Chapter 11:The Almond Tree
801 Words
POV:Elias
The sun was a giant orange ball in the sky when I reached the edge of the Oyingbo market. I felt the weight of the green notebook under my left arm. My right hand held Bella’s small, warm hand. She walked slowly because the ground was covered in deep mud and broken pieces of wood. We did not have a car anymore. We did not have a driver to open the door. We only had our feet and the hope in our hearts.
I looked around the busy street and felt a deep loneliness. Usually, Sam would be walking right beside me, carrying the heavy bags and watching my back like a hawk. But today, Sam was not here. He was miles away in the rich part of the city, wearing a white uniform and driving a car that used to be mine. He was working for the Chief—the man who had taken my company and turned my life upside down.
I sat down on a large, flat stone under an almond tree and sighed. Bella sat on the dirt and played with a pebble. "Papa, where is Uncle Sam?" she asked.
"Uncle Sam is doing a very hard thing, Bella," I said, opening my notebook. "He works for the Chief because he needs to feed his family. He has to listen to insults every day. But he does it to keep an eye on things for us. He is our secret soldier. He works for the enemy, but his heart is right here with us."
I wiped a tear away quickly. I had work to do. I had to show Sam that his loyalty was not for nothing. "Are we going to help people now, Papa?" Bella asked.
"Yes," I said. "We are going to help people with their numbers. We will show the market that they don't have to be cheated anymore."
I clicked my blue pen. Click. Click. The sound was small, but it felt like a drum for a new beginning. People walked past and laughed. They saw a former billionaire sitting in the dust and thought I was crazy. But I did not care.
A boy named Tunde, carrying a bowl of water on his head, stopped. His eyes were red from crying. "What are you doing, mister?"
"I am here to help with numbers," I said. "If you have a problem with money, I can fix it for free."
Tunde set his bowl down. "My master says I lost two hundred Naira. He will beat me if I don't find it."
For thirty minutes, we worked. I drew simple pictures of coins in the notebook. Bella gave Tunde a piece of a biscuit. Finally, we found the mistake. Tunde had given too much change to a man in a rush. I showed him how to count slower. "Thank you, Teacher!" Tunde cried. He ran into the crowd, shouting about the man under the tree.
Soon, more people came. Mma Clara came about her peppers. Monday came because his radio shop was failing. I wrote their names in my notebook. I put a full stop and a space after every sentence. I felt like a doctor using math to heal lives.
But the peace did not last. The crowd parted as four men in heavy boots walked toward us. The leader was the Chairman’s brother. He collected "tax" from everyone, even though he owned nothing. He spat on the ground near my shoes.
"Who told you to sit here?" he asked. "This tree belongs to the Chairman. The price is five thousand Naira every day."
My heart beat fast. I looked at Bella. She was shaking. I pulled her into my lap. "I am helping for free," I said. "The tree belongs to the earth."
The man laughed. "You think you are big because of a pen? I can break that pen—and you—in a second. If you are here tomorrow without money, I will make sure you never walk again. And I will take your girl to work in the kitchens."
He ripped a page from my notebook and threw it into the mud. The market became quiet. Mma Clara whispered, "You should go, Teacher. He has no heart."
I picked up the page and wiped off the dirt. I looked at Bella. "Don't cry," I said. "We are staying. We are building solid ground right here."
I packed my things with steady hands. I was not just a man who lost money; I was a father who had found courage. Tomorrow would be a fight. But with my notebook and Sam watching the Chief, we had a chance to win.
- Writer
