I opened my eyes that morning before I heard the sound of water dropping. We were still in the dry season so I was sure it wasn't raining. But the smell of wetness hitting my nose made me look out the window to confirm. And again it wasn't raining. I could see the early morning sun filtering through the window into my apartment.
I grunted, wiped my eyes, and said a short but silent morning prayer before I dropped my feet off the bed. I groaned as I felt my feet soak, water trickled down my feet. Confused, I looked down to see my bedroom flooded.
“Ah! Mogbe!” I shouted, jumping up as quickly as my tired legs would let me.
What was going on? Was the prediction about Lagos being completely submerged in water in years to come finally happening in a short time? I wondered in my heart.
Quickly I rushed out of my room, gliding and being very careful not to slip on the wet tiles. I headed straight outside my apartment door to confirm that it was just my thoughts and not Lagos getting submerged. I opened the door to see everywhere dry, Lagos was safe. But if it was not Lagos drowning, I wondered what could be flooding my apartment.
My mind flashed to the kitchen sink, and quickly, I glided back into my apartment, through the sitting room, which was also flooded. I sucked my teeth at intervals, I could feel my nerves rising.
I got to the kitchen and it was not from the kitchen sink. I groaned loudly in frustration, thinking of the next possible source of the problem. Then I glided to the bathroom, only to find the source of the problem: a burst pipe from under the bathroom sink. I stared at the mess with wide eyes, already feeling the weight of the day settling on my shoulders. I remembered I had left some important work documents on the floor of my living room the night before and gone to bed. They must have been soaked by now.
“Oh, come on!" I groaned, kneeling on the floor and resting my forehead against the wet sink. I sucked my teeth again, this time loudly with my frustration echoing in it.
I kneeled there for a few minutes until I heard a lock knock on my door, interrupting my misery. I first ignored it, but whoever it was, was so persistent that I dragged my miserable soul to the door. I opened it to see Mama Chinedu standing at the door with a baret on her head slightly tilted to the side and her hands on her hips, looking more like she was about to give me a lecture than offer sympathy.
"Zee, you wouldn't believe what happened to me today," she said with a sigh and a touch of humour. But then she stopped as her eyes caught the mess in my apartment. "Ahh, my dear. It looks like the rain of misfortune touched you today too". She added, this time there was concern laced in her voice.
Without being invited in. She shoved me aside and walked into my flooded apartment shaking her head. "I was even here to tell you how thieves broke into my shop last night and stole everything down to the last moi-moi beans I bought and forgot in my shop last night. I never knew you had your issues too" She put her hands on her waist again and looked around my flooded apartment with concern in her eyes.
"Wait, you mean they stole your cups of beans you bought in a shop filled with expensive fabrics too?' I couldn't tell how, but I found myself asking the awkwardest question at a time when I should be seeking solutions.
Mama Chinedu turned to face me and nodded "Mmhmm".
We both stared at ourselves for a while, wide-eyed. And when the joke finally sunk in. We burst out laughing. It was the kind of laughter you can’t control, the kind that bubbles up when life becomes too much, and you just have to laugh or else you'll cry.
"Zerah, you're not nice", Mama Chinedu said, wiping the tears almost dropping from her eyes from laughing so hard.
"I'm sorry. But those must be hungry thieves" I responded, trying to control my laughter.
"I will stop telling you things if you'll keep making silly jokes" She wiped her eyes again, walked over to my couch, and sat down like she had all the time in the world.
"Honestly, how can the two unluckiest people in Lagos today? One with a burst pipe in her apartment and another's shop attacked by thieves that steal beans be making jokes even in their misery"
I watched Mama Chinedu shake her head. "That’s how life is, my dear. Sometimes you cry, sometimes you laugh. Sometimes it doesn't just rain, sometimes it pours. But in all, we've got to stay happy and strong and fight to survive. If not, you might die of depression." She paused, her eyes softened as she glanced at the documents on the floor. "Your documents are ruined by the way? What are you going to do?" she said, noticing the soggy papers scattered across the flooded floor.
“Yeah, they're ruined." I looked at them all soggy on the floor. "I'm still lucky to have its soft copy on my drive. I'll have to print them again. Just that I was almost done working on those."
Mama Chinedu stood up. “Don’t worry. We’ll fix it together. I’ll have Chinedu call you a good plumber while you go bath and go to work. Also, I'll send someone to help clean up this mess. Don't think about it too much.” She turned and walked to the door.
"Well ma'am, what can I do to help you?" I asked, trying not to be like I'm not concerned. Walking to the door with her.
"Well, my case is that of armed thieves, and since you're not Rambo, I prefer we let the police handle it," She got to the door, and patted my cheek like she was my mum. "Go get ready for work, or you'll be late" Then she closed the door behind her.
I smiled and nodded, as I shut my door. Then I thought of how funny it was that after just a few minutes with Mama Chinedu, I wasn't tense about anything again. I turned and walked to the bathroom. Truly, I was already running late for work.
I got back from work that day to see everything already in order with a tiny note left for me on my kitchen sink.
"Seems like your flood has dried up. Say thanks to the plumber by depositing his fee through his account number at the back of this paper. Hope you've got some juice, cause I'm bringing some moi-moi later".
I smiled as I got out my phone to make the transaction. And again it was all thanks to Mama Chinedu.
Glossary
Moi-moi *Bean pudding"
Mogbe Problem (an Express usually used to signify that there's a serious problem)