Some years back, in this same place of residence where I am now, we had a lady in her mid-20s who had a 6-year-old girl named Rejoice. I fondly called her “Wejoice” because of her funny way of pronouncing the letter "R."
The baby was very outspoken, and at a point, I just concluded that she might have come through some diabolical means—like from the rivers—and was not given by God because she was way beyond her age and standard in behavior.
One particular day, it was in the afternoon when her mom went to bring her back from school. As they were returning, her mom bought her a chocolate biscuit, and she ate it as they walked to their shop, chatting and laughing with her mom. When they got to the shop, their mother-daughter bonding continued. Her mom planted a kiss on her mouth, and before we knew it, baby Rejoice started moaning really hard like a grown woman about to be sent to heaven.
The sound was very audible, and it got everyone turning in her direction in shock. The mom also stood shocked, staring at her. After we all turned to see the baby making playful sounds with her mouth, her mom slapped her very hard, obviously confused and thinking her baby had been possessed by a demon.
"Rejoice!" The slap was followed by a loud call—maybe trying to call her back to the human realm.
Rejoice screamed in tears, holding the spot where her mom slapped her, and she ran to a corner.
With a teary face and a crying voice, she began, “You beat me again when I didn’t do anything. You beat me again. You beat me again.” She kept repeating that continuously in the midst of tears.
When her mom got tired of the repeated accusation, she pitifully took her back into her arms and carried her.
“You don’t know what made me beat you. What was that sound you were making? Mtchwww,” her mom asked fairly, not expecting any explanation. But Rejoice didn’t keep quiet. She needed justice by all means, and she went on to say the very thing that made her mom pounce on her again.
What she said erupted laughter from all of us there, a loud one that lasted for just a few seconds until we all realized that it was awkward and, at the same time, very inappropriate for a child to say. We quickly moved on to give her a dose of warning—one after the other—never to do or say such a thing again.
Wondering what she said? It was:
"Mummy, that’s how you sound whenever daddy is kissing and touching you
😭
Thanks for reading.
This is my entry to Com Contest week 8
Photo: Freepik