Page 14 - Obruni In Ghana | Amber Lockridge

12 EPISODE 1: TAKE IT UP
brother tries to imitate my strange movements. The music carries on and on; a small crowd has gathered outside the store, clapping and dancing. My friend’s mother calls out to me.
“Kukuwa... Take it up. Take it up.”
So I send my line into a vibrato-laden cascade of soulful-exploding improvisation. Someone in the crowd shouts, “Praise Jesus” and another responds, “Halleluiah, Amen!” The music rolls through the store and all the people in the market, from just one verse of Amazing Grace.
At the end of forever, it stops. The crowd applauds fervently and drifts away. Even the children across the street have returned to their own preoccupations, though the two boys still glance at me hopefully. Happily satisfied, I drain the rest of my drink, leaning forward to rest my elbows on the my knees. I know this is just one more extraordinary, every-day experience in my new life. I will probably do the same thing tomorrow.
Looking down at my hands, I laugh. Though my skin has tanned significantly from the near