the relationship between Chief and i (chief my roomate, not the Chief of Boamadumase)
has blossomed into that of an older sister coexisting with a little
brother. he's gone from nothing more than a unobserved waft of wind, to
a tormentingsquealing overly demanding annoyance, and i think it all started the day i walked in on him going to the bathroom.
i
had been sitting on the porch, chatting with my porch people, needing
to use the latrine. i was lazy and i couldn't be bothered, i didn't
want to make the walk. it wasn't far but my mind told me to wait, just
wait.
so i talked a little more, a little "too much" as sakola
would say, until the last minute when i jumped up and ran to the side
of the house, through the papaya trees down the little path that has
yams poking up on both sides now. as i got closer, something told me to
back away, to not open the door.
but i ignored that something,
as i sometimes foolishly do, and i pushed the door open and hit Chief
in his knees. he was sitting down on the toilet with his head between
his legs concentrating on more difficult matters.
he looked up,
and wagged his finger at me, and spoke more than i had ever heard him
speak since the first moment of living with him.
i couldn't
understand any of it, and i wasn't really in the mood to try and listen
and figure it out, so i told him sorry and closed the door.
i peed in a bush, than ran into sofies room. i was giddy, with a very strange type of rush. the i-just-walked-in-on-a-person type of excitement.
"guess what?" i said, not waiting for a response "i just caught Chief shitting."
sofie laughed and let out an 'ewww'.
i continued, rambling. "i kind of feel weird about it. but then, i guess i don't.
but he doesn't talk to me, and, i slammed the door open and he started
talking to me, and, i didn't really know what to do. so i just stared
at him, said 'mepaakyew' and walked away. but, ya, i don't know. should i
say something again? it sounded like he wanted to talk to me, but i
just ran off? i don't know... i should have known! deep down inside i knew he was in there..."
i heard the front door open and close. Chief was back in the house. i shut sofies door and hid out.
why was i making such a big deal of this?
every time i tried to talk myself down, i'd imagine him crunched and naked. it was such a vulnerable position to see somebody in, i'm glad i didn't zero in too long on any facial expressions.
"okay" i declared "i'm going out there. i'm going to face Chief."
i opened the door, summoned my courage, and walked down the hallway closer to his door. he was in his room, apparently relaxing.
i moved slowly. when i reached his area i left the opportunity open if he
wanted to talk, but as i passed by he didn't say a word so i kept
going. then spontaneously he appeared at his shuttered glass window,
opened the slates, and peered out into the hallway. i looked back at
him. our faces wereseparated by a screen only. i was staring into his
long face, from his tensed forehead down to his very very buck teeth.
he is an awkward looking boy.
he put his finger up as if to test
the direction of the wind by his cheek. he pressed his nose against the
screen and he said in a low somewhat dramatic voice
"BE CAREFUL."
it was the first english
words, or any words for that matter, that i have understood come out of
his mouth. the vision popped into my head again, his folded over
bathroom body, and i couldn't help but fall to the floor laughing.
he opened his door quickly and saw me leaned up against the wall.
he said it again, in the same deep voice with the same finger movement.
"BE CAREFUL."
then he went in and shut his door.
that was the first incident that broke through our barrier of an impersonal relationship.
the following progression of instances were subtle but constant.
now, Chief surprises me in all areas of the village, when i'd
least expect him to be there. he doesn't announce his arrival, or his
departure, he just walks by me and reminds me to be careful.
i
might be sitting in a parked taxi, waiting for it to fill up, when i
feel the back of the car bounce up and down. i turn and look out the
window to see Chief and his index finger, mouthing his new favorite
phrase.
or i could be buying my morning meal of rice, from the woman selling it out of her big metal bowl, when i turn to look and see Chief leaned up against a distant tree watching me. "Be Careful" he reminds me.
in the market, on bike rides, relaxing with friends, playing soccer- no doubt about it, Chief will show up. sometimes he crouches low in bushes.
i don't think he's doing it to threaten me, he just as a bad case of severe boredom. i am his new favorite hobby.
the
Be Careful then developed into a knocking on my bedroom door and then
running, like a roommate door bell ditch. he does it at all hours of
the day and night, seemingly not caring about my sleep or privacy.
the
door bell ditching then morphed into a breaking and entering type
situation, where he would knock- open the door- walk into my room- and
stare at all my things.
he is not a relaxing person to be
around, mostly because i can't understand a word he says and it is all
murmured under his breath, but still there is something intriguing about him. he is a total oddball.
