This post is in response to the theme of the Contest.
You can check it out here.
I have so many wonderful memories growing up that I'm yet to pinpoint which to regard as my best.
Sometimes I would wish to relive those beautiful but simple moments that I lived with my Grandma because those memories are the fundamental experiences upon which I am built. Without memories, no one has a true identity.
I can smell the aroma of smoke as grandma's delicious meals waft across my nostrils, sending hunger pangs that needed to be quickly assuaged. I can smell the burnt smell of her "Otaba" (tobacco bundle) as she blows the smoke into the air. I still remember the Sunsets and the fragrances that would take my breath away everytime, I can still hear the cock crowing to usher in early dawn. Then the scent of the earth during the rain, especially after a long period of dryness.
I could still hear the sound of the crickets at night, the moonlight streaming into the room I shared with Grandma and the number of Stars I would count before my eyes were closed in sleep.
I could remember Grandma teaching me how to balance the earthen pot on my head as we prepared for the stream and how I would shake my "Jigida" (waist beads) as I walked along.
I remember how I would build my castles with sand, chase all the goats and chickens around the house with my rod of correction (cane), regarding them all rebellious...lols
So many memories to reminisce over, some were outright childish, some very funny and some others which all made me who I am!
But I would choose my best moments as those when my "Nne"(as I fondly called my Grandma) a great storyteller would take us through the world of unimaginable adventures, under many starlit nights, in her folktales.
Dinner eaten, children gathering under the "Uben" tree (pear tree), the Sun gallantly returning home and the Moon illuminating the young night, setting the stage for an adventurous journey into a folktale land. She would succinctly weave her stories, one after the other, as we walked with her, awestruck. Many nights were like this and I wish I could go back to them, they are the days I crave so much for.
I really do not have photos from my childhood because it was a long time ago, an era of Kodak film photography where most of them didn't keep well and have now been defaced, even unrecognizable. The image above is AI generated with PicsArt, to create the right feeling, but the content is clearly mine.
