Elsa’s Greetings – A Christmas Children’s story
For children’s books and stories, see here.
It’s that time of the year and I am squashed between Nnamdi, Chidubem and Nneoma.
I can feel the heat bubbling under my sweatshirt and black trousers. However, they never make it out of my body because of the soothing stings of harmattan.
“Amaka, what is making noise there?” my mother turned around to ask me.
How the hell should I know? I wanted to ask her but I simply shake my head with a blank stare.
“When you people get to the village ehn, you will love the wonderful displays of culture. This is the best time to travel home,” my mother prattled to us excitedly.
The car swerved slightly off the road and I watched my father as he frantically maneuvered the steering and we were on track again.
The muffled noise in the boot grew louder and I could hear someone or something thumping from the trunk.
“Mummy-” I began to say but my mother beat me to it.
My father stopped the car and both of them went to check the booth. My father was holding his walking stick while my mother’s slippers were like clubs in her hands.
A few moments later, they gasped.
“Kendrick, does your mother know you left the house?” my mother chided.
My siblings and I watched as my father helped Kendrick -who could barely breath properly- out of the booth while his one year and three months old boerbel mixed German shepherd jumped out of the trunk, spilling water on my father.
For God’s sake, there’s barely any space for me in this car!
“How did you get in there?” my father asked Kendrick whose mutt was barking at cars that rode past.
“I entered when you people finished arranging your luggage. I told Chidubem to lock me inside. I’m sorry sir. My family doesn’t travel to the village for holidays, I just want to know what it’s like, my mom doesn’t take me to her village, she prefers us going to Germany or Canada,” he said and Chidubem instantly smacked his face with his palm.
Kendrick’s cheeks reddened with embarrassment while the breeze tossled his silk, curly hair back and forth.
“Did you tell anyone in your house?” my father probed, trying his best to conceal the smile tugging at the corners of his lips as he was probably wondering what level of desperation had made Kendrick sneak away with his mutt from Owerri to Ohafia.
“No sir!” Kendrick replied, dragging his weight from one leg to the other.
“We can’t send him back home now, plus we are already very close to Ohafia. We’ll just have to call his parents,” my father said more to himself than my mother.
“Chidubem, ifu go ifi me? Odirunu nma? (Chidubem, see what you did? Is it good for you people?)” my mother barked angrily at Chidubem.
We had no choice, especially me, than to adjust so that the Camry 2.4 would contain all of us.
I sat on the armrest, directly in front of Chidubem who was squashed between Nnamdi and Kendrick. Nneoma sat beside the dog; she was literally trying not to cry as the dog licked her face.
“We have to inform his mother and clean that booth. Eh bo buna gane si nkita nkita (everywhere will be smelling dog dog)!” my mother said distastefully but with a tight smile.
Soon, we arrived our yellow and brown bungalow with a rusty red gate surrounded by palm and udara trees.
The mouth watering aroma of mama nnukwu’s ofe-aku filled the compound.
Adaeze ran out of the house like she was being chased and came to hug me, immediately she saw the mutt, she took some steps back.
I could hear my mother as she spoke to Mama Kendrick on the phone, who -as I eavesdropped- had already made a report to the police and vigilantes that Kendrick had been kidnapped. Rich people and their fears…
I ran to Adaeze but she couldn’t stand me.
“Ogini mere (what happened)?” I asked her.
“Nne si ka nkita (you smell like dog),” she teased me.
I sniffed my sweatshirt and I almost puked. The stench of that abominable creature was like a perfume clinging to me.
I immediately ran to the bathroom to shower and I knew I might never wear those clothes again.
The next day was Christmas day and so I, my siblings, Kendrick and cousins helped around the house by cleaning and arranging the bungalow. We also lit up the christmas trees and played some games while my father tied Elsa to a pole at the backyard.
My father and his brother went into town to buy drinks and other beverages while the women gathered in the kitchen. Kendrick had no clothes to change into so Chidubem learnt him some.
That evening, we all sat in the living room watching some amazing christmas movies on Netflix and I could literally feel the excitement of christmas crawling within me.
It had been two hours since I ate my dinner but I could hear my stomach growl despite the noise of the television.
