The dusty run-down building lay in shambles beside the market. The humid air smelt of grass, smoke and weed. The dark cloudy sky was accompanied by a mild tornado.

People were running, looking for shelter in the market. A little boy's shoe was caught in the tornado. The sky was filled with all sorts of junks ranging from cellophane, papers and other debris.

Mama Nnukwu who had been having a conversation with other women ran back to her shop to pack-in her wares. NEPA had just taken the light and the shop was dark. She looked up and wondered how long the rain would last. Chinwe lay asleep on the floor in her green and cream uniform beside her math textbook. She looked really tired and oblivious to her surroundings.

Mama Nnukwu was fortunate enough to pack in most of her wares before the rain pelted heavily from the sky. The windstorm that followed shook cabinets and wooden stalls, some zinc roofs were uprooted from buildings and shops.

Chinwe finally woke up. She crawled over to the inner part of the dark shop to sit with Mama Nnukwu. Mama Nnukwu felt around the corner for the candle and matches. When she found it, she set up the candle and struck the match, the shop came alive with light.

Chinwe envied the rain. She admired how effortlessly it fell without being bullied. She wished her mother were with her but her mother had traveled to Italy to work leaving the child with her grandmother.

"Nne mo (my dear), what will you eat. Okpa kor Eguisi na fufu?"

Chinwe sighed. She was tired of eating fufu, rice, beans or okpa. She wondered if there were no other meals a person living with a grandmother could enjoy. She wanted to try something continental.

"Okpa."

"Ogini mere (what happened)? Why is your face like this?" Mama Nnukwu asked wrapping her arms around the eight-year old girl whose face was downcast.

A loud thunder clap ensued followed by another. The rain became heavier. Chinwe felt a drop of water fall on her head like an anointing. She looked up and another drop fell into her eyes. Mama Nnukwu saw the water and moved the child from there. She placed a bowl underneath the spot and camped in the other corner of the shop.

"Chinwe, ogini?"

"Everything is okay. I'm just tired Mama Nnukwu."

Mama Nnukwu stared at the child knowingly. "A time will come when you will smile. Endure with me, omalicha'm. My million dollar princess. In all of Enugu, they have not seen a beauty like yours-oh. Dark Skin like refined chocolate, gap tooth that shines when you smile. Achalugo'm, asa beke, nwa amaka."

Chinwe's face lit up. She smiled and her left dimple accentuated her beauty. Mama Nnukwu reached for a baco-bag in the leaking corner and fetched three okpas. She handed two to Chinwe and devoured the other. They ate in silence as they watched the rain leave pitter-patters of mud on the heels of some of the wares.

After a long time, the rain stopped falling. The night air smelt damp, muddy potholes lined the market. Many market women and customers started leaving the market for the comfort of their homes.

A woman was drenched in rain and there was a bloody clot on her forehead. She walked out of the market with a little boy who was wearing only one pair of shoe, his body was not drenched in rain, he and the woman looked alike.

Mama Nnukwu and Chinwe packed all their goods and closed for the day. They were on their way out of the market when Chinwe remembered she forgot to pack her math textbook.

"We can always get it tomorrow. The market is empty. Tomorrow is another day," Mama Nnukwu said holding her baco-bag in one hand and Chinwe's small hand in the other.

"Mama Nnukwu, that textbook is not mine. It's for my classmate Chinwendu. I need to give her back."

Mama Nnukwu eyed the child wearily looking around the market. It was already dark and the market was deserted except for a few people who were looking for things they had lost in the rain.

"We can always return it to her tomorrow. I thought it was yours oh, I remember paying for it last month," Mama Nnukwu said with a thoughtful expression.

Chinwe mentally rolled her eyes. She needed to return that textbook to Chinwendu. She had misplaced hers and she couldn't tell Mama Nnukwu for fear of the old woman worrying.

"Tomorrow is another day, asa. You will return it tomorrow," Mama Nnukwu said matter-of-factly.

Chinwe stood affixed to the spot. Mama Nnukwu looked at the child wearily. She sighed before walking back to the shop. Chinwe followed.

They opened the shop and found the textbook on the floor beside the leaking spot, luckily, the book was not wet. Chinwe picked up the text and dusted it before putting it in her backpack.

"Chinwe, bring that bowl let me throw the water away," Mama Nnukwu said.

Chinwe took out the bowl and threw the water out herself before dropping the bowl back on the spot. Mama Nnukwu smiled at her and patted her back. They walked out of the market.

The run-down building looked haunted. Most people feared the house, there had been rumors about rapes and heinous murders there. Mama Nnukwu and Chinwe hurried past the house.

A few feet towards the road, a car without a license plate pulled up in front of them. Mama Nnukwu squinted at the tinted glass. A man and woman walked out of the car and greeted Mama Nnukwu. Mama Nnukwu didnot know them so she pulled Chinwe to herself and attempted to walk away but she was stopped by the man who pointed a gun at her head while the woman held onto Chinwe who was shaking like a chicken.

Mama Nnukwu was alarmed but she could not scream. The woman hit Chinwe on the neck and the child lost consciousness. Tears shimmered in Mama Nnukwu's eyes. The woman opened the passenger door of the car and dumped an unconscious Chinwe on the chair beside a sleeping little boy with one shoe.

Tears vehemently rolled down Mama Nnukwu's face. The woman entered the car and shut the door. An okada rider drove past with a passenger who was on a call. Mama Nnukwu wanted to scream for help but didnot have the courage to do so.

The man who held a gun to her head eyed her menacingly. He hit Mama Nnukwu on the head with his glock and she fell on the muddy bed. He entered the car and sped off.