Dancing in the Rain- Part 1

“Rain rain go away, come again another day, little children want to play. Rain rain go away, come again another day little children want to play.” I stare downwards at the playing arena where my classmates are singing and playing in the rain. Their words beg the clouds to wipe her teardrops dry, but their frenzied dance sends a clear signal that they are enjoying themselves despite the rain. Oh, how I yearn to be with them out there, where everyone is carefree, the rain soaking into my clothes and skin, as I sing happily along with them. No! Mother will not hear of it. Not in my well ironed school uniform and definitely not on a Monday when my scalp still smarts from my new hairdo. I struggle to catch my breath as a rippling wave travels down my chest and I weep uncontrollably in my empty classroom, drowning in my self-made rain.

Atanka! Atanka! Ata…, I raise my frame startled at the sound of my name. I didn’t expect Eku, our 24 year old live-in maid to pick me up from school this early. “You don dey cry for the tin wey your papa never even see”, she chided me in her patchy Pidgin English as she urged me to hurry. “Pack your bag quick quick so the soup wey I put for fire before I leave house no go burn.” My sorrows are quickly forgotten and a fresh anger surfaces. I was once again been ridiculed for my grades by Eku who knew my parents are never satisfied with an A-. We race down the stairs together and head toward the black suave Mercedes parked in my school’s driveway; in the same spot as always. Now out of the sheltered walkways, Eku struggles with the black umbrella until it finally opens and shields me from the pouring rain. I do not want to be protected; I want to be a child, a child free to dance in the rain.

As I sat alone in the backseat of my father’s latest addition to his fleet of cars, I hoped that one day, just one day, it will rain when I was home alone. No one will scold me for being wet from my head to my toes when I will sing and dance in the rain like never before. My wish did come true.