I have a new man in my life.
I met him at the ferry crossing across from Janjanbureh, an island town
in the middle of the Gambia River. I
gave him the name Coco because he was nameless before we met. He is both black and white, which makes him
very good-looking in my opinion. I
thought he was cute right away and couldn’t wait to cuddle with him. That first day, I brought him to my compound
and introduced him to my family. The
children were scared of him and the others were not sure if they liked him yet.
My dad laughed when he met him. But I knew they’d come around eventually. Of course he moved into my hut that same day
and I fed him and took care of him like a good host. But don’t worry, I still don’t let him sleep
in my bed with me—he’s too frisky. His
favorite food is fish and he also eats rice and millet with sauce sometimes. He’s really good at keeping rats and lizards
out of my hut and even eats them as snacks after he catches them. He’s also useful when village children
disturb me too much. I just bring him
out of the house and they all scream and run away. My family has gotten used to him now and they
always greet him throughout the day. My
brother’s baby daughter always comes to look for him in my hut. I think we will enjoy these two years
together very much, as long as he learns to stop being so clingy—he still
misses his mom and brothers and as a result has become my constant shadow. Oh, by the way, if you haven’t already caught
on, my new man is a CAT.
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