Fade sat at the edge of the pavement, staring down at his bowl of money. As usual, people paid him no attention, and those who did ended up looking away as if glancing at him was a crime.

But he had learned early on that he shouldn't try to touch them, because they would shrug him off up, repulsion written on their faces.

He sighed, the sun beating down on him.

Ever since grandpa died Fade had lost all hope, because his grandfather was the one who always encouraged him and assured him that all circumstances would only last for a while. He also used to say that it was just a matter of time before they rose above their situation.

So far the only thing that rose was the old man's spirit out of his body.

Fade looked up and squinted, his hand reaching up to shield his eyes from the harsh rays of the sun.

It was then he noticed the girl from the other day coming down the street.

On instinct, he put his head back down as he didn't want her to catch him looking and cause another scene.

With his eyes cast downwards, he noticed after a while that someone's feet were now in his line of vision.

Fade glanced up, shielding his eyes once more as he tried to see who it was.

It was her.

He scoffed. What was she doing here? To wreck more havoc?

But on a closer look he saw a smile lighting up her face, joy radiating from her.

He raised an eyebrow.

Why was she smiling? Perhaps she came to mock him once again?

He'd just began to look around for her friends when she took him by surprise and sat down on the pavement beside him.

Fade looked at her with suspicion, wondering why she still kept that smile on her face. Didn't it hurt to keep smiling for that long?

"Hey." She spoke up, her voice gentle and soft unlike how it was the first time they met.

But he looked away and shifted from her.

Once more, Fade was surprised when she shifted closer to him. He moved away again, but she just moved closer to him still.

When he shifted away from her the third time and she still moved closer to him, he shook his head and stood up.

Then he picked up his bowl and with brisk steps walked back to the uncompleted building they called home. He rubbed his chest, glad to be rid of her.

What was she thinking anyway? Rude and insensitive one day; nice and caring on another.

Did she think he was a toy to be played with anytime she felt like?

Upon entering their home, he gathered Sewa into his arms, sat on the ground and leaned against the wall.

Closing his eyes, he hummed, thinking about how the money they got today wasn't enough to buy food for even one person.

He also thought about the covered up figure who was up the street again, always watching him. Whenever he made attempts to go towards the person to know his identity, the person would flee.

Who was he? Why was he always standing there? Why was the person always watching him?

In any case, he didn't have money to his name so it couldn't be that the person was stalking him because of wealth. Neither was he famous.

What then did the person want from him?

Deep in thoughts, it took a while for him to realize that it wasn't only him and his sister that were in the building.

When he felt the presence of another person, his eyes flew open. He blinked, his eyes adjusting to the light. When they did, he sighed and shut them again.

"What do you want?" He asked.

"Um, I–"

"If you're done with what you want to say you can leave."

Silence.

Then she began to laugh.

He opened his eyes again, a frown settling on his face.

He watched her laugh with careless abandon as if he'd just said the funniest thing ever.

Even after she stopped laughing, a smile still lingered on her face.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. It's just that what you said was funny."

Then she burst into laughter again, the sound filling the open space.

Fade just continued to stare at her as she guffawed, wondering if perhaps she had a few screws loose.

"I mean, I wasn't even done yet and you–you told me to leave."

Fade shook his head, starting to feel sorry for her.

Perhaps she'd lost her marbles.

He wrapped his arms tighter round his sister in a bid to protect her from the wild girl in front of him.

Sewa stirred as a result of this, and woke up. She let out a yawn and scratched her temple.

"Pawdey?"

He looked down at her with a soft smile grazing his lips, the laughter of the girl before him fading away.

"Yeah?"

"Hungree."

Fade's face fell.

They had no food at the moment, and hadn't even eaten for two days now.

Tears rose to his eyes but he blinked them back as he rested Sewa's head on his chest and hugged her.

At his age he could manage without eating for some time, but his sister couldn't.

He began to pat her back, humming a tune to her with the hopes that she would drift back to sleep. However, this didn't work. Instead, Sewa began to wail at the top of her voice.

Fade closed his eyes, pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.

His life was a nightmare.

Ara watched him, her heart aching at all the things she imagined he would be passing through.

His bones jutted out against his skin, and she could count his ribs even without craning her neck. His eyes were hollow and distrusting, while his lips were thinned to a line.

She watched how he held his crying sister close, trying to pacify her. Then she touched his arm.

His eyes flew open and she was thrown back by the unshed tears shining in his eyes. Those eyes that once looked so cold now looked sad and downcast. In that moment, he looked...vulnerable.

He looked like all he wanted at that moment was for someone to hug him and speak words of comfort to him.

He looked down at her hand on his and shook it away.

"Wouldn't want you to get syphilis from my touch." He retorted, his eyes hardening once more.

