THE GOOD GODDESS OF GOOD LUCK
Emo and Yaweh were so excited about travelling to the city with their mother that morning that they hastened to finish their chores. Their journey to the city had been postponed countless times because of insufficient funds, inadequate time and unpreparedness amongst others.
Emo, the first twin, had worn his favourite clothes, a flowery blue shirt, a pair of black jean trousers and a pair of brown leather sandals which their mother had bought for them in the city as a birthday gift and was already sitting on their big, black, travel bag outside the raffia gate waiting for their mother, Mrs Chidimma to finish dressing up so they could travel when Mrs Chidimma called him. He rushed inside the hut to where his mother was seated on a wooden chair. She had worn a native attire and was tying a scarf when the thirteen year old came in.
“Yes mother”, he said beaming with smiles.
“Ehmm…I forgot to tell you to pack the little groundnut I harvested in the farm yesterday. So please, pull off your clothes and rush to the farm. Once you’re back, we’ll leave for the city”.
Emo’s happy countenance instantly changed to that of an angry man. He was so bitter about going on an errand after he was dressed and ready to leave the village.
“Mother, send Yahweh now, he has not dressed up yet”, he said eyeing his brother who was about to wear his own pair of trousers.
“I saw him before I called for you so hurry up and let’s…” The thirteen year old walked out on his mother. He was highly infuriated so he went into his lair, the storehouse, to sulk. His mother called him severally but he refused to answer.
“I’ll go mother!”, Yahweh shouted as he watched his brother disappear to the storehouse.
Quickly, he pulled off his trouser, rushed to the storehouse, collected a big, empty sack and took off to the farm without complain. He was happy that he’d finally gotten the opportunity to announce to his friends that he’ll be going to spend the long vacation in the city. He had been trying to figure out a lie to tell his mother so he can go and tell his friends about his journey when this opportunity presented itself. Therefore, he embraced it without ado.
On his way to the farm, he saw a deflated ball that was cast away and was playing it as he went along the lonely path. In a twinkling of an eye, Yaweh saw himself being carried into a black Lexus jeep that was packed not so far away. He recognized the King’s subject and began to apologize to them to please let him go. Usually, anytime the King’s subjects carried a Child in that manner, the child gets a good number of the strokes of the cane for throwing stones close to the palace or for being disobedient to the guards. Yaweh and his friends had played close to the palace the previous day and in the process, one of them had mistakenly thrown a stone at one of the guards. The guard had shouted after them to stop but they had taken different directions in haste to run for their dear lives. Therefore, he thought the guard had come for him. The King’s messengers did not utter a word as Yahweh pleaded on. Their silence made him all the more afraid.
“Is he the one?”, the King asked his young son immediately the black Lexus jeep pulled up in the palace. Yahweh was shaking already with fear as he prayed quickly for a miracle to take place.
The king, his son and subjects were standing beside a black Highlander when the guards and Yahweh arrived. The young prince had described Emo and the location of his house to the guards but they had brought his brother instead. They were approaching the raffia gate when they saw him coming out from the said house. They followed him quietly until they got to a narrow path and then they caught him. Had the guards called on him to come, he wouldn’t have come because the children of Amah village feared the King’s guards even more than their own parents because of the whip. Emo and his brother, Yaweh were identical twins but the small dark spot close to Yaweh’s right eye made it easy for people to identify them.
“No, this is his twin”, he replied.
Just then one of the King’s subject whispered something in his left ear.
“My son, they are waiting for us, we can’t delay any longer. Since this is his twin, there won’t be so much difference between them so let’s just go.”
“Okay father”, the young prince replied. “But he needs a change of raiment, father”. Yaweh couldn’t contain his joy. He prostrated thrice on the floor to show his appreciation to the King.
Yahweh was given a very beautiful apparel to wear and soon they were on their way to the airport. Emo was a bosom friend to the King’s son and the King’s son had wanted his friend to go with him to New York to spend the holiday but the guards had mistaken his brother for him.
Meanwhile, Mrs Chidimma was about to go out to look for Yaweh when the King’s subjects met her at the gate. They gave her a note from the king and some money. Mrs Chidimma was overjoyed after reading the note that she began to shout and dance. Emo who had been sulking ever since came out from his lair upon hearing the joyous noise his mother was making. His mother handed him the note without uttering a word and continued to dance and sing aloud.
“Chineke mu o-oo! It would have been m-me-mee o-oo-ooo!”, Emo cried.
The unavoidable truth is that we’ve made this statement at one point in our lives. We’ve at a time cried, ” if I had known…”, ” how I wish…”, among so many other regretful statements. Nevertheless, once beaten, twice shy should be our motto thereafter.
The goddess of good luck is too busy to waste her golden time with men that are slow, lazy and fearful. She doesn’t play with her time at all. She rarely visits but when she does she’s too impatient to wait for a sluggard.
Just like Emo, we’ve missed so many worthwhile opportunities just because it’s not what we expected, it’s not our agreement with some persons, it’s not what suits or befits our personality, it didn’t come when we wanted it and several other reasons.
Most a times that life changing opportunity we’ve spent every fleeting second and every single dime waiting for comes in simple, unexpected ways. It doesn’t come ‘big’ as we expect. Perhaps, that breakthrough, that change, that transformation we’ve been praying and fasting for lies in this small opportunities we neglect. Remember that Emo was still going to travel with his mother that same day on his return from the farm but just because he had worn his best clothes, his best…, he missed it. We think we’re too good in risk management that we forget that to even breath is a risk itself! Yes! We breath several harmful chemicals into our system yet we survive it so why don’t we take the bull by the horn and damn the risk? Why don’t we face it and be happy for once? Why don’t we break out of our self protective shells and enjoy this short life?
This golden opportunity might be the gold in the mire but we quickly run to embrace the new iron. It might disguise itself and come as a man wearing clean rags but we neglect it and kiss the man in suit with a dirty and tattered underclothes!
I’m sure that we don’t want to cry like Emo. Let’s learn to make the best out of every opportunity and out of every situation we find ourselves. By so doing, doors that have been constructed for us by this good goddess of good luck in unexpected places get to open for us. And with less difficulty too!
Let’s learn to do small things. Let’s learn to soil our hands in earth even after we’ve applied moisturizers on her hands. Let’s learn to inhale and swallow with joy too, the odorous smell of the stagnant water for when the good goddess comes suddenly, she’ll perfume and sanitize it and transform it into our best place and even our solitude if we so please!
