One Piece of Me by chinyerevivian

View this thread on steempeak.com
· @chinyerevivian ·
$0.80
One Piece of Me
I wrote this a long time ago. Can't remember if I shared. Either way, enjoy. I changed some of the words

<center>![boy-2229195__480.jpg](https://img.whaleshares.io/wls-img/chinyerevivian/b84abcaaa7507d1f198acffb993f3d01afa6fbe8.jpeg)</center>
***

I was fifteen when Papa died. That afternoon, I was out playing football with Obinna. It was a routine turned habit. We would go to school in the morning – which only happened because we had each other anyway. We both hated school. Whoever that woke first would show up behind the other’s house and whistle – go to the stream in the afternoon, play in the evening before heading to Block Rosary at night. We couldn't decide whenever or not we liked going. Our parents' combined both tradition and Christianity. *So you can adapt wherever we may find yourselves,* they said. I never thought much about it. It was one of the things that never really bothered me. 

I loved Obinna. He was the only person who accepted my strange personality. I was a lanky child with an awkward gait. The things other people found normal held no interest to me. I laughed when others cried. I also kept to myself. Everyone avoided me. Papa said I was special. Mama looked away whenever she saw me. There were rumours she carried me for eleven months and wouldn’t touch me after I was born. But Obinna stayed. He refused to go, not even when the girl he liked stopped talking to him because of me. Not even when I asked him to leave me alone. I didn't really look at girls. I knew they were there but I never paid attention. 

Everything changed when I turned thirteen and had to be initiated into the youth’s *otu ogbo* for growing boys. That was how they found out. One of the rules was no secrets. I was so scared after the ceremony that I didn’t go home. When I eventually did, Papa wouldn’t look me in the face. I later learned he was summoned before the elders and whipped.

So when I came home from school that afternoon with Obinna, and saw a crowd spitting and shaking their heads, I knew he had done it. It didn’t matter that no one would tell me what happened. I knew he killed himself. I’d seen it in his eyes for weeks now. I was strange after all. But then I was also relieved. No more sneaking into my room and pulling my shorts in the dark.

<center>https://fontmeme.com/permalink/180923/8161d4637d4fe4c81ea0aa136f466fc8.png</center>

***
<sub>***Otu ogbo*** is an old African culture where boys and men who are three to five years apart are initiated and reminded that it's time to start taking responsibilities. It means 'age grade.' Some call it ***ima mmuonwu.*** Not sure it's still in existence.</sub>
***
***

How have I been? Well, I slept for eight hours straight. Great right? I can't remember the last time I slept that long and that well. I'm still scared though. I feel like I'm forcing her memory away. I dread the funeral. Sigh. I'll keep taking a day at a time. 


