Eyo Speaking

Mother does not like our landlord. Every morning, he stands in front of his window and looks at the women bathing at the back of the house, and every morning, the women call him all kinds of names.

'Olosi, foolish man.'

'Ware, madman.'

'Your life no go better.'

He doesn't do anything. He just laughs and keeps on looking. Mother says that I should make sure that I'm never alone with him.

'If he offers you sweets, just keep on walking. Don't stop to talk to him. And if I hear that your sister or brother have taken anything from him, it is you that I will beat.'

Last week, Lanre and I got beaten because he took something from the landlord and I reported him to Mother.

'Why weren't you looking after him? Aren't you the oldest?' she said to me before beating us. Afterwards, she bought us sweets and rubbed my back.

'Eyo, you know that man does bad things to little children. Why weren't you looking after your brother? How many times do I have to tell you, eh?'

My back was hurting where she was rubbing it. I took the sweets from her.

'I'll save this for Sade,' I told her.

Mother smiled. 'I'm sure your sister will like that,' she said. Mother does not smile often and when father is around, she smiles even less.