We couldn't bring ourselves to believe it. My roommate, whom I fondly called Fine Wine, and I had just returned from marathon lectures from 8 am to 6 pm when we realized there was no water running inside our house. It seemed the power supply had not been stable enough for the caretaker to pump water in the compound and because we were always in a hurry to meet up with class, we had not been able to refill all the empty jerry cans we used up during the week.
There was neither water to drink, nor food to eat.
We sat quietly fiddling with our phones as no one knew the best step to take when suddenly, Fine Wine spoke up.
"I wish I was back at home, then my helps would have gone to fetch water even before I returned from school. I'm sure my mom would have cooked as well when she discovered I was going to be home late".
That drew a chuckle from me.
"Mummy's baby. You're lucky you have all of those privileges. I mean, my mom would do same but well, regarding that water you'll still come home and fetch it" we both exploded into fits of laughter.
"But what were you expecting? You wanted your mom to carry a bucket of water on her head for you?" Fine Wine continued the joke. We gained strength to rise up, take our buckets and go out in search of water after that short relaxation period and as we walked, we saw some of our neighbors wheeling kegs of water in wheel barrows, heading towards the house.
It seemed the old woman who used to allow us access into her compound to fetch water was not around because they were coming from the opposite direction.
"This is not funny, if mama is not around then we have to walk down the street to get water, I don't have time for this"
I understood how tired Fine Wine was but complaining was neither improving the mood nor getting the job done so when an idea came to mind, I slung an arm over her shoulder and asked her to close her eyes.
"Let's imagine we have the power to create a robot" she began to giggle but I implored her to hang on. "We would just sit in the house now and begin to create one. What do you think it would be like?"
"It has to be strong o, because I have a lot of chores for it" it was my turn to giggle.
"Go on…we're imagining a strong robot, like the one in power ranger movies?" She couldn't help but burst into severe laughter, I didn't know why she was laughing but I joined in anyways.
"You want me to have a robot that will beat me up. I would prefer a robot that is small but efficient, just Incase I have to travel or go somewhere else with it".
I nodded then urged her to go on.
"So what would this robot be doing for you?" By this time, we had gotten to the next spot where water was sold and had begun filling our buckets.
"All my chores o, please. The robot would go on all errands for me as well. Whenever I return from school, the robot would be there to give me a massage and fan me to sleep when there is no power supply."
"Ah…Fine Wine!" We burst into another round of laughter, the bucket filled with water nearly fell from my head because of how hard my body rocked as I laughed. "This your laziness can outdo technology. Please rest."
"How about you? Are you saying you're perfectly happy doing all these chores even when you're famished and tired?"
I shook my head immediately as if I had been anticipating the question.
"I would love to have a robot as well please, but it would be humanoid. Like you said, if I have to go around with it, I don't want to have to carry it. I would prefer it walks with me, people hardly being able to tell if it is real or not." There was a dreamy smile on my face.
"So what will this robot do for you? Cook?"
"Far from that. The robot would fetch water…" Fine Wine's laughter brought me to a halt, I joined her again. "But what is really funny?" I asked when we were both calmer.
"You don't seem to understand the world we live in today. Your robot would be robot-napped within seconds if you make that mistake."
I understood what she meant by that, if people knew that was a robot that could do chores and run errands, it would be sent out and maybe, never return.
"Maybe I would have to teach the robot self-defense skills, like martial arts for instance…"
"Wow…Kung Fu robot"
We lost track of time and forgot we were tired as we trudged back to fetch another round of water. By the time we were done, we settled for snacks as dinner but didn't relent with the superficial plans for our dreams robot.
