Welcome, fam. This is the first chapter of Dreams and I hope you enjoy it.
Cheers to a wonderful week.
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Fiyi looked at her mother picking out beans on a tray in their sparsely furnished living room.

The rug was threadbare but clean, the sofas sunken and the color of the living room faded. It was difficult to tell that it was once cream-colored. The family pictures were the only forms of decoration the walls could boast of. Majorly pictures of the children achieving different milestones.

She could see weariness boldly written on her mother’s face as she sorted out their lunch.

“Mummy are you sure you are fine?” She asked again.

Her mother had complained of a headache earlier in the day which is the reason why she couldn’t go to the market to get fruits for sale today. Her mother hardly complained of illness because she knew she was the head of their family and had to be strong for everyone.

“I am better now, I think.  I am just bothered about my customers getting to the stall and wondering why I am not there,” she sighed.

“You know these people, once you are not there they shift base. They can’t even call me now that my phone is spoilt. Ehn, I would have volunteered to deliver to them.”

“That should be the least of your worries mom. You are not feeling fine. It’s just for today. Health is wealth.”

“I know, it’s just the money. We are yet to get the money for your registration this semester and it is bothering me.”

“Mom when there is life, there is hope. I told you I will stay at the stall tomorrow while you do your run around.”

Her mother sighed deeply and continued to pick her beans.
Fiyi had her share in a bowl at her side. She worries about her mother a lot.

Her father had died when she gained admission into school and she had nearly lost her admission. The loss had taken a toll on their mother and the kids too. They were a close-knit family. Although they didn’t have much, they were content with the little they had.

Her father had followed her to her exam center, they had filled her forms and picked her course together. He didn’t wait long enough to attend her Matriculation though. She tried not to think about what they have been through since then.

Her younger brothers were thankfully in public schools, which helped reduce the cost of fees. However, they still needed textbooks and uniforms. Some petty stuff too that required money.

She stared into space and wondered if there was a way she could help her mother. She had gone in search of jobs but nobody wanted to employ a second-year undergraduate. She couldn’t even take up the minor sales girl jobs because of her lectures.

It was as if nothing was working. The only thing they had going was her mother's fruit stall. Thankfully they didn’t have to pay rent as her father had struggled to own a house of his own. The man had spent his whole life struggling to make his family comfortable. He had repeatedly told them he didn’t want his kids to live the kind of life he had to live.

She hardly invited her friends home, not because she wasn’t proud of her background but because their home had nothing to offer.
The last working T.V they had, had been sold to pay her fees when she was trying so hard to hold on to her admission.

Help didn’t come from anywhere. It took the effort of one of her mother’s customers for them not to lose the building over their head when her father's family came calling for his properties. There was no pity from them. Even the ones that had dined in their house when her father was alive were not left out of the fight for the property that did not belong to them.

“What was your brother's complain about this morning?”
Her mother interrupted her thoughts.

“I heard both of you arguing in the morning.”

“Don’t mind him. I think one of his teachers requested to see you about a form or a competition they wanted to sign him for.”

“Oh! You should have gone with him then.”

“I didn’t want to leave you alone, you were running a bit of temperature in the morning.”

“Thank you, my dear. I think it’s just stress.”

“You need to take it, easy Mummy,” she admonished.

“I try o, hmm I try. I saw my husband today again and he told me he misses me too and his children.”

Her mother sighed again and rested on the sofa she was sitting.

“You are scaring me, mom,” Fiyi said. She stood up and picked the tray from her mother's lap.

“I will just finish this up, just lie there on the chair.”

“I was just thinking, when I lost my husband, a lot of people promised to come to my aid, to help me raise you and your brother, where are they now?”

“Mummy! We talked about this. It’s you against the world. You are the only one we have left, we don’t want to lose you too.”

“I can not die now, don’t worry. I already promised my husband that I will see you through school. If I die now, what will I tell him over there?”

Fiyi shook her head and took the
beans to the kitchen in preparation for lunch and probably dinner.

Her mother and father had been the closest of friends and she was worried in the first few months how her mother was going to cope with the loss.
They had met in their youth while learning different trades. Her father was a furniture maker while her mom had learned how to make traditional fabrics.
Her mother had left the trade when it was no longer bringing in money as expected. Both of them had repeatedly vowed that they'd make sure their offsprings had enough to go to school and make a name for themselves. It was a pity that her father could not keep his promise.

“I left some grounded pepper in the yellow container her mother said from the living room. Just in case I fall asleep before you finish.”

“Okay, ma.”

Fiyi thought worriedly. If only she could get a source of income

Here we are, the very first chapter. What thinketh thou? Lemme know.