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- Story Listed as: Fiction For Teens
- Theme: Inspirational
- Subject: Faith / Hope
- Published: 01/20/2022
The Bamboo Sprout
My mama would always tell me, “Berhane don't do that, don’t do this! Berhane you’re not allowed to do that.”
I only had so little things to do. I saw children playing in the playground happily, but I was never allowed there. It wasn’t just me, but all my other friends. When I was little, I didn’t care about it much, but when I grew up things seemed to change. Me, my family, and friends were all Africans and mainly we all had dark skin, which was the reason for all this. I really didn’t know what dark skin had to do with my life, but I knew one thing for sure, I was separated. It was like a wall was built between us and the rest of the world. At first, I struggled a lot. I didn’t have a good school to learn and I wasn’t allowed to play in the playground. Everyone would have gone to the beach, go out to the streets and play outside. But I wasn’t allowed to do any of that. My life was circled down to four walls. I would play around with a ball or sometimes listen to the sound of the children playing outside. My mama and papa even thought I was sick sometimes because I would just sit there like a statue listening, I would close my eyes and dream I was there with them.
My mama would always say, “Things will change, Berhane, you will one day see the world. For now, we are your world,” I would always giggle and laugh when I heard that as a baby, but now 6 years have passed and I still hear the same thing.
“How long mama? How long do I still have to wait?” I had asked her one day. And she caught me by my hand and took me out to the garden in the back of my house.
“As long as it takes for that bamboo to grow from now,” she told me pointing towards a tiny sprout of a Chinese bamboo tree. I looked at my mama in confusion, what does a bamboo tree have to do with me being free?
“What do you mean mama?” I asked her.
She knelt down beside me and turned me towards her. “A bamboo tree, like this one, is so special my dear,” she said smiling, but soon her face saddened. “It might take just a few weeks to fully grow, it might sometimes take months, why not it might even take years to grow.” she finished saying.
And I understood what my mama told me, I might have to wait for weeks or even for years, no one exactly knows when this problem will end. Until then, I would have to struggle with everything. The main thing that I was worried about was school. Me and my friends go to a big school, which has just changed its name. My school is named after the great civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. My school’s name is Martin’s Dream School. It is one of the first schools to allow both black and white children. Even though we all went to the same school, we have to go to two different sides. One side was for the white and one for the colored.
I never knew what happened on the other side of the school and neither did my friends and the staff. But there was one thing that we know for sure, if you try to find out what was going on the on the other side, you will be punished. No matter if you’re a student or a staff member, you will be punished.
One time me and my friends were playing with a ball during break. But my best friend, Walker, kicked the ball so hard, it went to the other side. We knew we couldn’t go there, but the ball belonged to my other friend, Dayo, who was a cry baby. When the ball went to the other side, she started to cry. We didn’t have any other choice, we had to bring the ball back, we can’t let her cry all day. So, me and my friends made sure there wasn’t anyone around us. There isn’t a fence or a wall to stop us from going to the other side, but a white line was drawn with paint to tell us our limit.
Making sure that everything was okay, we crossed the line to the other side. it was me, Walter, and Grady, my other best friend. We had to leave Dayo on the other side, so she won’t get into trouble and help us if we ever get into trouble. If someone had seen us, they would have thought we were little spies, we were crawling, jumping, and walking along the walls. By the time we got close to the ball, we were all dirty and hurt. But all our effort was a waste because a group of white children already got the ball. They looked at the ball and questioned each other wondering where it had come from. But we were pushing and fighting each other, saying, “You get the ball!” One said and the other said, “No you get it!” Then Walter was told to get the ball because he was the one who had kicked the ball to the other side. But I just stood there quietly watching the kids. Their clothes were new and clean, while my clothes were all torn and had to be stitched. Their hairs were all combed and mine were all curled up. I had dark skin, while they had light skin. We were completely different.