[<sub>image source</sub>](https://pixabay.com/photos/boy-smile-child-portrait-childhood-2229195/) 
👍  , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , and 162 others
👎  ,
properties (23)
post_id80,662,832
authorchinyerevivian
permlinkone-piece-of-me
categoryfiction
json_metadata{"links":["https:\/\/pixabay.com\/photos\/boy-smile-child-portrait-childhood-2229195\/"],"image":["https:\/\/img.whaleshares.io\/wls-img\/chinyerevivian\/b84abcaaa7507d1f198acffb993f3d01afa6fbe8.jpeg","https:\/\/fontmeme.com\/permalink\/180923\/8161d4637d4fe4c81ea0aa136f466fc8.png"],"tags":["fiction","creativecoin","palnet","neoxian","wafrica"],"app":"esteem\/2.0.0-mobile","format":"markdown+html","community":"esteem.app"}
created2019-10-07 08:08:21
last_update2019-10-07 08:08:21
depth0
children5
net_rshares3,676,269,933,617
last_payout2019-10-14 08:08:21
cashout_time1969-12-31 23:59:59
total_payout_value0.399 SBD
curator_payout_value0.405 SBD
pending_payout_value0.000 SBD
promoted0.000 SBD
body_length3,025
author_reputation38,805,107,322,101
root_title"One Piece of Me"
beneficiaries
0.
accountesteemapp
weight1,000
max_accepted_payout1,000,000.000 SBD
percent_steem_dollars10,000
author_curate_reward""
vote details (228)
@esteemapp ·
You seem to be using older version of **eSteem**! <br>Please update to newest version to get most out of eSteem, Install [Android](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=app.esteem.mobile.android), [iOS](https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=1451896376&mt=8) mobile app. For desktop [Windows, Mac, Linux](https://github.com/esteemapp/esteem-surfer/releases) Surfer app!<br>Learn more: https://esteem.app <br>Join our discord: https://discord.gg/8eHupPq
properties (22)
post_id80,662,904
authoresteemapp
permlinkre-2019107t101053668z
categoryfiction
json_metadata{"tags":["esteem"],"app":"esteem\/2.0-welcome","format":"markdown+html","community":"esteem.app"}
created2019-10-07 08:10:54
last_update2019-10-07 08:10:54
depth1
children0
net_rshares0
last_payout2019-10-14 08:10:54
cashout_time1969-12-31 23:59:59
total_payout_value0.000 SBD
curator_payout_value0.000 SBD
pending_payout_value0.000 SBD
promoted0.000 SBD
body_length488
author_reputation396,075,316,369,469
root_title"One Piece of Me"
beneficiaries[]
max_accepted_payout1,000,000.000 SBD
percent_steem_dollars10,000
@tts ·
To listen to the audio version of this article click on the play image.
[![](https://s18.postimg.org/51o0kpijd/play200x46.png)](http://ec2-52-72-169-104.compute-1.amazonaws.com/chinyerevivian__one-piece-of-me.mp3)
Brought to you by [@tts](https://steemit.com/tts/@tts/introduction). If you find it useful please consider upvoting this reply.
properties (22)
post_id80,663,151
authortts
permlinkre-one-piece-of-me-20191007t082143
categoryfiction
json_metadata{}
created2019-10-07 08:21:45
last_update2019-10-07 08:21:45
depth1
children0
net_rshares0
last_payout2019-10-14 08:21:45
cashout_time1969-12-31 23:59:59
total_payout_value0.000 SBD
curator_payout_value0.000 SBD
pending_payout_value0.000 SBD
promoted0.000 SBD
body_length341
author_reputation-4,535,933,372,579
root_title"One Piece of Me"
beneficiaries[]
max_accepted_payout1,000,000.000 SBD
percent_steem_dollars10,000
@wafrica ·
Hello! I find your post valuable for the wafrica community! Thanks for the great post! We encourage and support quality contents and projects  from the West African region.<br>Do you have a suggestion, concern or want to appear as a guest author on WAfrica, join our [discord server](https://discord.gg/AfFUhnC) and discuss with a member of our curation team.<br>Don't forget to join us every Sunday by 20:30GMT for our Sunday WAFRO party on our [discord channel](https://discord.gg/AfFUhnC). Thank you.
properties (22)
post_id80,663,470
authorwafrica
permlinkre-one-piece-of-me-20191007t083527
categoryfiction
json_metadata{}
created2019-10-07 08:35:27
last_update2019-10-07 08:35:27
depth1
children0
net_rshares0
last_payout2019-10-14 08:35:27
cashout_time1969-12-31 23:59:59
total_payout_value0.000 SBD
curator_payout_value0.000 SBD
pending_payout_value0.000 SBD
promoted0.000 SBD
body_length503
author_reputation38,213,975,622,361
root_title"One Piece of Me"
beneficiaries[]
max_accepted_payout1,000,000.000 SBD
percent_steem_dollars10,000
@trucklifeccc ·
This is so well written and so sad, but also a beautiful tale of loyalty between two friends. Secrets are so corrosive, they really do eat away at you. 
curated for CreativeCoin 
https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/601420425611837460/603001966632632340/websiteTemplate.png?width=900&height=252
properties (22)
post_id80,758,588
authortrucklifeccc
permlinkpz5vyu
categoryfiction
json_metadata{"tags":["fiction","creativecoin"],"image":["https:\/\/media.discordapp.net\/attachments\/601420425611837460\/603001966632632340\/websiteTemplate.png?width=900&amp;height=252"],"app":"creativecoin\/0.1","canonical_url":"https:\/\/www.creativecoin.xyz\/@trucklifeccc\/pz5vyu"}
created2019-10-10 13:54:30
last_update2019-10-10 13:54:30
depth1
children1
net_rshares0
last_payout2019-10-17 13:54:30
cashout_time1969-12-31 23:59:59
total_payout_value0.000 SBD
curator_payout_value0.000 SBD
pending_payout_value0.000 SBD
promoted0.000 SBD
body_length298
author_reputation1,405,328,253,928
root_title"One Piece of Me"
beneficiaries[]
max_accepted_payout1,000,000.000 SBD
percent_steem_dollars10,000
@chinyerevivian ·
Thank you.

Posted using [Partiko Android](https://partiko.app/referral/chinyerevivian)
properties (22)
post_id80,778,116
authorchinyerevivian
permlinkchinyerevivian-re-trucklifeccc-pz5vyu-20191011t053956125z
categoryfiction
json_metadata{"app":"partiko","client":"android"}
created2019-10-11 05:39:57
last_update2019-10-11 05:39:57
depth2
children0
net_rshares0
last_payout2019-10-18 05:39:57
cashout_time1969-12-31 23:59:59
total_payout_value0.000 SBD
curator_payout_value0.000 SBD
pending_payout_value0.000 SBD
promoted0.000 SBD
body_length87
author_reputation38,805,107,322,101
root_title"One Piece of Me"
beneficiaries[]
max_accepted_payout1,000,000.000 SBD
percent_steem_dollars10,000