The rain had just started to fall when I opened my front door. At my feet sat a box—plain, brown, unmarked. No return address. No note. Just a box.
"Mummy, are you expecting any parcel from anyone?" I called out to my mom, who was in her room lying down.
"If you shout my name again, I will remove one of your teeth," she said, and that was all the answer I needed to her know she wasn't expecting anything.
I glanced up and down the street. No delivery truck. No mysterious figure lurking in the shadows. Just the Okada men who are driving to and fro, and the cars passing by. My stomach tightened as I reached down and lifted it. It was heavier than I expected. I took it to my room, then opened it
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Inside, I found a black pouch. "Abi, is there someone juju inside?" I thought to myself. I reached for the black pouch, took out what was inside, and behold, it was a watch.
It was old, but it was a good watch. The hands were frozen at 11:57 so I felt the watch was bad. As I turned the watch over to check the maker, I saw my grandfather's name engraved on the back—Ademola Fashanu. My dad told me he named me after him, but I had this feeling that the watch belonged to me.
Now that I am thinking of it, no one had my grandfather's property. It's not possible he brought this himself. I ran outside to check again if I would find anyone, but I didn't.
Impossible.
My grandfather had died before I was born. The only thing I know about him is stories told by my father and mother about how great he was, and some of the strange things he did. How could his watch end up here?
I swallowed hard and rushed to my mom's room, the door slamming behind me.
"You better have a good reason for that; if not, you will die inside this room," she threatened me.
“Mom, I need to ask you something. About Grandpa.”
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There was a long silence before she spoke. “What about Grandpa?”
“I—” I hesitated, then went for it. “I got something today. A box. With a watch in it, and his name is on it.”
Immediately, I said that, she jumped from her bed and looked straight into my eyes.
“You open a box you did not know who brought it, You did not bring it to me first, this boy has killed me ooo?” She said as she walked towards me
“What do you mean?” I said as I walked away from her, too.
“If you run, you will know kaki is not leather today. Where’s the watch now?” she said, and this time around, I can see how serious she was so I stopped moving.
“In my hand.”
“Omo, the ghost of your grandfather is dropping gift for you. We need to go and fast and pray. Don't you know your grandfather is a spiritual man, and we are no longer in the tradition of the spiritual things he did?”
A chill ran down my spine.
"You know what, give me that watch. When your father comes, I will tell him what happened. Now go there, kneel down, and raise your hand. Something you should have brought to me."
I did as she said, then she came over to where I was to anoint my head with oil, and that was how my 40-day fasting and prayer began.
The end.