“Mom I want you to tell me about the baby” I said, “Is it a girl or boy?” I had always wanted a boy, mom knew.
“I don’t know yet. Which of them do you want? Do you still want a boy?”
I thought deeply. I’d love to have a baby brother. If it was a boy, he’d grow strong and big like Cameron.. and he’d be protective of me, his big sister and I’d boast of him everywhere I go. I’d go like, “I have a younger brother who’s very tall and strong-looking. He’s really handsome too. I’m so proud of him” I’m sure he’d be very handsome because both of my parents were very good- looking. I had already imagined the name I’d call him-Brandon. Yes! Brandon
But Brandon would not play with me as often because he was a boy. He’d play with other boys like him, play football, chess and video games like boys do.
No I don’t want a sibling who wouldn’t play with me.
So I went for ‘a girl’.
“I want a baby sister” If I had a baby sister, we’d be very close, she’d sleep in my room every night and we would talk to each other and play all night. We’d read my books together and paint together. I’d have someone to talk to. I’d be a good big sister, hug her and pet her to sleep, mom would not have to do that. I silently prayed that she’d like huge animals like Mike and I did, and not think I’m weird like mom and others. I would even bathe her, so mom has a better and longer sleeping pattern. I’d feed her semi-solid food after mom might have weaned her, I’d read colourful children stories to her at bedtime.
If she cried, I would carry her on my back and sing for her. If she was afraid or injured, I would ask her to call on the spirit of a werewolf to take care of her, because a werewolf is protective and can also heal wounds fast. I would feed her baby food from her feeder and poke her cheeks. She might be chubby like me. I didn’t know if she was going to be hairy like me. She would join us kids in playing in the compound, playing father, mother and children and running after tiny balls of snow that hasn’t washed off the previous night. Mike Tony would love my little sister and dance with both of us. I would have my sister all the time. We’d both punch Cameron if he tried to lay his hands on mom , and hit him over his breakfast so that his meals would fall over. We would probably be very powerful. What if they were twins? It was going to be so much fun. Little did I know what fate had in store for me.
“Mom, I want a sister!” I squealed. It made her laugh out loud.
“But I want a boy” she argued. “A cute, baby boy with brown hair. I want a little boyfriend son” she said, smiling so broadly. “And you’ve always wanted a boy too?”
“No I want a baby sister now. Make it a girl, mom. Please” i pleaded with my puppy eyes.
“You’re so cute, baby” she said pulling my cheeks while laughing so hard. I didn’t know what was so funny, but I was glad she was actually laughing, genuinely. It was rare to see her laugh so much, with hope in her eyes.
“Mom I’m serious! I want a little sister to play with. Please make sure she’s a girl” I pleaded.
“Ariana, It’s only God that can decide” she said, laughing at my naivety.
“God? But God didn’t put the baby there” she insisted.
“He did, Ariana”
“No mom, you and Cameron did. I hear you every night” I insisted clutching onto her breasts which were growing fuller by the day. They were cushions for my little hairy head. Mom gazed at me in bewilderment. She gave me that shock on her face whenever she couldn’t believe something. She was so awestruck at my knowledge and that moment, I knew she wondered how much more things I knew. She wondered how much more Cameron said that I heard.
Cameron was always so loud. If you saw Cameron on the road, you’d think he was perfect. Well-chiseled jaw, toned abs, nice beards, nice body, great accent etc. In short, to be totally honest, he was physically beautiful. But his character was not. He was a manipulator, a cheat, a over-ambitious man, a workaholic, a ruthless husband, a narcissist and a sex addict. It was just so unfair. Women swarmed around him like bees because he was handsome and rich but they all began growing distant after realizing how much of a monster he was. He was no good for anything. Except leading women to bed, and squandering money on useless things. He had no iota of kindness in him. His soul was so ugly that I couldn’t even see his physical beauty sometimes.
Whenever I stare at him, I see a big, hairy beast with twelve horns and thirteen hands. Not the wolf kind of beast. No, I found wolves and leopards and other animals of the cat family attractive, but Cameron was ugly to me. Like a wild animal with a butt on his face that sucked human blood. Yes, I liked to think of him as a vampire, so I’d hate him more because, I hated vampires.
I had many questions to ask mom, like how she met Cameron. Of course I was sure his beauty must have attracted her to him. Or maybe it was the other way round. Maybe they didn’t even date, and he just brought her home on the first night they met and slept with her, and from there, she found out she was pregnant, confided in her mom who summoned Cameron and asked him if he was ready to accommodate her with her pregnancy.
“She’s very beautiful and sexy. Submissive too. I like her, I’ll keep her ma. Please give us your blessings”
I was just thinking out loud. Maybe that was how it was. Maybe I was the unfortunate pregnancy.