“Who would have thought things would turn this way? Good Lord, it still amazes me!” Akushika gushed to herself. “Three straight days of celebration in the house! My birthday on the 23rd, Sir Remmy’s birthday on the 24th, and of course, Christmas Day on the 25th! I never would have guessed this.”

It was Christmas Day, and the flat family had decided to combine the three celebrations into one intimate little get-together. So Akushika was seated in front of a birthday cake, with Remaliah standing next to her in the dining room, while Jonny and Bukky serenaded everyone from the living room with a hauntingly beautiful rendition of ‘Mary Did You Know’. Raymond was taking a video of the performance, while Drusilla hovered around the dining table, making sure everything was in place.

Yet again, Akushika felt nothing but gratitude as she sat there. After quite a topsy-turvy year, this felt like the perfect way to end it; an intimate gathering with her new family.

A round of applause was given once the young couple were done with their song, then Drusilla spoke up.

“Okay, people, so it’s time to cut the cake. But before then, as we always do, a little speech from the celebrant. This year, we have two celebrants, so… ladies first?”

“Oh, of course, let’s let the lady speak first,” Remaliah urged, gesturing to Akushika to say something. She nodded, then proceeded to get up.

“Oh, no, no, no, relax, my dear. You can sit,” he insisted.

“O-okay, thank you,” she replied. As the rest of the flat family clapped and cheered in anticipation of her speech, she took a deep breath. Recounting everything she had been through, she knew this was going to be one long speech.

“Ummm, so, thank you all for being here to celebrate with me,” she began, her voice carrying a sense of gratitude. “This year has been unlike any other for me. You know, on my birthday, my parents made sure I look back on the previous year, single out my achievements and failures, and write down new achievements to aim for in the new year. And honestly, most of those achievements were more on an educational and sorta professional front. I think I still have my list from the last birthday, and yeah, the goals were all in that vein, but… life had different plans for me, I guess.”

A hush fell over the room as everyone listened intently to Akushika’s words.

“If the Akushika from last year saw me right now, I know without a doubt she’d be screaming and wailing and declaring me the greatest failure on the face of the earth. And you know what? It’s okay. I might not have reached my target. I might have made a serious error of judgment in allowing some silly boy to sleep with me and getting pregnant as a result. But it’s okay. Because I’ve learned a lot. I’ve learned that educational and professional goals are not all there is to life. I’ve learned that… rising from the pit of despair is enough of an achievement…”

Choking up, Akushika took a deep breath, tears already filling her eyes.

“I’ve learned that… sometimes… in your lowest of lows… when you think all hope is gone and you’re just some forsaken piece of trash… that’s when a light of salvation shines through. And God knows I’m so grateful for that,” she soldiered on, her voice now heavy with emotion and the tears rolling down. “I’m so grateful for all of you. You’ve been my family when I lost mine. What would I do without you?”

“Awwwwww, it’s okay, baby,” Remaliah soothed her, wrapping her in a hug.

The others followed suit, taking turns to hug Akushika, with Drusilla and Bukky dropping big kisses on her forehead.

“Listen, darling, we’re grateful for you, too,” Remaliah stated when they were all done. “You can ask Dru, I’m so thankful I took that route on my way home that evening. There’s a reason why God didn’t let me use the loo before leaving the store, and why He impressed it upon me to pass that route, because I rarely use it. I’m so happy, because it gave me the opportunity to go leak on the way home, and in the process, I saved a sweet, sweet girl from a horrible fate. And trust me, you’ve been a precious addition to this family. The baby girl we never knew we needed. We’re so happy to have you around.”

“Absolutely, my dear,” Drusilla added. “We don’t approve of your parents giving up on you so quickly, but it’s okay, coz we get to take care of you, and we’re more than happy to. We love you, Shika, and we’ll be here for you no matter what. When the sweet little one arrives, we’re here for you. Trust me, we’re here for you.”

