by Bidemi Oladiran

Created on: June 07, 2007

The Stranger I knew

The sun shined brightly in the sky,
as it entered my eyes expectedly.
The temperature revealed to be about 110 degrees,
no surprise there.
I walked side by side with my mother.
as I stared at the masses of dark colored people.
I looked around and saw familiar sights,
small stores, and people selling things on the streets,
and of course the gas station.

I tried to cover my nose as
the smell of kerosene seeped into my nostrils,
that's when I realized we were nearing our destination.
We came to a halt as I looked up.
I saw a short, brawny man with
deep brown eyes,
similar to my own.
My mother left my side as her arms
spread wide to collide with the man's shoulders.
I stared at bewilderment and confusion,
as I searched my brain, to connect the face,
with pictures I'd seen.
He looked down and smiled at me,
I looked back with curiosity,
"Who was he to us?"
"Why was he here?"
He and my mother walked side by side.
I stood behind them my eyes filled with
anger, jealousy and frustration.
The next day I stood behind the door of a court room.
My face now showed a sight of
many emotions jumbled together,
as I was now dressed in a
white shirt under a pink flowered dress,
one of my least favorite dresses.
I was angry, sad, happy, mad, curious and much more.
Friends came to witness the event.
They were all happy he was there,
and that they were getting re-married.
As soon as they said that,
I looked at them and listened
more intently to their conversation.
Then it dawned on me,
I realized who he was and why we looked alike,
The pictures my mother showed me,
the man who was holding me as a baby was no other than
A voice snapped me back to reality.
I looked up and saw that the wedding ceremony was ready.
He and my mother came up
next to the table in front of a man,
he looked like a judge, but I wasn't sure.
He took her hand and placed a ring on it,
and then he kissed her.
By then, I understood things more clearly,
but it didn't make me any happier.
The family members who came said goodbye
and were on their way.
When its was time for him to return,
I was a little more than relieved.
We saw him leave
and all though I now had my mother to myself,
I was sorry to see him go.
He looked like a nice man,
and by what people said and the pictures I'd seen
he probably was.

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