It's the hazy part of the outskirts of Kumasi town. The muddy ground was dry and hard courtesy of the dry season. A peaceful rural area dominated by mud huts and frond roofs. Every hut belong to each family in the hood. It's inhabitants live a very low standard lifestyle, their sole means of income being the small scale farming they practiced at the back of their huts. There are only a few concrete houses which were owned by those tagged as 'rich'.

It was indeed a peaceful town. Birds fly freely in the air, creeping animals moved freely in and out of the soil and small animals moved freely on the ground. There was no dorm of inhibition of movement. Their roads has large pot holes caused by massive washing away of the soil during rainfall. They poorly underdeveloped and it's inhabitants were relatively poor. They had a small market consisting of stalls made from bamboo stick and palmfronds to protect the marketers from rain and harsh sun. The youths of the town collectively built this market after series for market day festivals that ended up in ruins as a result of heavy rain.the market though small was opened for people from other towns to buy or sell. Apart from the locally made dresses or locally produced materials, the market created an opportunity for them to buy foriegn dresses and food brought in by the people from the other towns to the market. Since the creation of the market festivals usually held on the third week of every month always ended well irrespective of the weather.

They had no building for school or any educational purpose. It's not like they were not interested in education but they had no support from anyone. If they collectively build a school like they did for the markets, there will be no teachers in the school. The town leader is a middle class man who does not have enough to cater for his own children talk less of using the little he has to build a school and employ teachers in it. He claimed that the government has not sent developmental funds since he began operation.

Like they did for the markets, they built stalls for religious purpose . The people were all Christians and they worshipped there on Sundays.

Though the peple were poor but were fully satisfied with whatever they could provide for themselves. To them, there was nothing to worry about.

The adult male inhabitants meet at a palm wine shop located at the centre of the town to drink palm wine and other locally produced gin. They laugh and gulp in gourds of palm wine and then create a rhythmic flow of foolishness after drinking to stupor. "to release tension" they would say" everyman needs to hold on to his sanity". But does drinking to stupor hold on sanity or kill it?

The young boys on some evenings accompany their fathers to the 'spot' to be taught on how to hold onto their sanity by offering them a milder gin. The scene of young boys , some at age seven, drinking directly from bottles of akpeteshie, a slightly milder locally produced gin, isn't responsive enough. Pure indiscipline it is, young boys who ought to be taught on how to become reponsible and hardworking citizens are taught to drink irresponsibly, that's completely off life's ethics.

Their girls and women perform all the household duties and chores without any iota of relief. They should be the one to release tension, if not by drinking to stupor but by any other means. In this community, the women are labelled as weak beings and their voice just doesn't count. Since the male were the head of the house, girls like Doye had no choice.

A fairly brown skinned girl,moderately tall with a stylish gait she got from her father. Unlike most thirteen year olds , she was a introvert, very emotional and a great deep thinker. Most children in the hood grow to become full outdoor lovers

extroverts

because they are always out of the hut doing one or two things, like chasing lizards and catching birds. Doye just had her own unique mindset that glaringly cannot be influenced by external factors. She loves to wear tight pants and a fitted blouse, simple enough for her size. Her different way of thinking sometimes gets her worried. she was never satisfied with her life. To her, it's a mess, definitely not the one Good Lord has promised in the scriptures and she needed that good life. Though some of the he other children might feel the same way but they don't seem to put their emotion on their sleeves . no one cares to know how they feel anyway.

Doye was always full of ideas, some funny, weird ,impossible or even useless, they end up getting her worried. Despite her height , she had this casual, and relaxing posture. She love everything about herself. She has a high esteem but hates pride. She has high level of integrity and perfectionism.

Doye's from a family of fourteen, a population too big for their small hut. Her Father ,Mazi Adobe, a man in his sixties who walked preferably with his wooden walking stick. Despite the fact that his legs were normal and healthy, he still preferred to walk with a stick. On one occasion, his male counterparts asked him about his attachment to his walking stick. He replied proudly, “every man needs to have his own unique style , this is mine.”

The men just nodded their head in confusion. Like, come to think of it, is an unattractive local wooden stick worth a style?, a unique one as that.

