MAKE HAY WHILE THE SUN SHINES

My eyes widened immediately when I woke up and realized my husband had gone to the farm. He is well-known as a great farmer in Opto village, and every year we harvest huge amounts of crops. He is considered a wealthy man in the village. I don’t enjoy being a housewife; I have a cosmetic business that will provide me with a good income and enough time to take care of my family. We are blessed with five children. I have given birth to four daughters and one son, Harrison, who is the only son of Mr. Daniel. In our village, tradition dictates that a wife must bear at least one son for her husband. If a woman fails to do so, the man is permitted to marry as many wives as he wishes to have a male child. They believe that a family without a male child is seen as incomplete, as only a son can inherit his father's property for various reasons. Harrison is my only son, and he is the reason I am recognized as a woman in the village. I love and pamper him a lot. I don’t want anything to happen to him, nor do I want anyone to cause him trouble. This morning, Precious, the eldest, wakes up first and gets ready for school. She wakes her siblings, and they all begin preparing for the day. However, it seems that Harrison is still asleep. “Harrison! Harrison!!” Precious called out, and I heard her voice from afar as I came to see what was going on. “Who is shouting this early in the morning?” I asked, looking at Precious. “It’s me, Mum. Good morning,” she replied. “What’s the problem? I thought Harrison would be ready for school by now.” “No, Mum, he is still asleep. That’s why I’m shouting. You know he can be stubborn.” “Alright, let me call him. Harrison! I'm coming inside there with a cane right now,” I said, heading straight to the bedroom. Harrison was just pretending to sleep, and as soon as he heard someone approaching, he acted as though he was fast asleep. “Hey, wake up! What is wrong with you?” I asked, shaking him gently. “Mum, I’m sorry. I feel weak; I’m not okay,” he replied. “I’m sorry, my beloved son. Okay then, take some rest. I’ll go get some medication for you, or I can call your father to do that when he returns from the farm.” “Thank you, Mum,” he answered, and I went back outside to meet the other kids. “Hurry up! Time is going. Your school bus will arrive soon. Don’t forget to take your snack with you.” The children’s school bus arrived, and they all headed off to school. Not knowing what else to do, since I couldn't leave my sick son alone at home to go to the shop, I picked up a cutlass, a hoe, and a brush to clean up the surroundings. However, I suddenly remembered that I had to first check up on him, I set the tools aside and went inside the room. “What do you need?” I asked. “Nothing, Mum. I just want to rest. I’ll be fine; I’ll keep myself busy with movies. Don’t worry too much about me.” “Okay, I’m going outside, so please take good care of yourself,” I said as I headed out with my working equipment. I started cutting the flowers and clearing some grass in front of the gate. After a few minutes, Harrison looked around and saw that no one was home anymore. He felt happy, as he enjoyed watching movies. Meanwhile, he just didn’t want to go to school; it wasn’t that he was sick—he was just being lazy. Harrison went to the kitchen and opened the pot, discovering the whole chicken that had been left for his father the day before. His father hadn't eaten it because it was too early. Harrison considered his options, aware that his father would need the meat when he returned from work. He decided to eat it himself, reasoning that by evening, his father would be home, and his sister would have returned as well. He planned to come up with an excuse so his father would suspect any of his siblings, especially Precious, who usually did the cooking. He began eating the meat quickly, enjoying himself in the kitchen. When he reached the bone, he went for a knife to cut it. Suddenly, a bucket full of plates fell, creating a loud crash. While I was cutting flowers, I heard the sound of a plate shattering in the kitchen and wondered who could be responsible for it. My husband was still at the farm, and the children were at school, and Harrison should be asleep by now. Could it be a rat? I asked myself as I headed toward the kitchen to find out what had happened. I entered the kitchen, and all I saw was Harrison packing the plate with a piece of bone in his right hand. He got scared immediately he saw me, he didn't know I was around, he thought I was in my shop. I get confused and ask, Harrison, what is going on here? Nothing, Mum he replied to me. "What are you doing in the kitchen? Are you eating your dad's meat, or do you buy meat? Just tell me—I want to know exactly what is going on," I asked him again seriously. "Mum, I'm sorry! I just want to eat meat. I tried to eat other food, but I'm feeling sick and I need protein," he said, starting to shed tears. Seeing him cry made me want to comfort him. "Stop crying, it's okay. But you need to wait while I get some medication for you instead of eating your dad's meat. Now, clean yourself up and go back to the sitting room.". Mum, thank you so much, he said and went back to his movie. I looked around the kitchen; everywhere was scattered, the plate and bone on the ground. I tried to tidy up the kitchen first before going outside. I was not happy with what my son did anyway because he did a bad thing; there's food in the house, and have left to eat it and eat up her dad's meat; what will I tell my husband when he comes back? If not, he is still five years old; I would beat the hell out of him, but he is fine; he is sick, so I have to do and get some money for him before the other children come back from school as well. I'm at the gate, I will go, and I will get some medication for you after the Little work I'm doing there, and let me not see you in that kitchen again; if you are hungry, come and call me so that I will give you food by myself. Did I make myself clear? Yes, Mum, thank you. Eight hours later, the children returned from school, eager to show their dad their scores from last week's test. However, their dad had not yet come home. I asked them to show me their scores, but Joy declined. When I inquired why, she explained that it was their dad who would give her a gift for her performance. Her statement made me smile; it's adorable how children think. I decided to buy something for them on my way back from the shop tomorrow. “Okay, Mum!” she exclaimed, jumping with excitement and they started showing me their papers one after the other. After a while, my husband also arrived home from the farm. The quiet house started to be noisy. He looked very tired from working all day. "Good evening, honey," I greeted him with a hug. “Evening, my loving wife," my husband replied as he settled into the sitting room. I asked him how work went today. And wanted to know if he worked alone or with his employees. I enjoyed it, but I'm feeling very weak and hungry right now. Please get my food so I can eat, take a bath, and rest. He replied. “Okay, honey," and I went straight to the kitchen. I grabbed some rice and stew, along with cold drinks from the refrigerator, and served my husband. “Please get me the whole chicken from the silver pot. How can you serve me without any meat inside? When did this happen? He commanded me, and my heart started racing as I thought of a suitable excuse. If I told him it was Harrison who ate the meat, he would hurt him and wouldn't care about his well-being. Oh! Honey, I'm so sorry. Something strange happened today — it was unexpected. This morning, I took out food, including the meat, to warm it up. I went inside to grab something I had forgotten. On my way back, I saw our neighbor's dog with the chicken. I tried to chase it, but it ran away with the meat. I was upset, but I couldn't keep blaming myself because it wasn't entirely my fault. Someday, I will learn from this, and I promise it won't happen again." His mood changed instantly. How am I supposed to eat this food? I'm not happy to hear this after all my hard work on the farm. What is going on? This happened due to carelessness! “I’m sorry, honey; it won’t happen again. It was a mistake and unexpected,” I pleaded to my husband. “It’s all right,” he concluded and called Precious to get him some fried fish from the roadside.