Who Washes Nina’s Clothes

AUTHOR: DAMILOLA OMOYA

There is something weird about my roommate
Something I never could understand
Each day I pondered on
What exactly could be going on

My roommate wears several clothes in just a single day
Sometimes red and at times gray
But, never has she worn the same
At twilight, she dumps them all in a basket
She piles them up till they fill up, topple and fall

Now “What is wrong with this?” you might ask
What gives you such a headache?
I fear something creepy is going on
I must say it’s each Sunday night right before daybreak

I always thought I was wrong
I probably missed her as I laid
But that wasn’t the case; for I stayed awake till dawn today
Now my roommate has a hanger she keeps by the rails
Her dresses are always hanging there every Monday
But never have I seen her wash; never had she emptied her basket in my sight

The mystery puzzled me each week
The urge to discover filled my heart each night
So today, I made a vow to find out what went by
I played some games till nighttime came
I rolled around and prayed for dawn
But never for once did my two eyes stray

At 1 am, she arose
Her movements are both lithe and sure
That must have been why I never heard her walk
She lifted the basket as if it didn’t weigh a ton
As she lightly trudged straight into the bathroom

Ahh! I exhaled at last
She washes at night; I reassured myself
Alas, I spoke too soon as she immediately walked out
Not spending even a minute or two inside
She sat on her bed and mumbled and shook
I looked on in fear as I wondered, “What now?”

After 30 minutes went by she stopped
She stood up so abruptly I feared she sensed my eyes
Fortunately, that wasn’t the case
As she walked back, retracing her steps again

After two minutes, she emerged from the bathroom
Two buckets in hand clothes washed and wrung
She opened the room and spread her clothes
While singing a weird song and laughing in sync

I sat up tongue-tied and looked around
I could feel myself shaking
I couldn’t suppress the chills
Immediately I forcefully laid back as I feared for my life
I tried to sleep because I couldn’t bear to look her in the eye
All through the struggle, a single thought remained:
Who then washes Nina’s clothes?