Photograph by Larm Rmah on Unsplash

After working non stop for over a week at work on a tough project, when I stopped around 8:30pm today, I felt a void. I didn't feel like doing anything. I'd exhausted my listening to songs capacity. I tried walking, but walking always feels better when it's sandwiched between things, even if one of the things it's sandwiched between is sleep. It was too early to sleep. I felt kidnapped, forced to work in a place I knew nothing about, then dumped at another place – at the edge of a precipice, only with no work to do this time, enervated.

I sat down on a swing nearby. 4 kids had made the jungle gym their battleground arena. As soon as I sat, I heard

Enemy on the swing!

And all four of them shot at me with all they had got. For a brief moment I thought I'd play dead. But at the last moment I realised I had no energy to engage in a battle, let alone with kids.

They reminded me of the time when me and my cousins could play with toy guns all day, no kidding. I also remember the time I was in 8th grade, and didn't feel attracted to playing with toys anymore, but my cousins still did. And when they asked me to play with them and I said no, the expression of having cheated upon on their faces was priceless.

One of the children immediately broke the war spell and rushed home without saying anything. One of the three childen who were left behind sat on the swing adjacent to me and said to his other two friends:

I don't want to go home but my mother will scold me…

The second child said:

I have to do one homework and then I have to watch a movie

The third one said:

I always watch movie at night, when I am about to sleep I watch movie.

The second asked the third one, standing nearby,

You hug and sleep with your dog?

The first one still sitting on the swing by me, wildly swayed side to side.

The third child answered, 'yes.'

So lucky you have a dog. I don't have. Mum doesn't let me have one. She keeps me away from them.

The third child watched his watch and rushed off at full speed.

The first one said to the second one

You are going too?

He replied,

Yes… Haha no, kidding, not going.

After a pause he said,

But I'll have to go, I have to reach home by 8:50pm.

The one on the swing pleads

Please I beg you don't goooo…

Then paused, makes up his mind and said

Alright, see you tomorrow da.