Alogba Oluwajomiloju Francisca

THE OCEANIC FAMILY (STORY TELLING)

Grandma, grandma you promised to tell me the story of your life and how you became an ocean scientist, said little Daniel. I smiled at this little boy’s enthusiasm. 80 year old Lydia calmed her grandson and started narrating her story.

It all began on a Friday morning, when my mother went to the ocean to start her daily activity as a fisher, she was heavily pregnant with me and then suddenly she felt a sharp pain in her back and my water broke; before everyone knew it, I was already out of her womb, and then her fellow fishers sent for the midwife, but I had already being born before her arrival. So when the midwife got to the ocean, she was taken to the canoe in which I was born and she cleaned my mother and I up. On reaching home, when my father saw my mother with a baby, tears of joy rolled down his cheeks. I looked so much like my mother, my eyes were as blue as the sky, my hair as shiny as gold.

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As I grew up, I accompanied my mother to the ocean daily because I wasn’t matured enough to start schooling. I learnt some basic principles about fishing. As usual, I went to the ocean with my mom but that day was a special one because I met my first friend Fiona; we were of the same age group. She was a foreigner, but despite our differences we had a lot in common. Being the only child of my parents, I was so happy to have found my own friend.

On a sunny afternoon, I was just coming from Fiona’s place and I saw my parents packing our things, I didn’t understand what was going on. When they saw the look on my face, my father told me he received a transfer letter and that we were moving the next day. I ran upstairs to my room, tears rolled down my cheeks, I buried my head in my pillow and different thoughts ran through my mind; I wasn’t going to see Fiona again, I wasn’t going to enjoy the serenity of the ocean, I was never going to fish again and before I knew it I drifted off to sleep on my bed and by the time I woke up the next day, we had arrived at our new place.

Fortunately for me, because my father worked with a government agency responsible for conservation of natural resources, this time around my father was taken to work in the aspect of forestry, but the government provided accomodation. The house we were given wasn’t too far from the ocean. My parents gave the chance to choose my own room, so I picked the one I could enjoy the ocean view.

After settling down, my mother continued her fishing business and I accompanied her as usual. My daily presence at the ocean gave me so much joy that when it was time for me to start schooling, I didn’t want to because I felt my happiness was connected to the ocean, but I had no other option than to start school.

One fateful afternoon, our school organised a symposium to create awareness about the effects of a polluted ocean on the aquatic ecosystem. One of the experts who came to lecture us was an oceanographer. Immediately he said he was an oceanographer I puzzled in my brain to get a possible meaning to such a big word. And then I summoned up courage and asked the man what it means to be an oceanographer. He said to me that oceanography is the scientific study of the ocean. From that day, I made my decision that when I grow up I’ll become an oceanographer too.

I waited eagerly for the school to close that day, I rushed home happily, singing my favourite song, people were looking at me because of my obvious excitement but I didn’t mind them. Immediately I got home, I ran to my mother to inform her of what I learnt in school and the decision I made. My parents approved of my decision and supported me greatly because they knew I love anything pertaining to the ocean.

When it was time for me to get into the university, I burned midnight candles just to secure my admission to study my dream course (oceanography) and with the help of God and the support of my parents I eventually gained admission. It was during my second year in school I met my husband who happens to be your grandfather.

Grandma, now I understand why you are so passiomate about the ocean, because it centers around your life and happiness. Of course Daniel, that is why I love to stare at the ocean and also to prevent polluting the ocean because I know its effect on the ecosystem.