Part 3

Please catch up on Part 2 here.

They had lunch at a wooden shack with rusty corrugated roofing sheets that had holes that let in the rays of the afternoon sun like bullet holes. A small wall fan labored in vain in the sweltering heat, wriggling as it turned a small arc at the corner of the shack. It didn’t do much to chase away the flies that hovered around the hot plastic bowl full of meat that Tayo eyed as he savored the local meal of pounded yam and Egusi soup.

Tayo had never seen so many pieces of well marinated meat in one bowl -one couldn’t say the same for the flies!

He ate to his fill, sparing no bones. He suckled on the small marrows and licked the soup as it slithered down to his wrist.

“Act like the Romans when in Rome” No one cared how he ate, why should he!

Alex however appeared pensive even as he swallowed the soft morsel of meat he had been turning over in his palm. Every now and then, he would raise his head to watch as Kapo swallowed molds and molds of pounded yam with the ease of a glutton. Kapo will crunch, slurp, and gnaw, all in one breath.

Alex had a lot on his mind. He had questions he couldn’t ask and thoughts he couldn’t express. Tayo did not seem to share his apprehension though and wasn’t much of an option to share his concerns with. He decided that he would have to wait it out till his curiosity was well and truly satisfied.

But first he had to keep the flies away from his food.

****

The palace of the Owamiran of Esa- Oke was a relic of the traditional Brazilian architecture.

Writing in Progress