Midnight Candles...

You have to come out in flying colours like all your older siblings for the examination just in one sitting," my mom warned sternly as soon as she heard the date of my senior West African examination had been fixed.

My siblings wouldn't let me do so many house chores before and after school, so it didn't become an excuse for me not to read my books. "Don't worry, just go to sleep; make sure you wake up by 2 am so you can read when the whole world is quiet," my sister began to share her reading technique with me. "Dip your leg into a bucket of water, so that you can assimilate all you are reading and then reflect."

It was such a memorable moment for me as everyone showered me with excess love and care during that period.

"To whom much is given, much is expected," I soliloquized because I knew if I didn't meet their expectations with all the pampering, I was going to be in the soup, so I began to burn my midnight candles to ensure I made my family proud.

One particular evening, I made plans for what my daily reading routine would be like. I went to bed by 7 p.m., hoping to be up from bed at 3 a.m. After setting my alarm for the routine, I zoomed off to bed.

I could hear the sound of my alarm buzzing, but I was too weak to get up, and when I finally did, I began to feel lightheaded and almost felt like passing out. It didn't take my sister some time to notice what was wrong when I heard her voice. "Please go back to sleep; by morning you should feel a lot better. I think it is the exam fever." I was too afraid as it was a further mathematics examination. "Thanks, sis," I managed to utter as I went back to bed.

At 5 am, I felt a lot better when I woke up, said my prayers, and began to solve some calculations in preparation for the examination when the light went out and through my window, I could see that other people in the community had power supplies, which meant the fault could be from the line we were using.

It felt like there were forces behind me passing that particular examination that day, as every time I tried to concentrate, something came up to distract me.

I was able to cast my fears aside when I got motivated once again by my beloved elder sister, who kept encouraging me, and thankfully we had a rechargeable flashlight, which was a backup plan for the morning.

Three weeks after the examinations, my result was out, and of all the subjects, I was keenly interested in seeing my further mathematics result because of the circumstances that surrounded that paper.

"Mom, I made it!!' I jumped in excitement when my result finally came out. I came out in flying colours, and I was excited about the fact that, despite all odds, I made my family and myself proud.