TRINITY (EIGHT)

she shrugged and said "Does it matter?…I like the sound of the name and it looks like we would be here for a long time…and I don’t want to feel like an outsider so please call me Adjeley ok?"

Akosua went on and on about herself, her school and family and Aku only listened. She was a blabbermouth but Aku didn’t mind that at all. She had a friend now and was happy. She walked Aku to her house. She was a year older than Aku and thanked her for helping her out. That prompted Aku to ask her what really happened.

 And it took her almost forever to tell her everything. She started her story from when she woke up that morning but Aku was patient and occasionally smiled. Finally she got to the main reason and Aku sigh showing a sign of relief. Then she told her

"I saw 5 pesewas yesterday on the floor when I was walking down the street so I picked it and took it to school…she saw me and was asking for the money saying it was for her and that somebody saw me picking it up yesterday…I would have to pay back I guess" she added

Aku sympathized with her and asked her how she was going to get the money since she had none. She ignored the question and asked that they play "Ampe" which they played till Aku got hungry so decided to leave. She was already in front of the house and her grandmother had seen her but left her alone to play for a while.

Just as she turned to leave, her new friend who had chit-chatted about herself and forgot to ask Aku about herself called out to her"Hey….you didn’t tell me your name?"

 Aku smiled and shouted out her name to her and went away. Her grandmother had reserved her food so she sat down and ate it quietly. It was so obvious that her grandmother was fonder of her than her cousins because she was very quiet and stayed out of trouble.

She went back to her parents the next day after church. The days went by as usual. She was sent to fetch water one evening and caught a glimpse of Adoley fighting with a boy. Her friends stood around and watched on as she fought and won and they cheered her up. She carried the bucket of water and walked very fast past them.

 She was sure that Adoley had seen her but she didn’t look back and was pleased that nothing happened with her.She asked her parents if she could go back to her grandmother and school from there. They were surprised because they knew she didn’t like the place because of her cousins

 It was however a good idea because they wouldn’t have to bother about how she was faring when left alone in the house. Her mother agreed to her decision and she soon moved to Jamestown again which was only a few meters away from the market.

The days were boiling hot but the nights were cool and comfortable for sleeping. Aku’s life was made unbearable at home and especially when her grandmother was out. But Akosua was always there to keep her company. They were seen together everywhere. They played whenever they got the chance.

They talked about what happened in their various schools. Her adopted name as Aku always teased her with was soon catching up and soon the name Joana Akosua Obeng was lost. People referred to her as Adjeley as she became fluent in the dialect. She tried to act like one.Perhaps too hard and succeeded anyway but her parents were too busy to notice these changes.

Akosua now Adjeley became troublesome. She was eleven and roamed about a lot so became quite popular. Aku always allowed her to do the talking whenever they landed in any squabble. Aku who was now ten was learning steadily.

 She was doing well at school but tried to hide it since she didn’t want too many people to find out. Adjeley on the other hand was an average student. She didn’t pay too much attention in class and didn’t care much.

 They were acting out in order to be accepted in the area. Knowing too much would attract people to pick on her and she didn’t want that. They didn’t go out to look for trouble but would gang up and defend themselves whenever trouble caught up with them. 

Aku on her spare time would sneak to the lighthouse which was originally built by the British at James fort in 1871 but was replaced in the 1930s by the current Accra light which is 93ft (28m) with a visibility of 16 nautical miles (30km)