Dunamis' Package

~Inspired by a true life story

Remi was wrong. My smile looked great. I took several crazy poses in front of the mirror and laughed. My body stilled and my laughter died as several of her words flashed through my mind. I moved towards the mirror and bared my teeth. My critical assessment of them showed one thing, they've not changed. So, what did she mean when she said I shouldn't widen my lips when I smile? 

"Miss Akinrinde." Someone knocked. "Are you in there?"

"Yes." 

I widened my lips and frowned. I should have asked her what she meant.

"Your interview is starting in fifteen minutes."

I hurriedly grabbed my bag and took one last look at the mirror. 

"Miss Akinrinde?"

I opened the door and smiled at the lady who I'm sure Remi would be glad to meet. I widened my smile. I would do all I could to prove her wrong.

The lady blinked, then smiled. "Have we met? You're smiling like we've been introduced."

"No."

"I am Omotara Jacobs. I'm a co-host on today's episode of 'Upcoming Icons'."

"Of course, you are Omotara Jacobs." I shook her hand. "It's so nice to meet you in person."

"It's a pleasure meeting you too." She led me away from the restroom. "Everything is set. I'm sure Tope already told you what to expect."

"I don't understand. Why are you the one doing this?"

"Miss Akinrinde—"

"Please call me Dunamis."

"Okay. I know this might come as a surprise and for that I'm sorry. It was unplanned, but the director thinks..." she paused.

"He thinks the show will get more viewers with your presence?"

"Yes. That's not to say Tope has not been doing a great job." She looked up. "Here he comes."

"Dunamis, where have you been? It's almost time." He looked at Omotara. "Thanks."

"Don't mention."

"Tara," someone called.

She looked in the direction of the voice.

"I have the script. Would you like to go through it?"

She returned her gaze to Tope, "Have you gone through it?"

"No, it's not my program." He hid a smile, "Is it what I'm thinking?"

She shrugged and lowered her voice, "I've never liked scripts." She smiled at me and left.

He stared after her and I frowned slightly. Not like it was my business but I kept note of the number of seconds his gaze rested on her. I shook my head. I wasn't going to think of the fact that my single close friend forgot about me, and probably everything else, while talking to a lady. Neither would I think of the fact that they looked great together. 

"Are you oka—"

"Absolutely."

He raised a brow.

I cleared my throat, "Shouldn't we be seated by now?"

"We should. You won't get nervous, will you?"

I shifted my head, "I'm not a kid. Why should I?"

Several minutes after taking our seats, Tope glanced at me and smiled. There was no doubt he could see beneath my practised smile. My fingers were trembling and I kept my lips tightly shut. I didn't want them quivering unnecessarily. 

"On today's episode of Upcoming Icons, we have a guest who is known for the success she's had in waste processing."

I focused on my breath and drowned out the voices. My focus shifted to Remi and the fact that she had probably told everyone who cared to listen about the interview. I folded my fingers and sat back. I wasn't going to give her something to add to my already long list of embarrassing moments.

"Tara, what did you think when you heard of Dunamis?" Tope asked.

Tara laughed, "I wasn't expecting that." Her eyes narrowed slightly. "I was impressed by her choice of career. I mean, it's not every day you get to meet gorgeous ladies working in the waste-processing industry."

I smiled dramatically. Everyone but Remi would think it was normal. Tara called me gorgeous although I was smiling widely. Now she knows being my younger sister doesn't make her the best judge of my looks.

"We are only a few minutes into the show and we already have a lot of questions for our guest." Tope raised a brow, "You are more popular than I thought."

"I'm flattered."

"The first question is,"—his forehead creased—"Tara, do you mind asking the first question. I think you'll have a better way of saying it."

Tara dropped her gaze to her tablet and was silent for several seconds.

"You guys are raising my curiosity. Do I get to have a wish granted or something?"

"No, not that. Someone wants to know how you managed to lighten your skin tone this much. According to this person, you used to have a darker complexion."

"The person actually used the word 'dark as kohl,'" Tope added.

My smile slipped. It felt like a slap on the face. A hard, emotionless slap. 

"You don't have to answer if you don't want to." Tara lowered her voice, "I'm sorry, Dunamis."

I gave a shaky smile and inhaled deeply. "It's fine. Everyone watching probably already knows the questions I'll be answering. It's just that it sounded cruel."

