gather round to play on the sand, we would play till mid night and would continue if not that our parents would soon start calling for us. You know ehh! Its not even only the boys that come, even the girls played with us till midnight unlike what we do here in the city.there is this girl who played withus, her name is Ada she lives here in the city too; I hope they come back for this years xmass. Joan soon finished his tale and left us all wishing that we were him that had so much fun at the village. We had lived through the times he described

That night before I went to sleep, I asked mum whether we were going to travel. I already knew the answer but just wanted to try my luck, which ,again, failed. Then I asked her if I could travel with joan to his village. Mum smiled, then told me to sleep that tomorrow she would see what happens. That night I dreamt of when I was at joan's village and we went to all those places he had described during the day.

The day was the twenty-fourth of December and few minutes to mid day, I was sweeping the corridor, when joan rushed in to tell me that they were getting ready to travel I told him that my mum had agreed that I follow them. He was excited and beckoned on me to be fast in preparing as his Dad was almost ready. I dropped the broom immediately and dashed in to the bathroom. After some minutes I was done bathing, . I was dressing up when mum saw me; she said nothing, but rather smiled indulgently, that smile made my stomach churn. I knwe that smile very well. But nevertless I continued my preparation.
Soon I was done and went to joan's part of the compound to seek him out. When I got there they were already putting their luggages into the boot of the car. I helped carry the ones my little hand could carry. When Mr. Ike saw me , he exclaimed " wise one ( as he would always call me) you look stunningly handsome as always" I smiled and thanked him. The luggages were soon all packedi inside the car. Mr ike sounded the horn, shortly my mum appeared at the stairs that same smile was stiil her on her face, I loked up and saw her giving a sign to Mr. Ike. I was no dunce not to understand what that meant; felt it all along. Tears was now flowing slowly and dramatically down my cheeks. Mr. Ike came down from the drivers seat and squating infront of me, shoke my hands and asked me to be patient that they would go and drop what they were carrying then come back and pick me. I nodded, then collected the cripy notes he put in my hand, but did not stop crying. I knew the trick very well. I looked up and saw that Joan who was already at the back of th car was looking so sad. And as his Dad drove off I saw tears fall from his eayes. He waved and I did not wave back.
Once they had gone, I cried and cried out my heart, mum tried to console me with everything she could muster but to no avail. I soon fell asleep. I woke up in the middle of the night and once I remembered that Joan had left, I started crying again.

The next day was xmass. Now there were few people in the street; everywhere was dry, dusty, and quiet. Like a lamb being led to the slaughter house I followed mum to the service. And when we came back, I sat at the stairs, under the sun and was lost in thought . I was thinking what Joan could be doing now, probably he had gone to the stream with his friends, and Chika has taken their cloth to hide; at this thought a smile crossed my face, but I soon became moody; it would always be better to be there present

At night I was also hunted by the thoughts of joans description of their activities at his village during the night, I even forgot to eat. And each day till they returned I wuold make out times in the morning afternoon and night to think of what Joan was probably enjoying at his village those moments.