My head was on the seat in front of me, trying to get some sleep when the passenger next to me tapped me and handed an envelope to me. I looked up and saw a lady standing in the trotro distributing such envelopes. I knew who she was because that wasn’t the first time having such an experience. These ladies are deaf and dumb people who go around distributing envelopes to raise funds for themselves and their healthcare.

Usually, I don’t collect the envelopes because I don’t give them anything. Sometimes, I feel it’s a scam. Other times I feel no matter how much I give to them, they’ll still keep going around begging so what’s the point? But that day, the envelope was pushed into my hands without knowing it was one of such envelopes.

When I looked up and saw the lady, she smiled at me. She was looking at me to see if I’ll take the envelope. I took it but didn’t put money in it immediately. I was thinking about whether to give or not to give.

“This one is beautiful. See how she smiled at you. Please don’t disappoint her. Give her something.” The tiny voice inside my head told me. A few seconds later, this tiny voice came back to counter what he himself had told me earlier, “It’s a scam. Don’t enable it. How can a pretty girl like this be deaf and dumb? It’s a lie. She would build a house a year from now and you’ll be still living in a rented ghetto. Don’t mind her.”

She collected all her envelopes while waiting for me to return mine. I looked at her and she smiled again. The compassion button in me was pressed so I pushed my hand into my pocket. I had three fifty Cedi notes. It wasn’t my intention to give her that much but it was the only denomination I had so I put one in it and said to myself, “It’s God who has come to your rescue.” I gave it to the passenger next to me and he gave it to the passenger ahead of him until it got to the lady. She took the envelope and bowed. I put my head down on the seat again and continued sleeping.

Minutes later the mate screamed, “Dansoman bus stop.” I lifted my head and got down. From the bus stop to my house is just a few meters so I was walking leisurely and also thinking about the money I gave out to the lady. That was a day’s money gone. Just when I was entering the gate to my house, a woman coming from the opposite direction pointed at me and said, “Bra, someone is calling you from behind.” I turned to look and guess who was calling me, the lady who gave me the envelope. The deaf and dumb lady. I was like, “What does she want again? Why is she following me?”

I stood at the gate waiting for her. She did something that I interpreted as showing appreciation so I nodded. She smiled and stood there looking at me. I said, “Now what?” I remembered she couldn’t hear. I tried the only sign language that made sense to me, asking her what she want. She did the same sign again. The one I interpret as thank you. I said, “I’ve heard that already. I’m asking what else you want. Why did you follow me?”

She was standing there smiling with her eyes sparkling as if she had seen something exciting. After a few minutes, I threw my palm down and up to tell her to go away. She was still standing there, I opened the gate and she tried to follow me. “Eii asɛm bɛn koraa ni? Or I you’re bringing my money back to me? What sort of frustration is that?”

I closed the gate and sat on the veranda in front of the house. She sat next to me and put both hands in between her thighs. I was quiet. She was smiling. For about five minutes I didn’t say a word. And then I burst into supplication mode, talking to her as if she could hear me, “If it’s money you want, I don’t have any at the moment. Please go home and come tomorrow.” I pointed at the gate, “This is where I live. I’m not going to run anywhere. Please go.”

I stood up and she was still sitting down. I signalled for her to leave but she was still sitting down. I tried walking away and she didn’t follow. I entered the gate and closed it but I was standing there, looking through a hole to see if she would go away. She sat there for a while and got up suddenly and walked briskly towards the main street. I did the sign of the cross and went away.

All night, I was thinking about her. “Why was she following me? What does she want? Why didn’t she want to go away? Or she needed more money?”

I went out of the gate carefully the next morning, thinking I would see her there. I didn’t. I sighed heavily and went to work. When I was coming back home, I looked over my shoulders. Every now and then, I would look back and see if someone was following me. I did that for days. I didn’t see her. I was convinced she wasn’t coming again until a week later.

She came on a Saturday morning. I think she came to the house and because she couldn’t talk, no one attended to her. I was going to fetch water when a woman in the house said, “Eii the lady is still sitting there ooo. Who is she looking for that she can’t say?” I went to stand at the gate and looked through the hole. I saw her. She looked dejected. Like the world has fallen on her. I opened the gate to meet her. Immediately she saw me she sprung up to her feet, all happy. It made me smile.

I did sign language, asking what she wants. I opened both palms and twisted them backwards. She was smiling. She shook her head. Then communication seized. I couldn’t do anything again. I figured she needed money so I gave her GHC50. She took it, touch her chin and did a combination of signs that I interpreted as thank you. We stood there for a while looking at each other until I waved and she waved back.

I didn’t know how to place her. Sometimes I gave her money and she shook her head. She would sit there and not get up. Everyone in the house got to know her so immediately she came around, they came to call me. One day she came to count her money at my place. She showed it to me. Everything was like GHC42.20P. I added GHC50 but she gave it back to me.

She knew when I was home and came at exactly that time. We became friends who didn’t understand each other’s language but still kept in touch hoping we could communicate in another form. I would be in the room and someone would scream from the outside, “Nii, your friend has come ooo.” And she came often too.

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One day I took her out to eat. Surprisingly, she knew how to use the cutlery very well. She was composed throughout, behaving as if she could understand everything that was going on around her. I asked her, “Do you do this often?” She was looking at my mouth. She raised her eyebrows. I remembered she didn’t speak my language. That day I wanted to know where she lived so I could go and see the people she lives with but I didn’t know how to ask. I told myself, “I will do it the next time when she comes around.”

I went home and opened YouTube and typed, “How to learn sign language.” All evening, I watched the basic ones like How are you? Are you hungry? You look beautiful. I wanted us to be able to communicate. There was a question I needed her to answer, “Why she keeps coming around.”

After the day we ate together, I realized she wasn’t coming around again. On Saturdays, I sat at the gate hoping she’ll come by. She didn’t come. In the morning I’ll open my ears and listen to the voices outside. I was hoping someone will say, “Nii, your friend is here ooo” No one said that.  For over a month, I didn’t see her. Meanwhile, I learned a thing or two about sign language, waiting to impress her but she never came again.

Then I realized I miss her, not in a loving way but I missed her all the same. The struggle to communicate and the annoyance of the fact that I didn’t know what she was looking for. I didn’t even know her name.

My neighbours called her, “Your friend or your person.” They’ll say, “Wo nipa no aba ooo” So for a long time I knew her as me Nipa but she wasn’t. She was her own person.

She went away one day and never came back. I don’t know if she lost her way or if she travelled. I think of her often and the question keeps lingering, “What was she looking for? Why did she follow me that day?” She had no voice to answer and I lacked the language skill to ask so it still remains a question I may never have an answer to just as I have no answer to where she is currently.

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Wherever she is, I would like to believe I helped. Not only that but I would like to believe she’s happy too. She gets enough money these days or she has stopped going around with envelopes. I just want her to be happy because I cared. Somehow. I even learned a language for her, too bad she didn’t see me speak it.

—Nii

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