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EGG ON THE FACE. By Kesa THIBA

 Egg on the Face!


'I bet Thabang will notice my thigh high slit, i wonder if he'll ask me to be his girlfriend tonight or if he'll want to end things with Priscilla first. I don't like that Priscilla, I wonder what he even sees in her, her face is as dark as the night and her hips are as wide as a nursing cow's... When she walks her thighs rumble like thunder" Mmabatho giggles by herself as she trailed the foot path to the market, extcied by the upcoming village festival happening later tonight. 

Mmabatho inherited 20 chickens from her late grandmother 2 months ago. She has been gathering their eggs to sell at the market so she can buy a dress that she will wear to the festival. Hopefully this dress will be enough to get Thabang to notice her. 

"Finally the day has arrived, i finally have enough eggs to buy my dress" she says as she walks into the chicken house carrying a bright yellow woven basket that her mother used as a young girl to carry her grandmother's eggs to the market. "1,2,3... Oops I better not drop any eggs..4.. 5" she continues to pick them up one by one and neatly pack them into the basket. 

"Tshepang.. Tshepang" she calls out for her brother "help me put this basket on my head... be careful I don't want any mistakes with this basket!! put it on the center, the market is a very long walk from here."
Satisfied that the basket is fully secured she sets out for the market. 

She knows exactly where she will take her eggs to, and how much she will make, she has already arranged with the seamstress to keep the dress ready for her, while she delivers some of the eggs that have been pre-ordered from her. 

"I have managed to sell all these eggs before they were even laid, I am sure Grandmother will be very happy with me. I will get the money from Mr Melamu and Mrs Mpona, I should also remember to take other eggs to Sipho's spaza shop. Then  I will go to shop and get my dress.. "

With every step she gets nearer to the market she gets filled with so much excitement.. Imagining how she will look in her dress.."  The red lace on the back will fit so well on my small back and the long slit with showcase my athletic legs.. Those shapeless girls will run home with envy when I arrive tonight... Even Priscilla will frown with jealousy when she sees how a real woman should look like.. 

I'm certain Thabang will just leave her on the spot and beg me to be his... "

Mmabatho begins to beam with excitement as she approaches the market and begins to feel Thabang's warm hands and moist lips more intensely.. She more certain than ever that tonight is the night he will profess his undying love for her... As she leans over for the kiss she doesn't notice that the usual path is flooded from last night's rain.. She leans in for a kiss... But instead she misses a step...

In an instant... The bright yellow woven basket is filled bown with mud and not a single egg on sight!

Comments

  1. Eric7 November 2020 at 12:08

    Hilarious. Well written story that reaches a throbbing crescendo.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Eric8 November 2020 at 02:06

    Hehehehehe. Re reading this fine story again inside my mukhukhu, Sunday. A realistic, psychological narrative- highlighting youthful zest and exhilaration. Comment here, Dr Tiisetso....

    ReplyDelete
  3. C. MADOLYN8 November 2020 at 08:25

    Interesting narrative, captures the essence of what becomes a farcical 'confrontation' in the end

    ReplyDelete
  4. A. OSONDU8 November 2020 at 08:30

    'A bright yellow woven basket' One can almost see it.

    ReplyDelete
  5. MAJA8 November 2020 at 08:45

    Gee, I read this twice quickly. You can see the author is a woman, from the feelings and descriptions. Good writer.

    ReplyDelete
  6. TM THIBA8 November 2020 at 22:16

    😁😁😁😁, i feel sorry for Mmabatho because all the eggs are crashed when she lean for Thabang's kiss and not noticing that the ground is wet from last night rain.

    So it means that she won't be able to attend a village festival, not be able to pay seamstress for the dress she made, and not be able to deliver the orders eggs to people and spaza shop owner ordered the eggs. That's bad for her. And she won't be able to win Thabang as she wants him to her's. 😁😁.


    Well written short story indeed and I believe there is more story coming from Mrs Kesa Thiba to read.

