Welcome Home, Anna Hibiscus!

Welcome Home
 
“Wake up, Anna Hibiscus!” “Welcome home, Anna Hibiscus!” “Wake up!” “Wake up!”
   Anna Hibiscus opened her eyes. Jumping up and down on her bed were her cousins Chocolate and Angel.
   Anna Hibiscus bounced up. She was so glad to see her cousins, so glad to be back in the room they shared, so glad to be back in the big white house, so glad to be back in Nigeria, so glad to be back in Africa, amazing Africa!
   Anna Hibiscus shouted, “I’m back! I’m back! I’m back!”
   Double and Trouble came running into the room.
   “Look at my brothers!” shouted Anna Hibiscus. “They can run now!”
   Anna Hibiscus’s mother put her head into the room and smiled.
   “Anna Hibiscus, you fell asleep on the way home from the airport and we carried you to bed. Come downstairs now. Everybody is waiting to greet you and welcome you home!”
   So Anna Hibiscus took off her pajamas and put on her underwear and her dress.
   Getting dressed at home in Africa took no time at all!
   Downstairs, her aunties and their husbands, her uncles and their wives, and her many, many cousins were all waiting.
   “Welcome, Anna! Welcome home, Anna Hibiscus!” they shouted all at once.
   Anna Hibiscus had forgotten her family was so many! She had forgotten her family was so loud!
   Then Anna Hibiscus saw Grandfather. He was not shouting. He was sitting quietly on his mat next to Grandmother. He looked small and old. Anna Hibiscus was sure that Grandfather had not been so small or so old when she had seen him one month ago.
   Grandfather saw Anna Hibiscus looking at him.
   “Welcome home, Anna Hibiscus,” he said.
   Anna Hibiscus curtseyed to Grandfather like a good traditional African girl.
   “Greetings, Grandfather,” she said.
   Grandfather smiled. 
   “Come and sit here, Anna Hibiscus,” Grandfather said, patting his mat. “Come and tell me about Canada. You look so good and fat! Did you remember to stay away from dogs, like I told you?”
   The whole family laughed. Nobody really believed the rumors about dogs being allowed into houses abroad. Nobody but Grandfather.
   Anna Hibiscus opened her mouth, but she did not know what to say.
   “She has forgotten about Canada already!” Uncle Tunde laughed. “Go and get your camera, Anna Hibiscus. That will remind you.”
   “Yes! Yes!” shouted Common Sense and Sociable, the big cousins.
   “Show us your photographs!” shouted Wonderful and Benz, the boy cousins.
   “Then we will see everything!” said Miracle and Sweetheart, the small cousins.
   Anna Hibiscus went upstairs slowly. Slowly she came back down with her camera.
   “Oya, come on!” said Uncle Tunde. “Why go-slow?”
   Grandfather patted his mat again, and all the family gathered around. Uncle Tunde plugged Anna’s camera into his laptop and pressed slideshow.
   Uncle Bizi Sunday and Auntie Grace gasped at the pictures of houses covered with snow. Chocolate and Angel licked their lips at the pictures of the cakes that Anna had baked. Double and Trouble clapped at the pictures of Anna sledding down the hill. Anna’s mother wiped her eyes and smiled at pictures of Granny Canada and Anna Hibiscus standing with their lanterns in the snow.
   Then came a photo of Qimmiq, Granny Canada’s dog.
   Everybody gasped!
   Then came a photo of Anna Hibiscus playing in the snow with Qimmiq! Riding on the sled with Qimmiq! Lying on the sofa with Qimmiq!
   “Wolf!” shouted Grandfather.
   “Worms!” shouted Uncle Bizi Sunday.
   “Smell!” Clarity held her nose.
   Everybody looked at Anna Hibiscus with shocked and worried eyes.
   There was a lump in Anna Hibiscus’s throat, stopping her from speaking.
   “I can explain,” Anna’s mother said.
   But Anna Hibiscus did not wait. Anna Hibiscus ran away.