Jeremiah wiped beads of sweat from his brows intermittently as he carried on with his garden work…raking, sowing, watering, mulching…

Raised on the acres of his parents’ farmland where they had cultivated all manners of crops for sale and for food, gardening was work that he could do with eyes closed.

However, today, as much as he tried to concentrate, he worried. He worried over the poor harvest of the cropping season; he worried over the weather forecast of heavier rains and the flood that ensued which always affected the crops; he worried about how he would fend for his growing family even as his wife’s painful groans and the encouraging voice of the midwife floated into the backyard.

A baby is a blessing he reminded himself, though he hadn’t been too happy when Ruth broke the news that she was expecting. He had expressly told her to be more careful after they had Gideon their sixth child.

An unmistakable wail of a newborns’ voice rang from the house and his lips curved in a wide smile; his family was certainly growing in numbers.

© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha

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Thank you, Louise  for the photo and Priceless Joy for hosting this charming platform where we unleash our stories

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