Becoming Faith

1 Faith Lazarus w

, but the calm that fol

she came into the world already aware of its noise. The midwife paused,

ents we

eams. Her father, Lazarus, had just secured a small office job with a furniture c

sen quickly, but

d that night as they sat

ght her here... and what

e Before

t, she tested every neighbour's

bottles, chewed slippers, and once threw

dist

e thing was wh

"school," "book," or even

d crawl closer. If a pencil dropped,

ot for the music, but the let

't like

ked al

en's

Ojimba Street, with cracked tiles, rusted swings, and walls painted in fading pastels. The school g

the gown awkwardly long, her socks cris

ly until she saw the other children. Some cried. S

er knelt

your nam

anned the room, then pressed her small

ai

oud. But it

irl with

her slate became

loor or used them to hit each other.

ace letters slowly, and cry in frustrati

always short,

cing precise even before the t

uld write her name i

entences from the blackboa

cher finished saying them but she never bragged. She just n

hand for attention. O

silent but her eyes stayed glued to

whispered

erself like say she g

gns a

e signs first not in grand

form one Saturday, a note

atly writte

k. Faith had written them

w letters on the bare floor, copying shapes from an em

us, saw it during

a verse, and Faith looked up sharply, then qu

ed, the

e pastor

was how she watched everyth

e Anne was peelin

ome people not k

an answer, but because she never expected the quest

shed it off. Maybe

eacher called Anne aside

ent. She's different. Keep an

r drawings. Marking d

comparing h

ed paying

use something told them that this little girl, wi

't know an

who loved the smell of book

was already changing