Mazi Adobe being the head of the house , provides near to nothing for his big family. That's common for most men in the hood that had no job. But in situations where he wants to look responsible, he will say,“ a man at sixty should not feed himself , being sixty means a lot”

Doye's mother, a lean and wrinkled woman. It's impossible for any stranger to guess her age. Her aging look made her look like she was in her eighties and she's just fifty. She claims that at the time of her youth, she had been a fat lady. This can be considered true we because her second daughter and some of her sons are fat. The combination of the stressful task from dusk to dawn has made hers shrinked and wrinkled.

Maa adobe is a very hard working woman as she provides most of the needs of the family though her clothes business. she makes dyed fabrics and sells them at the market. To some extent, she has done so well in providing for her twelve children and her lazy but gluttonous husband, but she has failed in the overall protection of her children, both parents has failed but the more pressing which is the provision of food, she has been able to make it available for her four girls and eight boys.

Doye spends the night with her friends at one of the towns epic centre which had a television people go to watch. Even girls and boys younger than she was watched adult films that they were required to stay away from. Their parents who also watched with them doesn't undersand why they shouldn't allow their children to watch these films or maybe they were always too engrossed in the films to notice that there were children around also watching.

Apart from the fact that these people were mostly illiterates, at least some of them got educated to some extent, they know their right or left and they could speak English. They feel too secure around themselves and that's too absurd for a community of people from different upbringing living in a particular area.

For a truth, there might not be predator because it's a small town but one should not trust the little children who already had their minds poisoned.

Parents like Doye's do not care about whether all their children were back home to sleep at night. Their small hut cannot accommodate the dozen children they had, only if they'd have to breathe into each other's nostrils. It's an advantage for the parents to allow their children to sleep outside at night and play around during the day. They believed the town has a vigilante group so nothing can happen to their children.

Doye stopped sleeping in her hut at age ten. That unfaithful night, he mother woke her up and told her there no space for her in the hut anymore. She ordered her to go join her sisters outside. Doye was very reluctant to do that but her mother's expression didn't look like she was joking. The sight of her mother actually sacking her from home hit her hard. At that age she had friends who also live of the street but hers got her moody for days. Three years gone, she's forgotten that already. Like she can reason with her mother now. She hardly entered the hit too do anything. Breakfast, lunch and dinner were served outside the hut. She enjoys her life outside alone most times. During one of their group discussion she brought up an issue.

“of you were asked to make a wish and if you make that wish, it will no longer be a wish but reality. What will be your wish? ”

There was no answer. Her four playmates did not expect that kind of question from her. She's always been weird but this question is just too far.

“hello, won't you give me an answer? ” she pressed.

A girl among the four laughed. “wishes? How did that even get to your mind? ”

Doye smiled. She loves to do that. “just make a wish. You know it's just a joke. But let's be truthful sha ”

“okay, let me start. ” A girl who sat on a tree trunk beside Doye said. “I wish to walk into our hut one day and see the look of joy on my mother's face at the sight of me. I want to be sure she's happy to see me. I want to be able to sleep with her and the other children under the same roof. I want to see her smile for me that she had forgiven me. ”

“why? What did you do to your mother? ” Doye asked.

“ that's not necessary. You don't need to know. ”the girl replied tentatively.

“just speak okay? ” she persuaded.

“well, I stole her money. ”she paused to examine the disappointed look on her friends' faces. “she stopped giving me food and I was hungry. What do you expect me to do? ”she paused. “by the way, I know there are other reasons why she sent me out . It's not about the mother I stole. Father lost his job and she had no job then. The money father had could not suffice all his children. ”

“awwwn... Yours might be better than mine ” another girl began. “I wish my father could get a job for himself so he'll build another hut for us. I'm really tired of sleeping out. I had a bad stomach ache yesterday and I ran into the hut to tell my mother, I was very disappointed when she said I should manage myself and leave. Manage what? She hates me. I don't know why but I wish she never did. ”

“hmm, my wish” Another began. She had a playful accent. “my mother, I guess she doesn't like me because I'm a girl. I wish I was a boy. I wish to have food anytime I need it even before my stomach begin to ache. I wish my sister's husband could stop beating her up every now and then. She's supposed to be his wife not a slave. In fact, I'm never going to attempt marriage. ”she winced.

The last girl began with a sly smile. “I wish my dad could consider me as a child that deserves his love and respect. He loves to see my back. I often wonder what it is I remind him of so much. I wish that palm wine stop can be closed ” the other giggled silently. “he wastes a lot of money there and we will have to starve at home. Then when he comes home at night, I'll be called on to pack his vomit. I'm tired of everything. ”