Puzzle

Title of story: Puzzle

Name of author: Lydia Mensah

Number of pages:   10

Word count        :   2965

#Write a story about strangers becoming friends, or friends becoming strangers #

Laterbiokorshie is located in the Ablekuma Central Constituency of Accra and found in the West Coast of the same capital town, with residents of about 200,000 people. For the past few years, statistics have recorded quite a significant increase in the birth of twins in the area. These births have been recorded in no particular category of social standing; meaning, both the rich, the poor and the middle class give birth within a given space of time. Depending on which ladder of social standing their parents are when they are born, the children are received and celebrated differently. To some, they are a good omen and bring good luck to every household they find themselves in. Anyone who wishes them good receives good in return and those who wish them evil wish it on themselves. They are like a mirror, reflecting your heart towards them. To other households, it feels like a normal birth. These children could have come out as single embryos. There is nothing special about them.

There came a time when the difference was so clear that people began to compare themselves to one another. The discrimination that followed was appalling. It was so bad to the extent that it created enmity between families, neighbours, and even schoolchildren. Equality is not possible, yes. What is feasible is equity of distribution of resources. The hard truth does not warrant any form of superiority and inferiority complexes amongst a people who would benefit much from living together in harmony.

Some households, due to this menace, have been at loggerheads with each other for several years. Some of them continued comparing their babies with each other. They kept spying on others to see how well they were treated, how well they grew and what made them different.

Human beings are naturally competitive, but when it reaches some heights, it becomes a menace rather than a blessing. Unhealthy competition could lead to low self-esteem and violence.

The constant and endless search for a solution to this menace  proved futile both for residents and visitors until an old lady who had lived in the community for several years decided that ‘enough was enough’. According to Martin Luther King Junior, Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. He also said, that we must learn to live together as brothers or we will perish together as fools.  This woman had lived long enough, tried his words, and proved them to be true. She was now ready to share her experience with the younger generation. She believed, that the right way to live with each other was to be tolerant and respectful and not think of yourself as better than others.. The lives the people in these communities were living was nothing compared to the situation at the time Martin Luther King Junior lived. It was far worse than that. People with darker skin complexion, generally known as black people were disrespected everywhere by the white people or light skinned people. There was segregation, racism, and intense discrimination by white people and consequent protests, acts of violence and riots by black people. White people considered themselves superior. It took the wisdom of such men as Martin Luther King Junior therefore to speak to their own people so they could believe in themselves, unite, and fight the menace as one people.

Inspired by another quotation of his: There comes a time when silence is betrayal, she summoned all the residents, with the help of the assembly member of the constituency, Ablekuma Central to a public forum in an assembly hall, so the political leaders and key members of the communities would put their heads together to find solutions to  the menace. This woman was a wise woman.

She never spoken openly or expressed her opinions for fear of ridicule or victimisation.  She hardly spoke or greeted anyone and no one knew the reason why. Whenever children asked her questions about her life and about the reason why she chose to be the way she was, she would ask them to go and ask their parents for answers, knowing very well that they may not be able to answer them as perfectly as she would. She told them that the best person to answer those pertinent questions were their own parents.

 Whenever they obeyed her words, they noticed that their parents despised her and did not speak well of her. Howbeit, they disagreed with them. Perhaps that was the reason why she isolated herself from the lot and left them to their fate. It was a pity to see her lead such a lonely life.

The situation bothered her though, and every time she thought hard about it, it gave her a high blood pressure, which doctors had warned could lead to heart failure. The thought of nearing the grave however gave her the courage to speak up without fear or favour. Whatever she believed in, she must be ready to die for it. It was unfortunate however, that this kind of courage came at this time in her life.

 Had she made this resolution a long time ago, she could have made a lot of difference. It was time to correct a few wrong notions before she departed from the world. The hottest place in hell, she learnt from her mentor and hero, is reserved for those who remain neutral in times of great need and moral conflict.

“We have no other choice but to listen to any suggestion that comes our way,” said the assembly member of the constituency. This was a lame excuse for hearing her out though. Their disrespect was appalling. Howbeit, her resolve gave her the impetus to proceed. She would make a difference with or without their permission.