"he's the only ghanaian i know who doesn't greet." sofie said.
"him, and seth." i reminded her.
"but Chief is different."
"he's in a completely different world."
we
tried to figure out what it is he does all day, besides following me
around and telling me to watch myself, and this is what we've come up
with;
he walks around town alone and listens to his headphones
he plays cheap loud hand held video games with small village boys
he gets ordered around by auntie
he repairs peoples shoes
that, i believe, is the current life of Chief.
his walkman needs double A batteries. one day i was reading in my room when
he broke through my unlocked door and targeted my small supply. he
mumbled a few things as he walked over to them, and he scooted in
close. i knew what he was doing the entire time and he wasn't going to
get away with it. i told him to be wise, which meant not to joke when it comes to batteries.
he started laughing, put his hand behind his back, and grabbed a few when he thought i wouldn't see. then he ran out.
i
jumped off my bed, grabbed a bagged water, and chased him through the
house. he started laughing and gasping and pulled up his pants with one
hand while he ran away from me and opened the front door with the other.
he slammed it shut.
i poked my head out and told him if he was interested in sleeping inside tonite he better return my precious batteries. then i shut the door, and locked him out.
he
tried the back door but i was standing there with a big bag of water in
my hands. i wasn't kidding around any more, i told him. taking my
batteries was a serious offense, he would be soaked in less than 10
seconds if he didn't give them back.
he tossed me one.
"and the other?" i said in english.
he said something back in twi, and i raised the water bag over my head.
he threw the second one.
"and the last one?"
he shook his hands all around proving he was innocent.
"fine." i said. and i let him pass.
Chief liked being chased, and it has turned into a favorite past time of his.
he
knocks at my door, comes in, steals something, and i chase him. the
ritual is very tiresome. i eventually had to let him know.
"Chief, i'm not going to chase you anymore. it's getting old. leave me alone."
but like a good little brother, he hasn't.
i've
tried to withdraw but it only makes matters worse. he'll knock, open
the door, see that i won't chase him and instead take my keys from the
inside of my door and lock me into my room. then he'll wag them and
clink them against my window, then disappear.
when ed was around he was out by the well attempting to wash some clothes. he asked
me if i had any wash soap and i said i did, "i'll be right back." i
went inside and began rummaging through my things. when i located the
soap i went back to my door and tried to leave only to find i had been
locked in. "CCCCCHHHHHHHHHEEEEEIIIFFF!!!!" i screamed, but no response.
i never know when he's coming back, but it usually doesn't take long.
this time was about 10 minutes, during which i had to talk
myself down at least once. 'i could escape this room in case of a
spontaneous fire.' then i imagine gathering all my strength and being granted a dose of that amazing adrenline that helps mothers lift cars off their babies. i would bend the bars outside my windows and jump out.
when i brought the soap back out to ed, he looked like he
was almost through with his clothes, although i wasn't sure how he had
washed them. "sorry" i said "chief." he knew about chief, he had heard
the 'becarefuls'. he laughed and shook his head.
the other day i told sakola that chief is a troublesome little boy.
"little?" sakola said.
"ya. little."
"you are his junior. chief is 27."
i could barely believe it. chief, 27?
i
partly would like to stop our fighting but there is an addictive
element, which is, chiefs laughter. his face resembles a cartoon horse
and every time he laughs i feeli've accomplished something great, i've exposed his teeth and forced him to smile, i've roused him out of a humdrum day. it is a simple feat but nonetheless, great, like putting a baby to sleep.
i've tried to take steps to counter his attacks. when i remember i remove my keys from my door. i've
hid all my batteries. i threaten him with water bags AND my slingshot,
which i am certain scares him. he threatens me with his slingshot,
which scares me even more.
"okay okay" i scream, when i walk
through the gate after a long day at work. "no more!" i see he has a
good sized rock nestled between the leather strip.
he just laughs and pulls it back a little harder.
i don't trust him enough to laugh, he exists on the boundary of playful and crazy, an uncomfortable place.
"chief!" i say, sternly "be careful. i'm serious."
the tips of his swingset teeth appear just between the crack of his lips.
"really, chief, be careful."
as he lowers the catapult down to his side he raises his finger and says "NO. YOU. BE CAREFUL."
