A young ambitious poor African girl

12 year old kwata was delighted when she sighted her mother coming from a distance, treading  on the dusty  meandered path that was surrounded by some dry Bermuda grasses of the savannah,  with few tamarin trees standing by the side like a lamp post.

 As she was plodding up the narrow path and now getting closer to her abode, kwata sprints to meet her. Capturing the stiff look on her mother's face, she was sure that"Ndakwa" market didn't went well for her  because she knew mama always smiles if the market favoured her, even if she is exhausted from the two kilometre walk from  Ndakwa village market but her mood was entirely  different today. Kwata was now carrying a load on her head while smiling as they moved along  , knowing that she relieved mama of a little burden.  She effortly  peered at her mother and then  greeted her " welcome mama. How was the market today?"

She asked expecting a reply but mama was oblivious of it, as she was still thinking about the bad sale she made today.
As they approached the compound  that was surrounded by a mud wall which environed three mud huts thatched with thick long grasses ,Mama began to feel some sense of relief within her , now that she is home. In the middle of the compound stands a mango tree , with two huts standing adjacent to each other which were their store and kitchen, while the other hut was positioned in the opposite direction as their  room.

Being in the compound now, they were welcomed  by an 8 year old boy who was kwata's only sibling, as he was busy jumping excitedly while feeling chirpy  at the sight of his mother, expecting the goodies she usually brought him whenever she went to the market. With a smile she exclaimed "oh....sini !" as she fondly called him. She then told kwata to bring a black polythene bag from the load, after taking it to the kitchen. Later kwata was coming out of the kitchen holding a small polythene bag , while lowering her head to avoid any bumps because of the low kitchen entrance. When she handed the polythene bag over to mama,  sini was quite sure it was akara balls(Bean cake) that was in the polythene bag, because of the  bulging impression showing up at the sagged base of the bag. Mama then took five of it and gave it to kwata , as she handed the rest to little sini who is now salivating.

    As the night approached, the sky was now full of glistening  stars, with the crescent moon showing up  and adding to its beauty. Then the flickering light of a bush lamp, glowed the faces of a family enjoying their evening meal of Baobab leaf soup and "tuwo" , which was the same meal they ate every night for the last five days . As little Sini gulped some water from a dish sized calabash,  there was a sudden loud belch that came from him  which prompts  kwata and mama to stare at him instantly. Mama then went on to tease him  as she said
"if i were you, i wouldn't' open my mouth that way while belching, because a boy like you once did it and did you know what happened?  A large frog from no where jumped! into  his mouth"
Kwata then burst with laughter as she saw the surprising look on her brothers face as he gaped while mama was giggling. Confused little Sini then asked
"mama what did the boy do? "
Mama then replied
"I will tell you that tomorrow. Now go along and help your sister with these dishes to the kitchen".

Little Sini was now sleeping in the hut, dreaming about his wonderland , while kwata and mama  were sitting outside on a wooden stool , staring at the night sky and enjoying the cool breeze while having a discussion.
"mama have you taken your  drugs?"  kwata asked,  but it took a few seconds of silence before kwata's mother responded
"hmm...my child i shouldn't hide anything from you, its been up to one week now since i last took my drugs"
Kwata was quite suprised
"But why  mama?"
Her mother then sympathetically responded

"My child  i don't know how to explain it to you but these days my drugs have become more expensive and the money i made from the market keeps on plunging and i can't  buy the drugs now because if i do , it will cost me all my savings and this will mean starvation  for us. How i wish your father was still alive"
Tears then began to fill her eyes and she  tried to stifle them from rolling down her face but eventually  she keeps on draining them with the edge of her wrapper. Kwata then placed her right hand on her mother's , noticing her reaction while trying to comfort her.
still disturbed, kwata said
"mama---  But mama if you didn't take your drugs,  you will become more sick and we don't want that to happen"
She then replied
"kwata apart from starving, you almost forgot that your education can be at stake and i don't want that to happen. I am strong enough , trust me my child"
Kwata then quickly replied
"mama i have some little savings that can cater for Sini's school fees and  mine, you don't have to worry. I got it from the few works i did for madam Catherine who is the rich woman that lives in that big house located in Mrs.Tumba's neighbourhood"
Her mother was now a bit relaxed,
"That's good of you my kwata. That woman is very nice but i don't want you to temper with your savings, keep it, i will try and pay your school fees .
You know its been a while since your father died, he would have been proud of you my child"

Kwata then smiled and said
"Thank you mama , don't worry one day i will be a doctor and no one will have to be sick again and you will not suffer again anymore"
Mama then smiled and said
"God bless you my child, i can't wait for that day to come. one day you will  be a doctor and  you will wear that white coat with an admirable looking stetho--emmm... stethoscope!  around your neck. It will be one  of my happiest moment but for you to achieve that my child, you need to work hard and read your books"
Kwata then smiled as her eyes were getting heavy with sleep.
"I will do my best mama. One day i will make you proud"  she said happily.

     Deep in the middle of the night, kwata was awoken by mama's incessant cough. Her sleepy eyes were still partly closed when she rolled over her mat and reluctantly raised her head , peering towards mama's direction in the crickety hut whose darkness was distinctively different from the faint light outside given by the stars.  With a mellowed  voice, kwata then asked
"mama are you ok?
Her mother was now aware that kwata was awake. As she  tries to  speak, it seems like the cough session will not allow her to talk clearly but she went on
  "My----Ch---Child---don't---wo--worry"
Kwata was more disturbed than ever as she is now sitting on her mat, wondering how she can be of help. But before she muttered her next words, mama quickly got up as she roughly made her way out of the hut while still coughing. Little Sini seemed not to be disturbed by the sound as he was still asleep. Kwata was now agitated and she immediately got up , following her mother outside. Mama was coughing more loudly than ever while sitting on a stool and kwata is now standing beside her,  patting her back and with the sad look on her face she keep on saying
"sorry mama..sorry mama" sympathetically. Kwata wished there was something she could do but within her, she was saying a little prayer. Mama was trying to stifle the cough as she asked kwata
"Ge---t--get--me---so---some---water"
On hearing, kwata quickly rushed to the big earthen pot under the mango tree , plunging a calabash into it and now striding  back to her mother with the water she requested but shockingly, kwata's heart tore apart as she saw her  mother on the ground coughing heavily, kwata then cried
"Mama! Mama!!" as she dropped the calabash on the ground and went on to  hold onto  her helpless mother. Kwata's eyes were now drenched with tears.  while her mother was trying to get up to sit again , she then told her to rush quickly and call Mr. Tari .  kwata then left quickly while running to call Mr. Tari  who lived 300 metres away from their isolated home. She didn't care  about the perils of the night as she ran, now that  her mothers life was at stake.

  Tears rolled down the eyes of kwata as she remembered  the incident that happened 25 years back i.e the death of her mother, while sitting on a swivel chair in her office with her face looking downwards. She then later picked a white handkerchief from the top of her desk and dabbed her eyes cleaning the tears. Then suddenly there was a knock on her door, and a female nurse then came in as she greeted her
"Good morning Dr.kwata. A new patient has just been admitted and Dr.Zira requested your presence to discuss the preparations for a special surgery on the patient"
She then replied
"ok i will meet him in a second".
The nurse then left as kwata got up to pick her white coat from the  hanger. While she was buttoning her coat, her phone ranged. She then picked it up to check who was calling and as usual it was Sini her brother,  who was now a software developer, working for a company in Germany. She then swiped her phone picking the call as she went out of the office talking to her little brother who is now a grown up man.