The sun had just sunk into the clouds and a mantle of deep black was overshadowing the earth. There was a power failure, and flashlights and improvised lamps shone in the dark like the glowy eyes of wild cats stalking a prey. I was returning from a religious meeting in the evening. As I was taking quick heavy steps home my heart was pounding in excited anticipation. I had just been told by father that my older brother, Gabriel had made it home. My brother Gabriel lived in one of the bustling cities that served as the financial hub for the Eastern part of our country.
He hadn't changed much from the last time I saw him. His gleamy dark complexion and the smile that occasionally played with his facial features. No ounce of fat added and my father was complaining he needed to add more weight. For me it was just pure joy to see him again after so many months.
"How is business in the city?"
I asked munching on a salad of apples and cucumbers.
"Fine." My brother Gabriel replied. "We are getting on as best as we can."
"Hope you are going to stay longer than usual this time?"
Gabriel stretched a hand to scratch his beard leisurely before replying. It immediately struck me that he needed some good rest.
"Yes. Seems so. But we will see."
https://pixabay.com/photos/boys-friends-brothers-children-1283786/
My older brother's presence was one of the things I enjoyed most, hence my worry of him staying long. Those moments spent together in lengthy discussions were sweet happy moments. One thing I liked about him was his almost encyclopedic knowledge on certain things. I often asked him about matters I wanted to know more about. And when we were together we often had rib-cracking funny moments. I enjoyed those too.
I shared a room with my brothers Gabriel and Barnabas that December. We went on and on in discussions and jokes, the entire room occasionally vibrating with the ring of our voices and laughter.
"Yes, it is a timeless movie," Gabriel replied my comment about one of the Pirates Of The Caribbean movies. "It's one of the few movies I would watch over and over again. And the main reason is because of the iconic portrayal of the pirate Jack Sparrow by Johnny Depp. No actor would have done a better job."
I was lying belly down on the bed and enjoying the coolness the whirling blades of the fan blew onto my body. Barnabas was at the table tapping away at his laptop but contributing to the conversartion.
"I will have to redownload all five installments of the movie in this new laptop.” Barnabas mouthed as he blinked from the tiny rays that glinted into his eyes.”
I turned over on the bed.
" You know Jack is so smart that few people in the movie managed to outsmart him."
"But he ultimately outsmarted those people. For example he got Barbosa, his mutinous first mate at the end and took his ship back at last." Gabriel replied.
I then quoted in a wavering baritone voice imitating one of the characters in the movie:
" 'Her name is Beatrice. She is my poor widowed sister. She had been looking for a respectable man. But you will just have to do Jack... ' "
I was hardly through when my two brothers burst out laughing. We were quoting funny moments from the movie and laughing at them. The one I just quoted was the scene where Jack Sparrow was about to be forced into a marriage with a most ugly woman with her two monstrous kids.
I left the room at that moment for the kitchen. When I came back munching on some sycamore fruit the conversation had changed.
"It was a friend that showed him the traditional wedding pictures. He was too dazed to speak."
I knew who Barnabas was talking about. It was a barber across the street. His girlfriend had left him for another guy whom she married.
I was surprised my siblings found this funny. I didn't. We were talking about the hassles people went through in the bid to get married.
"The unfortunate guy didn't open his barbing saloon for two weeks."
This drew a minor fit of laughter from my two siblings.
"I don't think that's funny," I said not sharing in the laughter. "Think of all the money he must have spent on the girl before the heartbreak."
Gabriel seemed to think otherwise.
"Only an unwise person will spend that much on a girl in the hopes of marrying her. You know of the chameleon-like nature of the female folk."
"I think you are right. I once heard of a lady that dumped her man after he had spent all he had to send her overseas. After she made it overseas she then discovered she didn't like him."
Like that we went on and on till it was past midnight and not a single spell of sleep came to my eyes. I was enjoying my time together with my siblings. I was happy to share those happy sweet moments with them.
My heart was beating with pleasant satisfaction when my older brother announced he would stay till the new year. I knew such moments as we spent together was only once in a year when he came back for the end of the year holidays, so I was happy for this one that was going to last longer than others and I was going to make the most of it.
Thanks for stopping by.