Ara cleared her throat and looked away from his piercing gaze.

She knew he was making reference to what she said to him two months ago.

She stood up and groaned. "I can't feel my legs after squatting for so long."

Fade rolled his eyes. "I'm glad to see you leave."

To his surprise she just smiled at his comment and moved closer to him. She dropped to one knee and before he knew what was happening she had thrown her arms around him, engulfing him in her embrace.

Shock ran through his body at her actions and he jerked away from her, his sister having quieted down.

"What is wrong with you? Is this some sort of sick joke to you?" His eyes blazed, unable to stand her behaviour anymore.

Ara picked at a thread in her blouse and avoided his gaze.

"I'm sorry for my behaviour the other day. I have no excuse and I understand that you wouldn't want to see my face ever again. I sincerely apologize though."

His anger receded as quick as it came, but his eyes were still as hard as flint.

"Whatever. You're not the first person. You won't be the last."

"I'm sorry."

"Okay."

"Okay?"

He nodded.

"Okay like you've accepted my apology or okay like you just said it so I could leave?"

For goodness sake, why was she so annoying? Couldn't she leave him alone in peace?

When he didn't reply, she smiled. "Thank you."

No reply still.

She cleared her throat, deciding to change topics. "What's your name?"

"Fade." He replied through gritted teeth.

"Oh, and the little girl?"

"She's my sister and her name is Sewa."

His replies were curt, hoping she would take the hint and leave.

She didn't.

"My name is Ara."

"Good for you."

She let out a sigh. "Fade, I said I was sorry for what I did. But it's clear to me that you've not forgiven me yet."

"You betcha."

A smile took over her face. "I like how you speak your mind so freely. Friends?"

He cocked his head and studied her. "Friends?"

"Yeah, like we should become friends."

"Oh." His frown returned. "Why?"

"Fade–" Ara began but stopped when Sewa started to cry again.

Ara's eyes softened when she saw how much the baby cried because she was hungry. She thought of all those times she didn't finish her food and later threw it away, or those times her Mum cooked something and she decided not to eat it.

Now, seeing how others went without food because they had no other choice, she felt sorry.

Reaching out and asking with her eyes for permission to carry the baby, she took Sewa into her arms when Fade gave a slight nod in response.

She rubbed her tummy, cooing at her. "Hey baby girl, how are you doing?"

Sewa glanced at her, then at Fade before giving in to sobs once more.

Ara cradled her close to her bosom with one hand and patted her bottom with the other hand, breaking into a meaningless song just to calm the little one.

Fade stared at her in surprise, then shook his head.

There was something really strange going on. If it was a dream, he would like to wake up soon from it.

At that moment while he stared at her, she glanced up at him and their gazes locked.

It was unexpected, but then it was... something.

Her eyes were a light brown, looking like an unwrapped caramel candy that could sweeten up your entire body. Her eyes seemed to contain this unshakable joy, and it seemed like looking into her eyes could spread a certain warmth through you that would leave you feeling euphoric.

But his eyes...his eyes were a dark brown, so dark they looked black. His eyes were mysterious, as if they contained a million secrets. His eyes seemed to draw you in, and if there's no caution taken you might start telling him your deepest secrets.

Sewa reached up and poked Ara's cheek. "Hungree."

This snapped both of them out of their reverie.

Ara swallowed as she averted her eyes to the ground.

What was that?

Fade rubbed the back of his neck, also wondering what on earth just happened.

"Fade?"

He glanced at her before directing his vision somewhere else.

"I have a proposition for you."

This time his eyes zeroed in on her, full of suspicion.

"What is it?"

She looked down at Sewa, then looked back at Fade and with a smile asked, "Would you come to my place?"

"Excuse me?"

"I mean, so that Sewa could eat. And you too." She mumbled the last part out when she saw the harsh glare he turned on her.

"No, thank you."

"C'mon Fade, I know you haven't had anything to eat."

"That's none of your business."

"Why are you acting this way? I'm just trying to help."

"That's the point!" He exploded again. "You and your rich friends treat me like I'm the scum of the earth, like I'm the dirt beneath your shoe and then you show up all of a sudden and expect me to welcome you with open arms? How is that possible? Huh? Tell me!"

Then he lowered his voice and took his sister from her arms. "Just leave. Please."

Ara's eyes misted and her bottom lip quivered.

Why was he being so mean when she was trying so hard to apologize? Maybe coming here was a mistake.

She stood, dusted her jeans and made her way towards the exit where a door should have been while Fade watched her go with mixed feelings.

Although he felt very sad about how she and her friends treated him, he was quite surprised when she came back to apologize. Out of all the people that had ever treated him that way, she was the only one who came back to say sorry.

Somehow, that made him admire her. He couldn't help but also agree with himself that for those short moments she sat beside him and treated him and his sister like real human beings, he felt happy.

