My Lover's Recipe For Egusi Soup

Step 1:

Pour the palm oil in a pot as dry as the memories of an obliterated woman & set on the stove to heat.

Let the oil melt like a man transiting from solid to a liquid state between his lover's thighs, add the ground egusi & start frying.

Stir the ground egusi with oil till every grain of egusi turns to the colour of the skin of a Mongolian princess.

Step 2:

Stir-fry the egusi till you get a texture, like that of the body of a full grown woman.

Step 3:

Add the meat's stock till you get the fluidity that could make a boy carry his cross & walk into his lover's Golgotha.

Step 4:

Cover the pot & cook for 20 minutes, stir at intervals till the oil separates from the mix like a soldier parting with his soul in a war front.

Note: do not let it burn, a burnt meal is a thorn to a man's tongue.

Step 5:

Add crayfish & pepper. A well spiced meal is a woman's lips calling her man home.

Stir & add the pumpkin leaves or spinach. A tradition that blends childhood days with a mother's memories.

Stir & add the cooked stock fish, shaki & meat. An unadorned dish is a sterile woman.

Stir & add maggi & salt. A tasty meal is a step closer to a man's heart.

Step 6:

Cover & leave to simmer.

Serve with a hot & fluffy Amala.

She said a meal like this drags me away first, from myself, to a wandering rainbow, seeking refuge in her heart.