The Smell of the Rain
Its such a blessing in a small tiny village up north! You can almost smell the sweet fragrance of the soil as the 1st drops of the rain touch the ground. It has a unique smell that is literally in her systems or head in this instance! As the first big drops of the rain start falling from the sky to the very hot dry, dusty ground have you ever felt a very unique scent? I hope she is not the only one smelling the rain……asking herself if the rain other places has no sweet scent? May be the #NomadGirl is just dreaming and making up the scent today.
Sometimes back the Nomad Girls remembers sharing this story with a friend in a far away land then in the University ..….a childhood friend from village up north……and it started raining and there was no sweet scent because the entire place was covered by pavements. No one was happy it had started raining. …..together they literally went out for a walk in the rain …..crazy as it may sound with nothing on their heads….busy smelling the ground but it had no smell ….The Nomad Girl wanted to carry the soil from the tiny village up north with her everywhere she went so that she can place it on the pavement and get the smell once the rain started dropping. Hey I don't think it is even even allowed through the airports security with all the rich micro organisms in the soil. Anyway that is a story for another day. So shelve your dream for another day Nomad Girl….
Now let us go back to the childhood memories of how the rain made her feel as a Nomad Girl. It was a true blessing; the family livestock will move closer home and milk will be in huge supply and any home you go to there will be a goat slaughtered for you…..such a generous gesture. It is the smell of abundance and huge blessings. It just started raining in tiny village up north. The 1st drops were at just before dawn break then it went on and on for the next almost 3 hours. The pounding rain continued to beat the cracked earth until the whole place was flooded. Every mother will rise to place the big drums under the gutters….it did not matter the time of the night. The dust of yesterday have already been washed away……..
The Nomad Girl sees today as a new day to wash away the blood that was just shed a few days ago and have a fresh start! It may just be a dream……….but this is the dream of a Nomad Girl!
The smell of the earth as the rain drops has a name….it has a Greek name……“Petrichor”!…I don't know what it is called in the language of the Nomad Girl! But she does not need a name all she wanted was to share was the feeling….She knows one person who is super exited with the fall of the rain and the sweet smell of the earth….he is a young boy who left a high level paying job to be a farmer at the prime of his career. You can see a day where the seeds he had planted a few weeks earlier will start rising in an amazing shots! Pushing so hard though fragile until they crack the earth open. He got down on his knees and got his hands dirty and from the earth now he makes a living. He is always searching for new technology on how to improve his organic farming. Repairing his water pan and ready to harvest the rainwater…..something which many have learnt from him and dug their own. He was employed for a few years before he made up his mind that he wants to be a farmer for life….his farm has a name and he loves it like a baby……you will hear him literally talk to the plants in the farm…..
This is the reality of life one day we mourn the death of a brother, a father, the mother or sister and another day we celebrate the birth of a baby be it a boy or a girl. A new life a new beginning with a smile and a touch of the little hands yet so fragile. Just like the birth of a baby the rain brings so much hope and joy to the heart of the Nomad Girl. The changes that follow suit, from the stress of a long dry spell to the rain drops. The Nomad Girls now wants to be a kid again just to ran in the rain…..get all wet and come back home all socked up and grinding her teeth against each other……
She will be lucky if she did not fall in the mud as it gets too wet and you start sliding. If you lived in the tiny village up north you remember the memories of so many muddy feet stepping on the same place then the mud builds small tiny hills. It was common scene in many places and as you step on the top of the little tiny hills holding on to the wires of the fence. Remember it is still raining from the top and most a times you had no umbrella to cover your head but a piece of black polythene bag or a leso. You still have to look up and greet every arera (Aunt) you meet on the way; don't forget the akaku (grandpa) who sells meat on the left hand side and another abuya (uncle) who has a shop just at the edge of the small tiny hills. It did not matter the tribe in the tiny village up north they were all related by blood; marriage and celebrated the rain drops together.
But it had fun moments too! many cannot balance on the small tiny hills especially those with big bellies and they will fall into the mud! Don’t laugh because you will be cursed by the elders…..imagine suppressing your little giggles inside and you almost burst with the laughter. This was the life of a Nomad Girl……..
The UBUNTU in her home in the tiny village up north was so strong that any parent can punish you for wrong doing, including picking up the cane and beating you up if you were caught on the wrong side of the village rules.
Don’t forget to follow the Nomad Girl through her journey of life……..
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