Happy that at least one person acknowledged him.

Happy that at least one person didn't think he was worthless, or that he had no value.

Happy that one person cared enough to want to feed his skinny sister and him.

He was also happy that despite her earlier behaviour, she'd hugged him and carried his sister even though it had been months since they had taken a bath or changed their clothes.

Fade sighed and scratched the back of his head. He had not treated her right because he was trying to repay her in her own coin, but now he just realized he was behaving like all those other people who always pushed him away.

No, he could be better than that, and he will.

"Ara?" He called out to her, his voice filled with hesitation.

She halted and turned around to look at him.

Fade glanced down at the ground and pulled at his trousers. "I'm sorry."

At first he thought she wouldn't respond and leave instead. But after a while, a smile broke out on her face and he let out a breath he wasn't even aware he had been holding.

She walked back to him, and stretched out her hand. But he just stared at her, puzzled.

"Remember my offer?" She asked, reminding him of what she said earlier.

Oh, yes. Food at her place.

He had refused at first because of his pride, but now that she mentioned it again his stomach growled as he began to imagine how appetizing the food would look.

After handing his little sister over to her, he stood up and followed her out. But just as they left the building, it started to drizzle.

They both sighed, already knowing that they had to hurry before the rain began to fall in torrents.

It was as if the rain could read their thoughts because it kept increasing till it was pelleting them.

Ara tried to cover Sewa as much as she could and led the way to her home. She moved fast, but still tried to be careful as the ground was slippery. While her home was a walking distance from where Fade lived, it was still quite far.

When they reached her place, she pulled the gate open and ushered them through before shutting it.

Thereafter they walked up the short flight of stairs to the front door. Ara pounded on it with all her might, and open moments later it swung open. By now they were drenched, their clothes and hair dripping water.

"Oh my goodness." Ara's mother, Nifemi, exclaimed upon opening the door.

Without wasting anymore time she made way for them to come in and then instructed them to wait for her before going out of sight.

Moments later she reappeared with three towels in her hand, handing two to Ara and Fade before using the third one to dry Sewa.

Ara cleared her throat, drawing her Mum's attention to her.

"Mummy, this is Fade and Sewa." She pointed to the two of them.

Fade was expecting Nifemi to turn him out with as much politeness as she could muster, but was surprised when she just smiled and said, "Fade, welcome."

Then she turned to Ara. "Both of you should go and clean up, and change your clothes while I take care of this cutie."

Fade was bewildered. Clean up? Change of clothes? Where? How? Was that possible?

Ara led him to a room and then pointed out the bathroom to him. While he stood there still looking shocked, she left and came back soon after with a sponge, soap, toothpaste, a toothbrush and a towel.

He looked at the items in a daze, his mind still not comprehending what was going on.

Ara had to shove him in the direction of the bathroom before he moved his feet and entered.

Savouring the feel of water on his skin and the scent of the soap, he scrubbed for a long time, watching with awe as the dirt flowed away from his body.

After taking his bath, he came out feeling refreshed and clean.

On glancing around, he noticed a pair of jeans and a shirt on the bed. He picked them up, wondering how they were able to get clothes for him in such a short time, although they didn't look new. After putting them on, he discovered they were a little too big for his frame.

Just as he was done dressing, a knock sounded on the door.

"Uh, come in?" It wasn't his room, so he left weird having to give permission.

It was still raining, and the sound of various drops hitting the roof at different times formed a discorded symphony of some sorts.

The person knocked again, and Fade knew that the person might not have heard him over the noise of the rain, so he walked to the door and pulled it open, seeing Ara on the other side with her hand raised to knock again.

"Fade, my Mum sai–" Then she stopped as she took in his appearance fully, her eyes widening in surprise.

"Wow." She breathed out.

"What? Didn't I scrub well?"

"No, no. It's not that."

He continued staring at her, wondering what she was talking about.

"It's just that you look different. But it's a good kind of different."

Fade smiled and relaxed at her words.

"Wow." Ara said again.

"What is it this time?"

She didn't answer him, but instead asked a question of her own. "Can you smile again?"

He gave her a creeped out look, but she just laughed and waved her hand. "Please. I want to check something."

So he smiled again, which felt weird since there was no reason to smile.

"Wow." She said for the third time and he was beginning to worry that maybe the rain hit her too hard on the head.

"I never noticed it before, but you have dimples." She said.

"Deeples? What are those?"

"Dimples. A small natural depression on the skin, especially on the face near the corners of the mouth. Most times they show when you smile."

"When I smile?"

She stepped into the room and led him to the mirror in the bathroom, showing him what she meant.

"Is it a disease or something?"

He looked cute when he pouted, thinking that his dimples were an illness.

