𝕋𝕣𝕒𝕔𝕪™❤

We were living in Ibadan in 2004 with my cousin and her two young kids. We were deep in poverty. The kind where every kobo mattered. She had bought some beans, but they were completely overrun by weevils. She refused to throw them away. This is all we can afford, she said. That Sunday night, we spent hours trying to pick out the weevils. We thought we got them all. Or so we believed. We parboiled the beans thoroughly, then she seasoned and peppered them. The aroma filled the whole house and you could tell, something isn't right as She served the food. As everyone stared at their plates, the remaining weevils were still clearly visible, floating and mixed in. The kids immediately started screaming at the top of their lungs. No one touched their spoon. Then my cousin calmly stood up, walked to the switch, and turned off the light. Everyone keep eating, she said into the darkness. If you cannot see them, you will not know you are eating them. That night is permanently etched in my memory. The feeling of chewing those beans and the weevils still haunts me till today. Poverty is expensive. In everything you do in life, please strive hard never to be poor.