She made a fervent appeal at the meeting, that there be a contest. After a heated debate and discussion amongst the most influential people in the community, they decided to give it a try.

This was the game plan: Scouts from the community chose five sets of twins  who were skilled enough to do a specified job. The panel of judges laid bare the requirements for the task. The contestants must be aged twenty years and above and must have adequate support from family members and friends. The panel of judges would have their own criteria for support.

The district assembly would provide the required materials for the job at hand.

The families that volunteered to carry out specific tasks were:  The Assibeys’, who believed they were a special breed of people. This attitude, though good, put them above everyone else. Their attitude showed in the way they treated others. To put it simply, they looked down on others. The old woman thought they were the best candidates for the job anyway, by her criteria.

“We need the best,” said the assembly member. “I don’t think this family will make a good team.”

“I know what I’m doing,” she said. “Trust me.”  This was not an issue of trust; it was a gamble with objectivity and obviously, she was not employing those very tools that would save them from making disastrous choices. Fortunately, his respect for her had grown over time ever since she spoke up. He would therefore gladly give her the benefit of the doubt.

When the Assibeys’ arrived on their site after all the deliberations behind closed doors concerning them, they did not even bother to find out who the other contestants were. They believed they would complete their task in no time and prove to others that whatever they believed about themselves was true.

The Agyiris’, the next choice, were more level headed, but pompous because they were rich and famous and lived in the most beautiful edifice in town. Until they were ready to descend from their ‘mountain’, as the community called it, nobody saw them or had any kind of contact with them. Even the workers they hired to work in their mansion were considered ‘low class citizens’.

The Asores’, the third in row, were a gentle and humble family who considered themselves privileged to have twins, but refused to let it get into their heads. They lived normal lives and mingled with ‘normal’ people.

They were the people’s favourites in the competition, tipped to take the first place.

 The Odames’, the fourth contestants, were hairdressers. The moment the panel of judges announced that they were part of the competition, the first two competitors, the Assibeys’ and the Agyiris’, began to look down on them. Their attitude was so intimidating that it could frighten a rat out of its hideout. The man had a barbering salon next to his wife’s hair dressing salon where she offered spa treatment for both the rich, the poor and the middle class. They had a hectic time keeping some of these pompous families under control. Sometimes, they were compelled to throw out some people from the salon to allow these rich people to be alone with them. After they had left, anyone could come in. Sometimes, they wondered why they would not establish one in their homes and hire people to give them such services instead of lording it over others. They seemed, after much thought, to love the attention they received from the public whenever they rode in their expensive fleet of cars and parked them in the glaring eyes of the public. They were the talk of the town though; but nobody spoke well of them.

People came to the salons just to find solutions to their problems and not to have a hairdo per se.

In the middle of their conversation however, they would inadvertently shift their focus onto these rich, pompous, and famous people. Sometimes, the saying: ‘Talk of the devil,’ caught up with them and the very people they were gossiping about would appear.

The Obibas’, the fifth and final contestants, were hypocrites; smiling nicely with the people and despising them behind their backs. People got tired of the stalking horse and ignored them sometimes. They became brash and rude whenever people paid them in their own coin. They were designers, very choosy and discriminatory in their approach in serving customers. Instead of rejecting people’s proposals upfront, they would keep telling them stories until they got frustrated and left. Mission accomplished! They were so proud to for the first time in the history of their family. Inevitably, all held them in high esteem because they had twins. Their attitude towards others changed. This was no news at all. People actually anticipated it. They actually thought they were better than others were. They charged their customers exorbitantly so much that only a particular class of people could access their services. Although they did not have the requisite skills for the job, they chose to be part of the competition because there was a very attractive reward at stake.

The competitors were to build houses solely with the materials provided. Any other addition would amount to disqualification. The panel of judges distributed the contestants evenly in the town so that each team had a plot of land to themselves.

No team could see what the other was doing unless they had completed their task to the satisfaction of the judges who hovered around to oversee their activities. As part of their construction works, the competitors would also serve as temporary leaders of the area for the given ten days and handle all issues that came up. The police would also be on standby just in case there were situations beyond their control.  As a solidarity measure, a few food vendors volunteered to provide meals to save time.