“I will go get it,” I accepted at last. I really didn’t want to go, but we have to go and get it before things get harder for us. I went towards the group in gradual steps, until I stepped on a stick. They turned towards me and I stood there like a statue. There was a girl and 2 boys, the boys looked at me and shared a secret message with each other for which they all laughed, except the girl. The boys were all older than me and the girl was the same age as me.
I kept a good amount of distance between us and asked them politely, “That is my ball, can I please, have it?” They all looked at each other, then one of the older boys snatched the ball away from the girl and said, “This ball looks really nice, does it really belong to you?”
“No, it belongs to my other friend,” I told him, pointing towards Dayo. They all shook their heads in disbelief, they didn’t believe the ball belonged to us and refused to give me the ball. But I already made up my mind to get the ball no matter what. I kept demanding them for the ball, but they made a fool out of me. If I was the same color as them, could have I gotten the ball already? I wondered.
I tried taking the ball from them until one of the teachers saw us. The teacher walked towards us, he looked like a white angry bear and I felt like I was a scared little mouse. I began to shiver in fear.
“He came to the other side! He went against the rule,” One of them said, pointing his finger at me. Right then I made up my mind, never to break a rule again, no matter what. And another one added, “He tried to run away, but we got him.” But I never tried to run away, all that I wanted was my ball. How terrible of a liar they are? I felt like punching them and running away, I even made a fist. But mama had taught me that hurting someone is bad and it could only lead to more trouble, so I didn’t do it.
“I am sorry, I didn’t follow the rules sir. They have my ball, which accidentally rolled towards here when I was playing, so I wanted to get it. That was all I was doing,” I tried to explain it to him.
He shook his head and looked at the boys, who had a wicked smile or a witch’s smile as I like to call it. I have seen bad witches in movies and the way they smile. We all stood there silent as the teacher thought of a solution.
“Well, the rule says that whoever from the other side comes here, we have to punish them, no matter what,” he told me. I knew that the rules did say that, but they also said, one could be excused if there was a good reason and mine was one. But I knew he wasn’t doing it because of the rules, but because of who I was.
I looked at him like a hurt puppy, a puppy surrounded by wolves in an unknown place. But I can’t change his mind. After thinking for a while, he told me my punishment, “We will make you kneel down, yes that will be right.”
He took me to the middle of a sand field and made me kneel down. I had to kneel down there in the sand for 5 minutes. I waited for the 5 minutes to be over, but it seemed like 5 hours. After 5 minutes, my leg felt tired and I was hurt a bit, blood was coming out a bit here and there.
“You can go now,” The teacher told me as he walked away laughing. I stood up and started to walk, but my legs were too weak. I fell down trying to walk and the kids who had my ball laughed, the teacher had let them watch me.
I laid there, wishing I was with my mama. This has happened before and mama made me sit in her lap and take care of my wound. She would sing beautiful songs and give me treats to make me happy, then I would sleep, forgetting the pain.
That is when Dayo came running from the other side and said the sad news, “Berhane, your mother is really hurt.” I stood up and started to run towards my home. I forgot my wounded leg and ran as fast as I could. My legs started to hurt and I cried as I ran all the way home.
Reaching my home, I went inside the candy store, behind it was my house. The candy store is my favorite place to be in the whole wide world, but that day I hated it too. I went inside my house, where I saw my mother laid on the floor with my father, my father’s brother, his wife, and the doctor surrounding her.
My father noticed me coming and put out his hand, I held on to it and walked beside him. I saw my mother bleed from her head as my father told me what had happened, “She had slipped while working at the candy store and hit her head.”
I walked towards the doctor, the only African doctor in our city. “Can I talk to my mother?” I asked him.
He gently placed his hand on my shoulder and said, “I am sorry, but she cannot talk to you.” Then the next question came to my mind. “Will she survive?” I asked him. That is when I remembered a thing that my mother told me, If I would wish for one thing, it would be to hold your hand and take you on a walk outside, without anyone looking at us like we are monkeys. To go on a walk with you freely, without anyone stopping us. And I want to see you enjoying yourself in the park. That is what my mama had told me, when I asked her what she would wish for, if she could wish for anything. My mama always thought about me, her wish was for me to be happy. And I promised on that day that I would live happily with what I have and that I wouldn’t cry for anything anymore.
