Childhood lovers

Chapter Two: The Promise Under The Mango Tree

Liya was only eight years old when she first met Desmond.

He had just moved into the compound next to hers in Agbarho with his mother and his small sister. Liya was sitting under the big mango tree in their compound, trying to read her English textbook, but the mangoes were distracting her.

A boy stood at the fence, staring at her. He was slim, dark, with a small cut on his knee and a school uniform that was a little too big.

"Are those mangoes sweet?" he asked.

Liya looked up. "They are not ripe yet. My mama said if we pluck them now, our stomach will pain us."

The boy smiled. "I'm Desmond. We just packed in yesterday. House number 4."

"I know. I heard your mama shouting yesterday because you poured water on the floor," Liya said seriously.

Desmond laughed. From that day, they became inseparable.

Every day after school, they would meet under the mango tree. That tree became their own world. They did their homework there, they ate boiled groundnuts there, they told stories there.

Liya was the talkative one. She wanted to be a doctor, then a teacher, then a lawyer. She changed her dream every week. Desmond was quiet but he always listened. He wanted to be an engineer so he could build a big house for his mother.

One afternoon, Liya was crying under the tree. She had failed her common entrance practice test and her father had shouted at her.

Desmond came running. "Liya, why are you crying? Who beat you?"

"Nobody beat me. I failed. My papa said I will never pass JAMB like this."

Desmond sat beside her. He took out his own exercise book. He had scored 85%. "Don't cry. I will teach you. You are smart, you just don't like maths."

He spent two hours teaching her multiplication that evening. Liya stopped crying and started laughing when he drew a funny dog to explain maths.

When she was ten and he was eleven, they made the promise.

It was a hot afternoon. The mango tree provided cool shade. Liya had taken two bottles of Coca-Cola from her mother's fridge without permission.

"We should make a promise," Desmond said suddenly.

"What promise?"

"That we will never leave each other. No matter what. Even if we go to different secondary schools, even if we travel to Lagos. We will always come back to this tree."

Liya looked at him. Her eyes were serious. "Do you promise?"

"I promise," Desmond said. He used a sharp stone to carve on the tree bark. He carved "L + D = Forever". The carving was crooked but it made Liya very happy.

"I promise too," Liya whispered. "If you ever leave me, I will not talk to you again."

"You won't need to. I will never leave," he said.

They sealed the promise by cutting their small fingers with the stone and touching blood, like they had seen in a Nollywood movie. It pained Liya and she screamed, but she was happy.

For three more years, they kept that promise. They walked to school together, they fetched water together, they attended the same church. Everyone in the compound called them husband and wife to tease them, and Liya would blush while Desmond would chase the children away.

But promises are easy to make when you are young.

On Liya's thirteenth birthday, everything changed. She came back from school and ran to the mango tree to wait for Desmond, but he was not there. His house was unusually quiet.

She ran to his gate and knocked. His mother opened the door with red eyes.

"Aunty, where is Desmond?"

"Liya, my dear. Sit down."

Mrs. Okoro told her that Desmond's father, who lived in Port Harcourt, had finally gotten a big job. The whole family had to move tomorrow morning. Early.

Liya could not believe it. "Tomorrow? But he didn't tell me!"

"He didn't know how to tell you. He has been crying since yesterday."

Liya ran back to the mango tree and waited. At 8 pm, Desmond finally came. His face was swollen.

"Liya..."

"You are a liar!" Liya shouted, tears already falling. "You said you would never leave!"

"Liya, I didn't know! My papa just told us yesterday. I begged him. I told him I want to stay, but he said no. My mama said we must go."

"Then you broke our promise!"

Desmond held her hand. "I will come back. I promise again. I will call you, I will write. When I finish SS3, I will come back to Agbarho. Wait for me under this tree."

Liya pulled her hand away. "I will never wait for you. Go and forget me!"

She ran inside and locked her door. Desmond stood under the mango tree for a long time, looking at the carving "L + D = Forever". The next morning, before sunrise, their big lorry left. Liya watched from her window but did not come out.

That was three years ago.

Now Liya is sixteen, in SS2. She has tried to forget Desmond. She buried herself in her books, preparing for JAMB. She told herself that childhood promises mean nothing. Boys who leave do not come back.

Until today.

Her best friend Amara shook her in class. "Liya! Look, new student!"

Liya looked up from her Chemistry note, tired and hungry after their continuous assessment test. And her heart stopped.

Standing by the class door in a clean uniform, with a school bag on his shoulder, was a tall boy. His face was sharper, his hair cut low, but those eyes... those same quiet eyes.

It was Desmond.

He looked around the class, and his eyes met hers. For a second, Liya saw the old Desmond, the boy from under the mango tree. He opened his mouth like he wanted to call her name.

Then his face changed. It became cold. Popular. He looked away as if he had never seen her before.

Liya's chest pained her. After three years, after all the tears, he was pretending he didn't know her