Today’s rain reminds me of the times when it rained back in Yaba. We’d have to run around the house to make sure that all of the windows were shut. The rain would ruin the curtains and get into some of the plugs if we didn’t.

I liked looking out at the street and seeing the rain over the road, the stalls, and the houses. Everyone would have to go indoors, but some people would be running back from work or some brave kids would play in the pools that formed. Sometimes, when it floods, the water gets so high that car exhausts would be ‘breathing’ underwater and I’d feel like I was in a boat.

I remember the smell of the rain…not exactly, but I know that when it rains here, it doesn’t smell like it did in Lagos. Because the doors and the windows were shut, the wind would blow in from under the doors at the front and back of the house. If it was strong enough it would shake the doors on their hinges and blow water in and we’d have to use rags to fill the spaces and mop up the puddles.

Rain also brought the crabs up to our street. We don’t live far from the water, so any rain brings the water closer. Hearing a big crab skittering across a cement floor in the dark can be a bit terrifying. It was a plus for the crab aficionados. They’d have a welcome addition to their cooking pots.