"No. They are natural, but uncommon. It's not everyone that has them."

He nodded. He never knew he had such, because he had never looked into a mirror. And the windows of cars that served as his looking glass never produced a clear image.

Even if they did, his skin was caked with so much dirt that it would have been impossible for him to notice that he had dimples.

Walking out of the bathroom back into the room, Ara looked up at Fade and noticed that despite how his eyes still looked so dark and brooding, they were no longer cold.

"Fade?"

"Hmm?"

"What about your hair?"

"I've not combed it in forever. It's so coarse and tangled."

"But you washed it, right?"

He nodded.

"Okay, that's good. I'll be right back."

He nodded again, tucking his hands into the pockets of the shorts he put on while he waited for her to return. It didn't take long for her to come back, and when she did she held a comb and a small container of hair cream in her hands.

He took them from her, applied the cream to his hair and began to comb it, wincing as he pulled the comb through his matted hair.

She laughed, shaking her head. "Sit. Let me help you with it."

Surprise flickered in his eyes as he sat on the bed and stared at the wall while she worked on his hair.

"Araoluwa?"

"Yes? Wait, how do you know my full name?"

"I just guessed."

She parted his hair, rubbed in the hair cream and began to comb through it. "What's yours then?"

"Bowofade, and my sister is Adesewa."

<<Bowofade means "Pay homage to the Crown", Adesewa means "The Crown is beautiful" and Araoluwa means "The wonders of God">>

"Ade? Are you of royal blood?"

He looked up at her, causing her hands to still atop his head."Really? Royal blood? Not a chance. My mum just called us that."

"You have a mum?"

He nodded, and from the look on his face and the way he pressed his lips together she could tell he wasn't going to elaborate on the topic.

They lapsed into silence once more, that is, till Fade spoke up again.

"Why did you come back to say sorry? And why are you doing all this?"

Ara didn't respond right away, still working hard to untangle all the knots in his hair. When she was done, she sat down beside him.

"Some weeks after our first encounter I met with Jesus. I accepted Him into my heart and became a changed person. Fade, I want you to know that I'm not the same person you met two months ago."

Well, he could see that.

She continued when he didn't say anything in return. "It's not like I'm trying to pay for my sins because Jesus has already done that. Rather, I just want to put a smile on your face just like Jesus would have done if He were to be physically present on earth."

"Jesus?"

"Yeah. You've heard of him?"

"Yes. My pa was a Jesus believer before he died."

"A Christian." She said.

"What?"

"Jesus believers are called Christians."

He shrugged, a frown settling on his face. "I know what they're called. I just don't want to say it."

"Why?"

"Just because."

"C'mon Fade, you can tell me." She nudged him, her eyes twinkling with mischief.

"Maybe some other time."

"Fade, why are you playing so hard to get?"

"Am I?"

She nodded, pointing a finger at him. "You are!"

A smile grazed his lips. "What about my sister?"

She shook her head at his not-so-subtle attempt to change the topic, but went along with it nonetheless. "She's with my Mummy. Let's go meet them."

As they reached to the dining table, Fade felt tears sting his eyes at the image before him. His sister looked cute as she ate, her hands slapping the table. She was clean, and her hair had been combed and oiled to perfection. She was also wearing clean clothes, and Fade couldn't help but wonder if he was dreaming or this was reality.

While he ate, all he could think about was why they were putting in so much effort to clean him and his sister up if eventually they'd still go back to the streets.

"Is something on your mind, Fade?" Nifemi asked while she spooned food into Sewa's mouth, noticing how his brows were furrowed.

He dropped his spoon, startled. "Nothing Ma. I just..."

Nifemi smiled and reached out across the table to hold his hand. "It's okay dear, you can tell me what's wrong."

He averted his eyes from hers and looked down at his plate of food.

"It's just that–" He hesitated once more, but when he saw her encouraging smile he continued, "–I don't understand why you're going to these lengths to clean us when we are still going back to the streets."

Ara gasped. "Fade–"

"You're never going back to the streets, Fade." Nifemi answered with conviction, although her eyes still looked kind. "I'm sorry I never did anything about it before, but now that my daughter has brought you here I'll make sure to take care of you."

His eyes misted and he fought to speak against his rising emotions. "Thank you, thank you so much."

"You're welcome dear." Nifemi said while she wiped Sewa's mouth with a napkin.

Ara smiled at him, and watched as his smile also appeared on his face.

Later that night as he lay down with his sister on a bed in the room where Ara had led him to earlier that day, he couldn't help but wonder if this was real. Even if it was real, would it last?

With a smile he pushed these thoughts away and decided to enjoy the moment.

As his eyelids fluttered and he drifted off to sleep, he thought about how good it would have been if his Pa had lived long enough to enjoy this opportunity.

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