the pill

was ordered by the ambassador for foreign affairs in ibadan... they quickly determined that I was a center of activity and energy and required me to use my talents with focus... the yoruba tradition was to reverse things, so i used to smile all the time... then they gave me a single bitter panadol... but the nurse was a native, by law, and so she saw the desperate stare in my eyes and had pity on me and gave me a bigger bucket of poisoned water... the panadol went down smoothly, and so did my fever... I saw dr. adeloye many years later... I was smiling... "It is good that you are happy" she said... also smiling...