And I learned that the real problem is not with the color, but it is the way each person thinks. The white people hate the colored people, but it is not like everyone white hates the colored, there are some good ones in there too. Some of my own friends hate the white people, but my papa doesn’t and so don’t I. Papa always told me to love everyone.
The doctor on the other hand went to check my mother one last time, then he shook his head. “I am sorry, she could only last for a couple of minutes,” he told me. I wanted to cry, but I couldn’t. I looked at my father and he wasn’t crying either, it wasn’t time to cry for him, but to think about how life would be from now on. I went towards a corner and sat down.
That is when my aunt noticed that I was wounded and began to nurse me. “Oh, look what happened to you!” She said and took me aside to care for me. She made me sit in her lap, just the way mama does. As she took care of my wound, she began to sing, “Run Old Jeremiah.” I listened to her quietly and soon fell asleep.
The next day, papa told me to skip school, but I didn’t want to be around the place where my mother had died. The first thing in the morning, I went to the spot where my mother was laid. But she wasn’t there and I didn’t want to ask, I know what had happened.
My aunt asked me if she should walk to school with me, but I said no. Every day I would walk to school holding my mama’s hand, but today there wasn’t mama anymore. School wasn’t really fun, I sat in my chair silently looking here and there.
But everything changed during playtime, while my friends were all playing, I just sat down on the field. Dayo had asked me to play and so did Walker and Grady, but I told them I don’t want to. I sat there looking up at the sky, the beautiful clouds and the birds flying by, I also thought about mama.
But suddenly, I heard a voice, “Hey! Hey you!... Can you hear me?” For a second, I thought it was my mama talking to me, but no it wasn’t her. I heard the voice from behind me, I turned to look and saw the girl from yesterday standing a foot away from the line. She also had Dayo’s ball in her hand. I didn’t know what to do, I didn’t want the same thing happening as before. But she asked me to come closer, so I slowly went and stood in front of her, just a foot away from the line. She kept the ball right on the line, I didn’t know if I should take it or not, I kept looking around at the other side.
“It is alright, you can take it,” she told me smiling. I took the ball and thanked her, “Thank you!”
We both smiled at each other. “I am Jasmine and you’re?” she asked. I liked her name, jasmine, it is a flower and mama told me that it means, “a gift from god.” The meaning of her name made me happy, she might actually be a gift from God to me.
“I am Berhane,” I told her, a bit nervous. I was afraid someone might punish us for talking. I was in the thought of leaving, but Jasmine sat at the right spot. So, I sat too and soon we started playing a game of catch.
“I am sorry for what happened yesterday, is your leg fine?” She asked, how nice of her.
“Yes, it is much better now,” I told her, taking hold of the ball. “I think I should leave now,” I told her and stood up. She stood up too. “Friends?” She asked me all of a sudden. I was shocked, this has never happened to me, I mean this might have never happened to any African kid in the whole wide world.
“I am not sure… maybe I will think about it…” I told her and started to walk towards Dayo.
But as I was leaving, she called after me, “Berhane wait! I have something for you.”
I turned around to see her beside me, she had crossed the line. “You should go back, you might get punished,” I warned her.
“Oh no, that punishment is only if you guys come to the other side. It is not for us,” she told me while looking around the place.
“It is nothing like the other side. You guys barely have anything,” she said with a cute friendly smile. “I think I should be going; I will see you in the same spot tomorrow.” She said as she placed something in my hand and ran to the other side.
I opened my hand to see a cookie, I shared the cookie with my friends and then we played with Dayo’s ball. I was starting to feel much better than before. After finishing school, I went straight to the candy store and asked papa to make a special candy for me, he didn’t ask me why. But he asked me when I needed it, I told him tomorrow morning would be fine.