Tope sat back, "Were you bullied as a kid?"

"Yes. But it had more to do with my protruding lower lip than my skin tone."

"I don't see anything wrong with your lower lip, or do you?" Tara asked.

"No," Tope replied.

I smiled. "Thanks, guys."

"You're welcome. Next question is—"

"Please wait, I want to answer that question. I only hope I'll have the time to answer other questions."

"We have thirty minutes."

"Okay. To start with, my mum has a fair skin tone and my dad has a dark skin tone.

"The person would have been correct if he or she described my dad as dark as kohl.

They laughed.

"I was not as dark as kohl. I was caramel."

"What's the difference?"

"Tope," Tara drawled.

"What?" he laughed. "Seriously, what's the difference?"

"The taste."

I laughed, "Tara, you too?"

"I'm sorry. I couldn't resist it. I've not tasted kohl but I'm sure it's no rival for caramel."

"I know right."

She smiled at Tope. "She agreed."

"Dunamis, I've known you for years and I can't remember you being … caramel."

"That's because I was never caramel, not in my mind anyway."

Tope and Tara exchanged glances.

"Were you kohl?" Tope asked.

"No. No. Definitely not."

"Fine. Just wanted to be sure."

"Mum always told me I was fair as a child."

"Most black babies are fai—"

"Not that kind of fair. Real fair. I was fair-skinned. I wasn't white but I also wasn't kohl."

Tara laughed so hard tears stained her eyes. The surprising thing was, she was elegant about it. "You two, please stop. No more kohls, okay?"

Tope smiled, "I'll try. No doubt this will trend on Twitter. Ko …"—he stared at Tara—"Choleric."

"What happened to make you darker?"

I raised a brow, "You seriously don't know?"

Her eyes widened. "No."

"Nigeria sun."

"Oh."

"Mum wasn't one to buy you sunscreen or stuff like that. I got so exposed to the sun as a little girl that by the time I was five, I already lost most traces of my fair skin. And I don't know about you but I used to play around as a little girl with only my pants on."

"Hm. Don't tell me you also enjoyed playing in the rain?" Tope asked.

"How did you know?"

"I've been there."

"Those were very sweet times, you know. The simplicity of childhood. That ability to believe everything your parents tell you. I remember Mum was always reminding me of how fair I was and the fact that I would regain my skin tone as I grow older. Of course, I didn't know that wouldn't happen automatically.

Tara grew calm and even Tope seemed to pay more attention.

"There was never a time when I believed I had a darker skin tone than what my Mum told me even when I didn't look like it."

"You believed her and that made the difference?"

"I believed her and that guided my actions."

"I'm still not getting your point," Tara said.

"Mum and everyone who knew me as a baby repeatedly told me I am naturally fair-skinned. They said it enough that as a girl, I believed them. When I was old enough to take care of myself, I started getting what some would call beauty treatments and my complexion came back."

"Are you saying you wouldn't have bothered if they hadn't told you?"

"I think the main point is that I believed it. I never saw myself as caramel … or kohl," I shrugged. "Now that I think about it, I think it works for all areas of life. Whatever you believe will happen. It's only a matter of time."

"What else did you believe that happened?"

"The waste processing. It never occurred to me that people won't accept the idea or that I won't prosper doing it."

"Wow. That's different from everything I've heard on the show. What do you think, Tara?"

"I think she's right. And, I must say that her mother was right. She couldn't have been prettier with a different skin tone.

I bit back a smile and resisted the urge to wink at the camera. I only hoped Remi heard that or I'd search for the interview online and play it for her.

"Thinking back, I realize I've always lived out everything I believed about myself. It was like the power to become those things were ingrained in my beliefs." She smiled at me. "And like she said, beliefs are formed by words."

"I for one will start being deliberate about what I let people say to me," Tope said.

"Me too."

"Thanks for that, Dunamis." He faced the camera and my eyes couldn't help sliding to Tara. Not like I was suspecting the two of them or anything, I had just decided to add my friend's business to mine and mind it. Or maybe not.

"To everyone who watched till this point, thank you. We'll take a short commercial break and when we come back, Tara will ask our guest about her business secret, and what she's currently thinking of."

I blinked. If only he knew what he was saying. 

© ADENIKE ONI 2021

Special thanks to J. Gale for being an amazing beta reader.

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