Winnie

I tried once again to get my head tie in the right position, and for the hundredth time in a roll I failed.

I ruffled the tie off my head, making it hit the floor, followed by a trample from my arching feet. I have been standing in front of my mirror for half an hour, getting ready for church. But for some reason, my head tie has refused to cooperate.

Now it's on the floor rather than my head, I hope it's happy. Taking my attention off the piece, I stared at my reflection in the mirror. My red gown, well fitted, hugging my slim figure, not forgetting to show the world my bonny neck and chest, since my tailor decided that a v-neck would be appropriate for the dress. If only she knew how much I hated the dress.

Well my hatred for the head tie soon faded away and was replaced by irritation caused by my sister's chattering down the hallway just outside my room. She was giggling and clicking her long heels to the tiles and I could only flinch at the sound.

Soon she enters my room, laughing and flings her self on my bed. 'this girl doesn't know that today is Sunday' I hissed and returned my gaze at my mirror.

"Sis , I can't stop" Genesis voice came out  a little high than I know she intended. I looked at her and her shoulders lowered. Her head bent in defect, I wonder what she meant.

"I can't stop talking to him" she said again. She looked me in the eye and I saw that innocence, the innocence I missed. I walked up to where she was seated at the edge  of my bed and held her shoulders. From the looks of things, I knew who she was talking about, the son of our enemy.

"You must" I said without remorse, but as firm as ever. It was a Sunday morning, I was already having a hard time getting ready and I didn't have time for all that drama.

"But why must I?" she challenged my approach, fire returning to her eyes, her shoulders slowly coming up from its slumber. "He's a good guy Winnie."

"He's the son of our enemy Gen. Is that not enough reason to see that he isn't a good guy" I said, returning to my vanity table and reapplying my red lip gloss, at least that's something I'm good at.

"Wait! I didn't tell you about him. How did you know he's our enemy's son?"

Way to play detective with my smart little sister. She has always figured me out. I tapped on my lips to get that glow in, trying to ignore her question.

"Winnie!" Gen stood on her feet, her face turning into pale red from all the anger I'm sure was fueling in side her right now. I took a deep breath.

"I did some digging" I tried not to look in her direction.

"Winnie! I just got back and you are back to this? Investigating all my friends and invading my privacy!" she was shouting now.

"I'm sorry Gen. But you know it's for your own good. I just had to" I redraw my brows with my eye pencil.

"I won't take this from you Winnie. I won't" she was pacing, clicking her heels and I could only imagine snapping them out of her legs right now.

"I won't have this fight with you this morning Gen, I did my investigation, and now you have to cut all form of communication with that man" I turned my back on her, and returned to my mirror. "It has to be the way I tell you. It has always been this way" I tried to finalize.

"But why? His father is our father's enemy not ours" her voice was raising and so was my impatience.

"An enemy of our father's is ours too. That's what makes us family" I tried to reason with her. While I stared into my reflection trying to convince myself also.

"I won't stop talking to him." Genesis said and tried walking out of my room.

"You won't see, call or meet up with that man. Do you understand!" I yelled with her back turned against me.

"You can't tell me who to see and who not see, Winnie"
Her voice filled with rage, ranged through out the entire room, leaving a heavy silence after it had died down. The room was filled with so much energy. Energy that only both of us could produce. The energy I missed.

She slowly turned, facing me now. "You and dad can't go out there make a bunch of enemies and hang them around my neck. It's a burden Winnie. Being part of this family has always been. And this one friend, I won't let you take him away."

I could feel my eyes closing cause of those words, words that has been locked away in my heart for so long, now hearing it from her, it broke me. Being part of this family has always been a burden, and I hated that my sister felt that way too.

I was weak, I had lost words, we just stood there staring at each other, lost in our world. And there I was wondering where all my control had gone.

"Since I can't tell you who to see or meet. I think dad has to do it." my voice stiff and void of emotions. My anger stiffened and pure hatred alighted in her eyes. I saw it and it disturbed me greatly. Reporting my only sister to our ever smiling frightening father had always been the last resort, this time it was.

I hurried past her, into the hallway and down to my father's room, shutting the door behind me.

My father was in his flowing white buba, stylishly designed with golden linen. My father has always been a man of style and fashion and with me at the office, he had all the time in the world to show case his fashionable taste to the world. He was on his bed, tieing up his shoes when I entered the room.

"And where is your head tie, my pretty? " he asked and I badly wanted to roll my eyes but my involuntary hands reached out for my naked head and I once again remembered that I had an unfinished business in front of my mirror. Tho the fight with my sister over an intending friendship with our enemy was a more pressing need. I took a deep breath and narrated my ordeal to my father. And with my father's attention greatly on his shoes, he listened.

*************

If awkward was a day, it would probably be this Sunday, especially this Sunday service. As usual I sat in the front row little farther from my family and friends. With my head bowed silently to some prayers offered by the priest, and my hands stylishly on my head in the bid to keep my cap in place. The cap I opted for after my failure to control the matching head tie for the dress. Well my dangling cap was just another failure I added to the list this morning after my failure with my sister. Cause even though I was few rows away from her, I could feel the pressure from her eyes, piercing the back of my head, making my efforts  to keep my cap steady and my eyes at the alter another big failure.

The priest was busy chattering away about the world being at peace, I couldn't quiet grab his words cause my mind was racing faster than his voice. My body was present but my mind was afar of. Some of his words filtered into my ears after a thunderous Amen came from the congregation.

The woman sitting beside me was nodding her head away, to the priest's words which made me wonder if she was really understanding or just trying to nod off the heavy sleep in her eyes. Either way it didn't work out so good, cause she dozed off few minutes into the sermon.

"The world needs peace" the priest said again.

"Ha! Peace" my mind laughed. The world could never have peace. To live in this world meant to survive and to survive, we need to fight. At least that's what my father told me. So why is everyone pretending to crave for peace when all we do is to fight, a fight to survive.

The service ended on a good note at least for some people. My eyes were hurting from all my conscious effort to keep them on the over-lighted  alter, my hands were arching from my struggles with my cap, and then my heart was pounding because my sister probably hates me.

A/N: I finally wrote something after so much time. To all those reading I'm really sorry. But I lost my muse, hoping to get it back soon.

Love u all😍😍😍😍