“Mama nnukwu, please I still want to eat but I don’t want ofe-aku. Is there something else I can eat?” I scrunched my face as I spoke to her.
“There’s small oil rice inside the small pot, take that one and cover the pot properly,” she said and turned towards the television. As I began to walk away, she held me back tenderly, “don’t take any meat from the other pot. That’s the one we’ll use to cook tomorrow christmas food.”
I nodded and walked away, my stomach growling all the way.
The kitchen was shrouded in utter darkness when I opened the door and I heard a thud. I felt around the wall and flicked on the switch.
On the floor, I saw the pot of chicken on the floor and it’s content scattered about.
Then I realized, the back door was open and Elsa was peeping at me nonchalantly with a fat chunk of chicken in her mouth.
“MAMA NNUKWU!” I shouted at the top of my lungs and Elsa ran away.
I rushed into the parlor and met Mama nnukwu and my mother cackling.
“Mama Nnukwu, christmas emebigo (has spoilt)!” I said and she looked at me confused.
I practically dragged her to the kitchen with me and when she saw the kitchen, her mouth flew open.
How are we going to save christmas when Elsa has ruined the main dish?
Mama Nnukwu went after Elsa and beat the dog to a pulp.
My dad and his brother drove out to the nearest market at 10:30pm to purchase live chicken but they returned with only two because that was what they could buy at that time of the night.
Mama nnukwu was utterly distraught.
“Something’s wrong,” I heard Kendrick say to Chidubem who was already cussing under his breath.
“Can you just shut up?” the two ten year olds bickered.
“Elsa didn’t do this,” Kendrick told Chidubem.
“Didn’t you see how upset my grandma was, German boy?” Chidubem said, adjusting his glasses on his nose.
“I know Elsa is used to eating lavishly but she didn’t do this,” Kendrick said defiantly.
“What-” Chidubem was saying when Kendrick dragged him out the back to where Elsa was whimpering beside the pole.
Kendrick stroked Elsa’s stomach and her eyes filled with sorrow.
“I know you didn’t do this. Who did?” Kendrick asked Elsa and the dog raised her head and growled at Chidubem.
Kendrick turned to Chidubem who was already scared.
“Did you do this?” Kendrick asked.
“Are you mad? Is it not me and you that was watching christmas film in the parlor?” Chidubem almost shouted.
I was watching them closely because I didn’t trust Kendrick. How can he stowaway in another family’s car?
Kendrick loosened the dog from the pole. I was about to run inside and call mama nnukwu when Elsa ran out of the house, the boys behind her.
Out of curiosity, I pursued.
Outside our compound, silhouetted by the trees, a mad pregnant woman sat tearing into what I assumed was the remaining part of our missing meats. A man was sitting beside her on the floor, fanning her with a makeshift fan.
Immediately he saw the dog, he jumped up and was about to run but Elsa sunk her teeth into his heels.
“Stop it,” I heard someone shout but that wasn’t my voice.
I turned around and found my father and our distant cousin, Ndubuisi walking towards us.
“Who told you people to come outside?” my father asked.
“Kendrick and Chidubem released the dog and it ran to this place and it seems they are the ones that stole our chicken,” I replied.
“Can you people hear yourselves?,” then my father turned to Kendrick abruptly, “control your beast!”
Kendrick pulled Elsa away from the injured man and hugged it. I would never seat close to that dog again though, NEVER!
The pregnant woman just continued munching on her spoil and laughing at nothing.
My father decided to let the man be when Ndubuisi said he was a petty thief whose lands had been yanked from him by his umunna’s so he did petty stealing to carter for his mentally ill wife.
My father rushed the man to a nearby clinic with Ndubuisi and instructed us to take the pregnant woman home.
The next morning, Ndubuisi was sent to town to buy more fowls, spices and a few clothes for us. We all begged to tag along without Elsa and my father agreed.
At the market, we bought lot of things and clothes and when we returned home, the sweet smell of food and festivity intertwined with the harmattan and I knew this would be a remarkable December.
For insightful books and thoughts on finance management, personal development, religion, relationships and free accessories, click here.
