ONE like Us.

He was a tiny baby, so tiny that you could easily miss him. Though you could miss seeing him, you couldn’t miss hearing the sound of his loud shrill cry. Pedestrians heard his cries but when they tried to look out for any baby, they couldn’t find any.  

The only person who knew exactly where he was was the street prostitute. Everyone knew her occupation, even the little children. She was the proud type so whatever anyone said to or about her never got to her; life had given her no other choice. When her mother died, she was only 13 and had no known relative all she had was the house she had lived in with her mother, some clothes and some food stuff. At that age, she had to learn to take care of herself. 

A friend of hers introduced her to the trade and it had been her line of business since then till this baby. She had learnt the ropes of the business and was always meticulous with prevention of everything, especially children; they had to be no mistakes. Speaking of mistakes, it now laid in the street trash depot crying out for her attention. He wasn’t ready for a liability but deep down, she knew that she had no life to offer the child that’s why she had to let him go. A boy!  Yes, a boy and a stubborn one at that. She had tried severally to get rid of him but he didn’t budge. She felt sorry for him because now that he was out, she was sure that it would have been better he died. She knew she ought not to have felt the way she was feeling but she did.

He was later found by a good Samaritan who took him to an orphanage where he was later adopted by a couple who had been trying to get their own baby without success.

The colour of his skin was like that of his new mother so people didn’t guess that he wasn’t theirs. She loved him, they both did. All the things they had bought for their baby that never came was now his; it was a dream come true. Soon they were going to have this dream strained.

She noticed it when she tried to play with him. His gaze never seemed to follow her waving hand. The pediatrician confirmed her fears: little innocent Tommy had been born blind with possibly other latent disabilities. The news tore her apart. She felt as though the world or something was against her, first, she couldn’t have a child and now, she had to mother a blind and possibly autistic child. They both were not ready for this kind of child, at least not now. They would have given him up but they had to keep up the appearance, at least now, no one thought she was barren.

. 

Two years later, Tommy could hardly walk, talk or do anything a child his age could do and worse of all, he showed some imbecilic tendencies. This irritated his mother who had to cater to his ever increasing needs. She began to regret that they ever adopted him. Her attitude toward him became that of carelessness. After all, she couldn’t sacrifice her youth for a child she did not give birth to: so she didn’t mind letting him wear his diapers longer than he had to or picking up the baby monitor when she was downstairs with her friends. She was tired.

She found out she was pregnant a few days to their wedding anniversary. This was great news to the couple who had been married for almost five years with no child to call their own. 

As her belly grew, Tommy began walking on his own. Though he’d bump into the wall or a chair occasionally, she was pleased that he could finally walk. 

One day, as she rested from her aching feet, she watched Tommy as he moved round the house, a thought, a very weird thought came on her; it even shocked her that she even considered it.

“Life didn’t have to be black or white, it could be grey.”

She went up, got Tommy a change of clothes, a pair of shoes and a backpack filled with snacks. She knew she had to hurry before her husband returned. After changing Tommy she took him by the hand and led him to crooked place far away from their home. She told him to wait for her at a particular spot for her to return.

Tommy stood there for hours but his mommy never returned. He became tired and decided to sit but all he heard was people scolding him and telling him to stand up and leave. Unknown to Tommy, he was sitting on a walkway.  He bumped into many people trying to leave the place. His little three year old head hurt and his feet too. He didn’t know what to do, he couldn’t see, he couldn’t understand so he began to cry. His mom was nowhere in sight. He couldn’t speak, his words were muffled.

  He felt a warm touch on his shoulder and he thought it was his mother, he hugged her but she didn’t smell like his mom so he shifted. He heard her ask where his mom was but when he opened his mouth to respond, he growled. He made no sense at all. He wondered why h could not speak as clearly as everyone else. He tried once more but it still sounded like a growl. Since he realised that he couldn’t speak, he tried to hold on to the lady but she was long gone.

He must have stayed there for a long time because the environment seemed to be more quiet now and cold. He cried some more. His thoughts were on his mother, he really wanted her to come back.

He decided to look for his mother. He took one baby step after another, bumping into street poles and trash cans. He got tired and decided to rest, he slept for a short while and by the time he woke up, it was almost dawn. He climbed down what he thought was his bed, walked across the room and tried to open the door but there wasn’t any door and just then, he heard a sharp screeching sound, then he felt something big and strong hit him really hard. He felt himself floating for a brief moment and for that short time he could see something beautiful. It was plastered in the sky like nothing he had ever seen before. It had tiny sparkly dots on it and big shiny ball-like circle. It was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen, it was the only thing he had ever seen and would ever see.

He hit the ground head  first and the sparkly dots were gone.

                                                                                        THE END