ECHOES OF THE CITY

ECHOES OF THE CITY
Chapter 1

Lost in thought, I stared at the sun lowering itself at the horizon. I looked at the houses made of mud wearing straw hats. As my eyes glazed at the leaves dancing in the wind, I wondered what the city kids were doing.
I let out a small smile with tear filled eyes. "I don't think they would understand the weight of a gallon of water on one's head", I murmured to myself. "Awiah, would you stop staring at the sun like that," A voice broke through my thoughts. "You know how Mama feels when we don't come home early," she said as she lifted the gallon onto her head.
"She gets so mad that she yells at me, claiming I kept you out for long, am I right?" I was asked with a pain filled voice. I looked at her with a little hope. "My sister cares for me, I know she does" I chanted in my head to comfort myself. "Awiah, why do you like complaining, it is not very nice, you know." My heart dropped, the girl I thought was my sister was gone.
Wesea, a girl everyone believed was perfect, full of virtue, peace and patience, looked at me with a sweet smile. It could fool anyone but I knew behind that mask, she was annoyed and impatient.
With each step we took towards our home, a question weighed heavily on my head. Unable to bear the weight anymore, I asked, "Wes, how... what...". I let out a deep breath as my sister chuckled, "Awe, I don't bite, what do you want to say?", she asked with her head turned towards me.
I stopped, took a deep breath and asked with every ounce of confidence within me, "What happened when you went to the city?". She stopped and I watched as her smile dropped. In the heavy silence, I watched every step she took, each heavier than the first. I wasn't going to let her ignore me. Not again. "Wesea, you've changed ever since you got back. I'm here...", with one hand balancing the gallon of water on my head, I touched her arm gently with the other. "SHUT UP", she raged as she flicked my hand off. I caught myself before I would fall with the gallon. I looked at her red eyes, searching for my sister within them. "What happened to her?", I asked myself as I watched her walk away.