Wiping her tears, Akushika nodded happily. This was the greatest gift she could have ever had.

“In addition to what Sir Remmy and Maa Dru have said, I just want to add that you’re an invaluable addition to us,” Bukky put in. “You’ve fit in so quickly, and I know that it’s fate that brought you here. We are really grateful for you, and yes, we love you. Very, very much.”

Taking a deep breath, she nodded. “So, yeah, on the occasion of my birthday, and Christmas Day, I’m grateful to be here. It wasn’t what I expected, or would have wanted if you had told me a year ago. But it was what I needed. Thank you so much, and I love you all as well. From the depths of my heart.”

The applause and cheers followed.

“We love you, Shika!”

“You’re awesome, Shika!”

Sweet words to warm the heart of a grateful young girl.

***

“You know you don’t have to eat too much cake, though, right?”

Akushika giggled at Raymond’s admonition, her mouth full of the creamy cake. They were outside the apartment and on the corridor, looking outside at the neighbourhood. After Remaliah’s speech, the enjoyment began, with music and laughs aplenty. She hadn’t had this much fun before on the 25th of December, and rest assured, it was one Christmas evening she would not be forgetting in a hurry.

They looked to the side and saw the old man sitting outside, his face as steely as ever. On a day like this, he would probably be the perfect Ghanaian version of Ebenezer Scrooge.

Akushika snuck a quick peek at him, then looked at Raymond, already shaking her head. “No point in saying Merry Christmas to him, is there?”

Raymond gave her a side eye. “If you want him to give you a look like you just said he’s going to hell, go ahead.”

“Yeah, fair point.”

As he leaned against the railing, Raymond remarked, “That was a really heartfelt speech from you, you know. Straight from the heart.”

Akushika sighed and nodded. Looking off into the distance, her mind wandered back to where it all began. “Yeah. It’s been such a long journey, RayRay. And I still remember the exact night it all started. That evening I snuck out of the house to join my girls at the party. From there, I met Drill, allowed his words to sway me…”

“Um, sorry to cut in, but that Drill idiot, what’s his real name?”

“Umm, Laurence Larbi.”

“Oh okay, okay. Laurence Larbi. Ah well, he’s not relevant anymore, so yeah, you can continue.”

“Yeah, he got me to take off my panties for him, and the snowball effect began, and now I’m here. It really has been a journey, but I’m grateful for the growth along the way. I still remember that evening I landed in Kumasi, one confused young girl feeling like crap. I went to one guest house… what was the name again… Live Star Guest House. I crashed onto that bed, and I cried my heart out. I was hurt, I was angry, I was miserable… I thought this is the end of my road.

“When I look at the Akushika on that day and the one standing here, there’s such a vast change. I guess for one, I’ve come to realize that making errors doesn’t mean my world has to come to an end. Being in an environment where I was made to ensure everything I did was perfect really did a number on me, as well as how they dealt with me once the pregnancy news came out. As I stand here, I’m not afraid of making mistakes anymore. Not that I’ll deliberately make them, of course, but I’m not gonna act like a mistake will render my life null and void. No matter what, I can get back up, dust myself off and move on.

“And yeah, about losing my parents and those closest to me… it’s okay. I bear them no ill will. I always knew my parents were a ruthless duo that wanted perfection out of me, and that they were disappointed in me slipping up the way I did. Did I expect them to turn their backs on me when I needed them the most? Not in the slightest. But it’s okay. Because that loss became a greater gain than I ever would have imagined. And I’ve learned from that. Don’t always cry over certain losses; what you’ll gain out of them will be greater than you thought.”

She looked up to see Raymond nodding, a solemn look on his face. He placed his hand on her shoulder. “That’s good to know, Shika. Good to see you’ve grown stronger from your adversity. That’s the point of life, you know. Rising when you fall, because when you do, you get stronger.”

She nodded. “Yeah. There’s more strength inside of me than I thought. And now, I’m ready to start working towards what I want to achieve in this life. Not what my parents want, but what I want.”