    Are you saying the story reminds you of your Mokhukhu Prof Bolaji? It is amusing story.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Eric9 November 2020 at 02:04

    Hehehehehe. I enjoy reading Dr Thiba's comments. Here we see his empathetic prism, and the extra imagination writers have. Dr Thiba sympathises with Mmabatho in his comment. In some ways, she does lose it all. But youth always bounce back!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. TM THIBA9 November 2020 at 13:06

      This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
  8. Eric9 November 2020 at 02:05

    Hehehehehe. I enjoy reading Dr Thiba's comments. Here we see his empathetic prism, and the extra imagination writers have. Dr Thiba sympathises with Mmabatho in his comment. In some ways, she does lose it all. But youth always bounce back!!!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Kesa9 November 2020 at 21:27

    Wow... Thank you very much for publishing this... I wrote this hoping to put a smile on someone's face and also to remind us to always plan for a rainy day..
    This is my very first short story and all the comments here are inspiring


    Thank you for taking time to read and comment. I appreciate all the feedback... Hehehe

    ReplyDelete
  10. RAPHAEL10 November 2020 at 00:43

    I have always loved short stories, particularly those written by our African writers. You can capture the essence of the styles of our fine writers through their short fiction, Achebe, Mphahlele, Ama Aidoo, Ngugi, Leseli Mokhele, Bolaji, Gomolemo Mokae, Dambudzo, Nwapa, Mabel Segun etc. We are presented with a piquant picture here in this new story, vignette if you like. But I wonder at the end….is the young lady imagining being with her man when the mishap befalls her, or is she physically with him? The impression I got was that she was still imagining the scenario. Eh?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kesa10 November 2020 at 08:47

      You're very right.. She is imagining it.

      Delete
  11. Leke Giwa10 November 2020 at 01:03

    Interesting short story. I also feel that the lady - Mmabatho got carried away, her lively imagination taking over...I don't think the guy was physically present. Dr Thiba?

    ReplyDelete
  12. KATHY12 November 2020 at 01:16

    Indeed we women like to feel attractive - as narrative here shows; attractive for our men at any rate. A few days ago I was at a place and was surprised to see how angry and vehement an old woman was, with a much younger woman. The older woman who was at least over 60 kept on shouting at the young woman, saying 'You think you are pretty?...you are so proud. When I was your age I was many tiumes more attractive than you!' I could see that the people around, mainly men, were embarrassed with the outburst of the Mama, at her age. But in this story we see how a very young Mmabatho is so sure of her looks, even disparaging others - 'hips as wide as a nursing cow'! Some say pride often goes before a fall; maybe that's the lesson here, even if Dr Thiba is sympathetic with the girl here

    ReplyDelete
  13. Kesa12 November 2020 at 01:29

    I absolutely love your interpretation of the story... There are so many sides to see, each one determined by perspective and experience..

    ReplyDelete
  14. KATHY12 November 2020 at 01:35

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  15. HERCULE12 November 2020 at 01:38

    Interesting story. Realistic rural setting too.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Eric15 November 2020 at 10:36

    SIR THIBA!!!! Enjoying on Sunday...DIJO. Hope you did not break any eggs.... hehehehehehe

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. TM THIBA18 November 2020 at 07:19

      Hahaha hahaha, I didn't break any egg Malome.

      Delete
    2. Eric18 November 2020 at 20:17

      Are you sire, Sir Thiba? Hehehehehe. We heard from other sources....

      Delete
    3. Eric18 November 2020 at 20:17

      Are you sire, Sir Thiba? Hehehehehe. We heard from other sources....

      Delete
  17. KUNLE AWO16 November 2020 at 00:54

    I like the title of the story, very apt. It sort of correlates everything, I also like a prior comment referring to 'pride before a fall' which some might consider to be a bit harsh. The opening lines of the short story are sharp and concise too, with the dislike for Priscilla very much evident. A realistic rendition

    ReplyDelete
  18. BENJAMIN ODEGBAMI24 November 2020 at 01:09

    Interesting.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Kesa2 December 2020 at 00:36

    Thank you very much for taking the time to read this piece. I appreciate everyone's feedback..

    ReplyDelete

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