From the onset, each team, with the exception of the Odames, unaware of the idea behind the contest exhibited their superiority complex in the full glare of the judges and spectators. It was so appalling that some of them actually left the scene to return when the results were about to be declared. They thought they had everything they needed and would not even collaborate with any other team even though they had walkie-talkies to help them do that. Work went on as scheduled, each not having the opportunity to see the other team’s progress. The only way they could do so was to send spies to copy their ideas and to sabotage their work.

After the first eight days, it seemed none of the teams had made much progress. Each twin team had grounded their activities to a halt and were sitting aloof and despondent. Some began to play games with their phones whilst others dozed off in exhaustion. They were at their wit’s end. Much as they tried to diagnose the problem, they were not able to do so.

Howbeit, on the tenth day, the panel of judges declared that there was a tie and they could not declare a winner unless one of the teams were able to proceed a step further. Presently, they were all at the same stage, out of ideas and creativity. The job at hand seemed so impossible now. They all finally dropped their tools and sunk into a state of despair. Some were so depressed that they began to drink on the job to drown their sorrows. Each one of them then started packing their tools, ready to go back home in defeat. Who would encourage them since they were all disappointed in themselves? The spectators were not to show their emotions. Seeing the height of their despair, the judges called a time out. All five teams were encouraged to collaborate; to visit each other’s site and ascertain the nature of their next task. As they did so, they found out that others had no difficulty in the areas they were struggling with. The tools provided for some of the teams were unavailable at their sites and they could not fathom the reason behind this.

Although they could not view the progress of other teams, the communication devices they had could aid them in finding out how each of their fellow competitors were doing. With this revelation, Mansa, from team Odame then tried to look around for clues. One stared right in her face.

Birago exchanged a tool or two with a fellow twin from another family. She asked her for it and she obliged. Other brave ones from other teams did the same and had the same results. The old woman was elated. The competition could now continue.

Everything went well for them afterwards. It was expedient to extend the deadline for the completion of the project since each team had now understood the real rules of the game.

“Why don’t we go round asking every team what they would need, what they have and if they need any help.” Said Tina Odame, Mansa’s sister. The experience they had from their job had come in handy.

“That would amount to the lowering of our standards.” Said Mina Odame, her twin sister. They were identical twins and it was difficult to differentiate between them.

“Where have all our standards gotten us to?” said Tina. “We are stuck here as if we are in a jungle needing help. We do need help.”

“Let’s be honest and true to ourselves that our ego has not helped us in any way,” said Ekua Assibey from team Assibey. “We need to let down our guards and allow ourselves to be helped.” Although her twin brother, Kweku Assibey was not in favour of the idea, he reluctantly went along with it.

The Obiba twins, Maanaa and Naanaa got down from their ladders, dressed in their construction gear, and introduced themselves to every one of the four teams. Some were receptive whilst others still had their noses in the air. That was no problem for Tina.

She would be down to earth. She had nothing to lose. To find a solution, they needed to let down their guards. As they surveyed other construction sites, they were humble enough to make requests. They then inquired from each of the teams, their logistics and put together a list of what each team lacked. It was like a crossword puzzle. Most of the items they needed to finish the job were in the hands of their fellow competitors. All they needed to do was to ask. It was a game of exchange. The old woman was teaching them that we all need each other. She quoted the Twi proverb; that the right hand baths the left hand whilst the left hand baths the right. They all agreed that she was right. Perhaps, it was a lesson on humility. Whoever found the answer was the winner.

The Asores’ then run to the Assibeys and found their missing piece in their puzzle. They exchanged their items and were soon on their tasks again. The Obibas found their items hidden on the site of the Agyiris’. The Obibas’ brought them what they needed and the exchange continued unabated until the end of the project. At the end, they had all become good friends and were ready to reach out to the communities around them. They finished one after the other, the Odames’ coming first amongst the lot. Had it not been for this twist in the game, the various teams would have gone home as strangers, still living a lie. At the end of the contest, the assembly organised a buffet for all the competitors. They were laughing and chatting and dancing and eating. The whole town then joined in the celebration. From then on, the whole town lived in harmony without pride or prejudice.