For the rest of the day and all night long, I kept thinking about Jasmine and the things that had happened today. I couldn’t even sleep. The next morning as I had asked, my father had made a colorful lollipop in the shape of a heart. I took it to school and waited impatiently until play time. Finally, the bell rang and we went out to the field. As soon as I got there, I went straight to the same spot. Jasmine was already there, so I didn't need to wait. The first thing I did was thank her for the cookie and give her the candy.
“Thank you so much! Where did you get this candy from?” She asked me, I guess she really liked it. I told her all about my candy store and where it is, she was surprised to hear that our family owns a candy store.
“The candy store is named after me, Berhane’s Candy,” I told her. I was proud that the candy store was named after me. She told me that she would one day like to visit my candy store and I told her she is always welcome.
After having a fun talk, we each said goodbye and went on our way. Going home, I thanked my father for the candy he had made and I helped him with his work.
“Can you please take care of the store? I will be right back,” my father said and went inside to help my uncle with something. I looked around the store and worked myself to a candy. As I was looking at the picture of Martin Luther King Jr. on the wall, I heard a voice from behind.
“May I get a candy please?” I turned to see that it was no one other than Jasmine. I was shocked to see her.
“What are you doing here?” I asked her. A bit afraid about being punished, a white can’t go to an African’s store and an African cannot enter a white’s store.
“Why would one come to a candy store? To buy candy of course!” She told me, she smiled and then started to look around the place. Finally, her eyes stopped at a picture of me and mama on the wall.
“Who is this?” she asked, pointing towards the picture. I looked up at the picture too and stayed silent.
“That is my mama… I mean my mother,” I told her and rushed to the shelf to get her a candy.
“Oh, what is your mama doing?” she asked. The answer was simple, but I couldn’t say it. I couldn’t accept that mama had died.
“She…she… is dead...” I finally told her in a low voice. Now she looked at me with sorrow. I didn’t like her look; I don’t like people showing pity.
“I am sorry,” she said, and that is when papa came back into the store.
“Oh, who is this young lady here?” papa asked, looking happy, when I thought he would be surprised.
Before I could give him an answer, Jasmine answered him, “I am Berhane’s friend… right?” I shook my head.
“Well welcome, what brings you here?” He asked and that is when I came to know that I still haven’t given her the candy. I went and gave her the candy, it was like the one I have given her before, a colorful heart shaped lollipop.
“I came here to play with Berhane,” she told papa. Wow, what a little liar she is? I thought. She said she just wanted candy, now she wants to play with me? As confused as I was about the things going around me, my father was happy to see Jasmine, a white girl, here wanting to play with me.
“Well, it is not good to play here. Berhane, why don’t you take her to the garden?” My father said and I took her there. I haven’t been to the garden in weeks.
On the way, Jasmine asked me, “You have a garden?” and I shook my head as a yes. We both walked silently until we reached the garden.
“Are those Chinese bamboos?” Jasmine asked, as soon as she entered the Garden. She took a trip around the garden, looking at the beautiful flowers and plants. I stood there looking at the fully grown bamboo tree, thinking about the day I had asked my mother, “How long do I have to wait mama?” and she said as long as it takes for the bamboo trees to grow.
I looked at Jasmine and I was happy mama was right. Things did change, not the way I thought they would, but there was something.
From that day, me and Jasmine became good friends. We would play together at my home or at the park where I wasn’t allowed before. But, with Jasmine, I was allowed anywhere.
Jasmine’s friends laugh at her and tell her not to be friends with me, but her reply would always be this, “One day you guys will understand how nice he is and one day you guys would also have him as your friend.”
The problem is surely not with the color of a person, but the problem is with peoples’ hearts. It is with the way we see things and not the way they appear. I might not have my mama to keep me safe, but I have a hand, Jasmine’s hand, to hold for support.
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