“Good, good. So you’ve started working on the fashion school thingy?”

“Yep. Once everything falls into place, I should be able to start once Ellen is over three months.”

“Great, great. You know, it’s always a joy to me to see people chase after their own passions and not what they’ve been ordered to pursue. Did I ever tell you that’s why I’m here in Kumasi?”

Akushika straightened herself. “No ooo. You’ve never told me. Why, what happened?”

Raymond shrugged. “Oh, it wasn’t some ugly splat. Abi I’ve told you my parents are cool. But, like I’ve said, my dad is an engineer, and he wanted my brother and I to follow in his footsteps. Since childhood, he kinda drummed it into our brains, that we must be engineers at all cost, that sort of thing. My older brother, Joseph, he didn’t get the memo. Opana said he wants to play football. My dad was peeved, tried to stop him, but that boy, he get mind of his own, so my dad let it go. He’s now in Finland, playing for one of the top teams there.

“So then the pressure was on me. Me too, I didn’t sheda like the whole engineering thing, but the way my dad was now pinning his hopes on me, I felt like I couldn’t afford to disappoint him. So I went ahead. Did science in SHS. Made my way to university and got into engineering. Chale, Shika, the way I struggled. I dey try my best, but I no dey see top. Eventually, I had to tell my old man that this was not the route for me, and I wanted to pursue something else. Information technology.

“The conversation that evening, eh… heated! The old man was ready to chew me apart, saying that I’m not doing my best, I can’t afford to disappoint him, bla bla bla… but I’m sure he and my mother talked about it during the night. They called me and spoke to me about what I truly wanted. I let my dad know point blank that look, I appreciated his desires for me, and that I respected the profession of engineering, but that was not where my heart lay. It was a really emotional talk that morning, but it was so necessary. So I dropped out, and I decided to come to some private university here, and that’s where I’m pursuing my course. I might have wasted three years pursuing something I didn’t want, but it’s okay. Now I’m where I want to be.”

“Wow. That’s… that’s really interesting,” Akushika breathed. She and Raymond had spent many evenings chatting about different stuff, and he had told her about his family before, but this was the first time he had gone this deep about his life.

He nodded. “Yeah. So I’m always happy to see young people do what they want to do. If they genuinely want to follow in their parents’ footsteps, wonderful. If they have other interests, let them. After all, it’s their life. So Shika, do what you need to do. If the corporate life isn’t your cup of tea, go for the fashion life.”

Akushika smiled. “Absolutely. And I’m going to kill it when I get there. I’m going to be successful, be well-celebrated and make it. I’m gonna be at the table with all the big guns. And I’ll succeed in other parts of life, too. Fall in love with a wonderful man and get married to him and give Ellen younger brothers and sisters. I deserve it all, don’t I?”

Raymond smiled and looked deep into her eyes. “Absolutely, Shika. You are such a beautiful, sweet young lady, and you deserve the best. To hell with what people say about single mothers, a babe like you deserves it all. A man who loves you like crazy and wants nothing more than to make you happy. And trust me, he is out there. There is someone like that.”

Silence followed, as the two stared intently at each other. Not a word was spoken. It was almost as if a connection between them was forming…

Slowly and silently…

Then the sound of fireworks broke their concentration on each other. They looked to see the delightful pyrotechnic displays.

“Haha, of course, how could I forget? The fireworks. The boys who do this always go all out on Christmas Day,” Raymond told her.

She giggled. “Nice. Let’s just watch and enjoy it, then.”

They then watched on as the display continued. Laying her head on Raymond’s shoulder, Akushika happily observed, her heart at peace.

Everything is coming together. My life is soon gonna get even better than it is. Thank God for that…

This has really been an uplifting time for Akushika. From the dumps to pure happiness. Let’s not look too deep into that little moment with Raymond, though. Hehe. Time to see how this season ends…