Just seated right outside the compound with my bowls of rice, stew, beans, and every other food you can think about.
I was right there mixing sands to fit the best recipes to suit my desires. As I thought and cooked with little woods and stones to make the food cook to my taste.
I digressed a bit thinking about why life sometimes presents me with people to support and sometimes no one at all. At least Jane can be here to help with the cooking, she taught me how to do it anyway.
As I was waiting for the imaginary food to be done, so also was I expecting guests, my fellow toddlers, who later never came.
I was used to other shooting games, where we hide and seek and sometimes wrestle for fun. But here I am picking sands and mixing in pots as big as my small palm.
“It’s okay to cook like that!” Jane had said. As a worthy crush, I never questioned her suggestions. How I was a gentleman at such a tender age remains a myth.
Just before the food was done, I heard a familiar voice, but it wasn’t human.
As small as I was, I could sense trouble, the last time I heard this voice, I ended up eating and wasting all the beverages in my parent’s shelf.
I remember decorating my face with milk and chocolate and still posing an innocent face.
That funny day, I could see my mother through the mirror coming to meet me, and my next move was to pose an innocent face, and it worked! Trust me, kids know a lot!
I remember her carrying me with love, in her embrace. “Oh darling, come here. Let’s get this mess cleaned up.” As she said these words, I added some baby effect, which made her shower more tenderness and motherly love.
Sometimes I wonder, “why do we have to grow old and be a man and all?”. The answer is simple, “so we can pay for all our sins as kids, taking responsibility just like our parents did!”
Back to the voice, I knew something good wasn’t going to come out, but the last suggestion ticked a box off my craving list, and I have a strange feeling this was going to happen again, that sense of fulfillment. I repeat, kids know a lot, they are smart!
I made my way into the house, leaving my undone meal, a mix of sand, which would never be done anyways.
The next thing I knew was that I wanted to locate all the powders in the house, dusting powder was top on my list, and as I turned the cover to reveal the holes through which the powder would be supplied, I decided to quickly get the others.
I couldn’t differentiate between powder and cream, maybe I knew a lot back then but not all. So, I took every container from my mother’s short shelf and gathered them all in one place. Some powder and others cream.
The whole make-up session began with the dusting powder. I remember the long steel container with a white decorated wrap on it as I scooped out the white minty substance rubbing it on my head and face, I sneezed a couple of times before moving to the others.
I remember having a sense of fulfillment after the whole powder-cream mess was successfully created.
I have no idea why my peeps would trust me with so much privacy, but all I know is I was never left alone after that day.
Looking back then, I couldn’t understand what brought those cravings, but I know I have seen several kids do weird stuff with tissue papers and so much more, looking forward to other kids coming up with their surprises.