SURPRISED AT HER WORDS... Creativenonfiction#23

Hi guys it's a beautiful afternoon from this side, sitting in my living room and going through other writer's nonfiction prompts cause I can't remember a time I have been surprised and then something popped into my head, so here's an account of how surprised I was when I heard this because I had never expected anything like that to come from her. Without further ado.

When my hubby and I moved into our new apartment around December 2021, we were glad to have finally left the shackles of our former neighbor who we had to share a kitchen and bathroom with, it was a great relief to me then.

On arriving that early Saturday morning to the new place, the vehicle that borough our thing offloaded them at the entrance of the house, then the work started, I began putting things in the house and in order, not up to five minutes my new neighbors came outside after we had exchanged pleasantries, they also began helping us put our things inside the apartment. I noticed the closeness of my two neighbors, after a while that we had settled in, I came to know that the husbands of my neighbors were from the same tribe, they did everything together.

Their closeness was enviable, but because I am someone who likes to be by myself, I just say some greetings to them whenever I passed by them talking or hanging out. I noticed that they also shared things like food, drinks, etc. Even one time when the one on the left side had forgotten her keys to the house and her husband wasn't home, she stayed at the one on the right. I always told my husband that I love how united they were, but my husband isn't one to believe that people could be so united like that.

So last weekend my neighbor on the left wanted to celebrate her daughter's first-year birthday, so there was some preparation going on for if, when I left the house that Saturday afternoon to go make my hair I had asked if there was anything to be done and she said " yes, we need to fry the fish and chicken, but the utensils we need for them haven't been brought yet" and so I replied "oh okay, when I am done with my hair I will come to assist" and she replied with an "okay ". I went, I made my hair and got back home after two hours I met them frying the fish and I asked for my neighbor whose apartment was on the right side, and the celebrant's mother replied and said " mummy Lizzy has a function to go to, so she wouldn't be here for the party tomorrow" and I said "okay".

When she left, we had already finished frying the fish and chicken and so I went to wash my kid's uniform, this was where the surprise came, my neighbor whose apartment was on the left side was gossiping about the other neighbor, what was more surprised was that she made a statement, she said " mummy Lizzy is so lazy, she doesn't clean the compound, look at the front of her window so bushy, and if I take a cutlass to clear it all she will say is thank you", to tell you I was really surprised that she was gossiping about someone they did a lot of things together to another person.

It shocked me, but I pretended as if I didn't hear a thing when I noticed she was glancing towards my direction to see if I in any way heard her, which I pretended to be singing a song.

From her words I got to know that there isn't a perfect relationship anywhere, we only try to tolerate each other.

This is my entry to the inkwell nonfiction prompt #23

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