Accordion

My Christmas travel was not what I expected, like it was the opposite or close to worse,in fact let me give you details: First it was my snobbish cousins who think I'm an alien just because they haven't seen me in years, instead of a warm welcome,I got a cold stare from my cousins who never recognized my presence at all,Gillian felt bad about it and went to stay with our Grandma who never stories end,well luckily for him like magic they bonded so well Gillian would never stop talking about her,well as for me,i met a few friends at the stream I discovered down a long path two houses away from ours,they were Ifechi and Obiora,they seem nice and friendly and they came to the house to see me and sometimes we go to the Afor market for sight seeing,they took me on a tour around and thank God they could speak English because I wondered how I would communicate with all the Igbo speaking,that was one thing Mom didn't teach us but I learned a few words from Ifechi and Obiora,my cousins always have this sour look on their own their faces whenever they came to visit,like I was mingling with village children who they believed was below their standard but who cares; Second is I overheard my mom and my uncle discussing about my father like he disappeared,then my uncle said there was a rumor about a body washed off the shore at Port Harcourt,they couldn't identify the body because it was faceless like it was eaten by an animal or something,I couldn't hear the rest because they began speaking in whispers,I left because I didn't want them to hear me crying.My stay in the village was getting me uncomfortable but I didn't want my mom noticing and keep an eye on me,I avoided my friends when they came to see me, thoughts about my father clouded my thinking,I couldn't concentrate,I needed to find him or confront Mom about it but she wouldn't be of any help,so I thought of a plan that I would carry out when we get back to Lagos.

Christmas holiday was over everyone went back to their respective homes,we left before the others could, Grandma and Gillian shed tears like babies, looks like this was her first grandchild she's bonding with, grandma gave me a forehead kiss which was very comforting.Our drive to the airport was smooth only a few potholes but we made it in time to catch the first flight back to Lagos,only this time the flight wasn't so smooth but we landed safely.We got our luggages checked in and waiting for my aunt's usual SUV ride,the airport was crowded as more people were returning from wherever they've been to.I caught sight of Blossom and his family, guess they just came back from England because his little sister was holding a British flag and they looked refreshed like fresh bread,he saw and smiled ,excusing himself from his family and walked up to me.Okay can someone tell me why I everywhere I go revolves around Blossom,we met in school,in church,now at the airport, really because I'm thinking his stalking me but he's been so nice to me,like in the entire school ."Good morning Mrs Okorie,nice to meet you I'm Blossom, Jasmine's friend from school"he spoke in a British accent, probably to impress my mom but I wouldn't fall for that"Nice to meet you too, Jasmine never told me she had a friend, guess she was shy"she replied giving him her warmest smile,then he turned to handed me a red box with ribbons in it, looked very beautiful"A little new year present from me , happy new year"he said and gave my mom a present likewise Gillian"Alright see you in school next week and don't forget the New Year party"he said giving me a light squeeze on my palm and rushing over to his family.We got home finally and I had enough time to plan my moves using the New Year's party to execute it.