Well Thought Out Choices & Their Opposite - written by Alfred (a short story for kids)

Once upon a time in the city of Port harcourt, in a country called Nigeria; there lived a little 12 year old boy named Emeka. His Dad left the country illegally when Emeka was 8 years old. Since then, his Dad had never tried to communicate with Emeka or his Mum ever again. Rumor had it that his Dad married a white woman in America and is building a new life with her.

He never plans to tell her about his wife and kid in Africa because he never plans to return to Africa even if all the most scariest and dangerous people in the world threaten him to.   

Emeka and his Mum had managed to live and survive in Port Harcourt. As a matter of fact Emeka’s Mum worked so hard that she had worked her way to the financial middle class. She had learnt that in the rough times you have to rely on God and be rough with the rough times and if you do you would defeat the rough times or at least out last it.   

Emeka on the other hand was one of those people who went to church, have been told a lot of important things but happened to walk away with only good morals but not the spirit behind it. Hence, Emeka was a good boy and well principled too but he didn’t have a relationship with God even though he sang praise and worship songs in church on Sundays and in house fellowship bible meetings.   Something good had just happened to Emeka but it wasn’t surprising. Emeka had just won an award for the best poem written in Rivers State in a contest organized by the state government.

The contest was only open to kids, and Emeka had won the price for number one poem. This of cause brought joy to everyone especially Emeka’s Mum.   

After the state gave Emeka a glass structure with “1st price winner of the 2011 kiddies poetry contest”, and no money or food at all not even a tangible meat pie, Emeka’s Mum knew that she had to do something tangible for Emeka.   

That same day, in the evening, Emeka’s Mum surprised Emeka by giving him a size-able amount of her hard-earned money but at least an amount that she could afford to part with and not something that would prevent them from eating 3 square meals until her next pay cheque.

Emeka was extremely happy to receive it and could hardly contain his joy.   

Emeka’s Mum asked him what he was going to use his money to buy. He told her that he was going to buy an iPhone.   

His Mum told him that he should do his research and that it is not really advice-able to buy an iPhone in Nigeria right now because it is the first phone that pick pockets pick : it’s the phone of their stealing preference. And another thing is that there has been talk of fake versions of iPhones that are made in people’s backyards in Aba and sold off in Port Harcourt as the real thing and sometimes it’s sold at the price of the real thing.   

Emeka’s Mum kept going on, on advising him about buying iPhones in Port Harcourt. She emphasized that he should do more research and learn about the iPhone if he still wanted to buy it.   Emeka assumes that because he is younger than his mum, she is Old Skool and so therefore he knows better than her. Besides he has already researched what he’s about to buy, online. He knows enough to know he wants it, why should he do more research like someone who is trying to figure out how to make his own iPhone and start his own technology company?   

Emeka started to get angry at his Mum and he told his Mum that she’s old and he’s young therefore he knows what he was doing and she doesn’t. The technology belonged to his generation not hers. The technology was understood by his generation not hers.   

Emeka’s Mum was shocked, disappointed and upset because of her son’s rude and heartless comments.   

After an hour of more communication between them, Emeka apologized to his Mum but his Mum made him agree that if it turns out that she’s right about it not being wise for him to spend the money on an iPhone without doing all she said, that he would have to scrub the toilet everyday for a month.   

The next day, Emeka set out to go to Garrison which is a popular place in Port Harcourt where there are many shops that sell phones, laptops and other computer based items.   

On his way to Garrison, Emeka met someone who offered to give him an iPhone for half the market price. Emeka was very happy. This was a blessing from God. Only God can make something this good happen. Determined to take advantage of this opportunity to save money, he buys the iPhone from the person without even reaching Garrison.   

When Emeka gets home he happily started unpacking the iPhone from the box. He called out to his Mum to come and see and so his Mum came.   

Emeka pulled out the iPhone. It was all shiny and pretty. He pressed the home button on the iPhone and the TV in the living room switched on from stand-by mode. Emeka was shocked. He pressed it again, and the TV switched back off to stand-by mode.   

Emeka started sweating and his heart started beating fast. Emeka’s Mum now started frowning. She wasn’t finding it funny.

Emeka pressed the home button on the iPhone again and again but no matter how many times he pressed it, it was the same result. He had only succeeded in buying a remote control that only has one button and at the super-expensive price of half the price of an iPhone.Now, guess who has to wash the toilet everyday for a month?If only he had listened to his Mum, all this would have been avoided.

THE END.