Mother would send me on errands when I was just a bit shy of 7.

I would run gladly to the store from across the rented storey apartment we stayed in.

I anticipated getting her what she needed, but also knowing that I would get to spend the extra #20 or #10 naira change on Cheeseballs.

I always got to buy it every single day that the store owner recognised me already and was always quick to let me know when they've run out of it, but then again I was either given a free speedy biscuit in return or I get a lollipop to help get over my sadness in that moment. 

But all these resulted from me running errands happily, regardless of gifts or not. I was always happy to help mother. She called me her good gift, her reward.

When I was 4. I hadn't realised it much but I was very fond of my brother.

That night he went into the kitchen to drop the kettle of boiling of water from the fire. I tiptoped after him. 

I got in the kitchen then out of curiosity dipped my left hand into the hot water. I didn't feel pain immediately, I literally peeled the first layer of skin off my hand in that moment to where my nails stop....

Then I shouted. 

My brother was perplexed, my mom was so scared. It healed as crazy as it was but, I still carry the scar to this day. Another reward you would agree.

Sometimes what we sow isn't exactly what we reap. I had sown love and affection by doing almost all my brother did and beyond. But we had different results that night.

I had to spend days in the hospital in pain, while he also had sleepless nights wondering if I would survive. 

The good part though, was that I had love and affection to help me heal, I was never truly scolded for my act but instead I received pity and comfort.

An act of inquisitiveness gone wrong which should come with severe punishments but I was left with only a large scar which I have carried into adolescence, and I know will stay with me forever.

Reward comes in many forms.

I read a myth once about two brothers whom after performing a great feat received death as a recompense. I was shocked and I never understood it but maybe I will narrate it and we can both judge;

Cleobis and Biton, were loving brothers, and extremely dutiful sons to their mother. 

One day their mother had to attend an occasion at a particular shrine in a wagon but the oxen which was to take her was not back from the fields in time to pull the wagon. These brothers were known for their athletic prowess and seeing that their mother was delayed took it upon themselves to ensure she reached her destination in time. They harnessed themselves to the wagon, and drew her to Juno's temple, her neighbors all calling her happy, and she herself rejoicing; then, after sacrificing and feasting, as a reward she asked the gods to grant the young men the best thing an human could have.

That night the brothers went to rest, and never rose again, but died in the midst of their honor a painless and tranquil death.

Even I still try to wrap my head around this mystery. To have greater riches should have been the rewards of these men or even in the absence of a grand reward, they could just be offered life which ironically they already had but rather a peaceful death they got. 

Maybe it highlights the notion that sometimes to keep a good heart from evil is to take it away from a world filled with it. It shows that death is also a reward, for to these young men it was better to be dead than alive. 

It reminds me of a poem I wrote once;

"Death is made to serve us as much as life is. "

We truly may not understand the reward they got in the end, but maybe it was more gainful for the afterlife to receive their good souls than for them to perish on this earth and never get to have a peaceful end. 

This brings me to the part where I view Reward as an innovation. 

It is invented to either help you keep doing what you currently are, or it forces you to stop and reevaluate what you are presently acting on.

To me, it is a psychological and behavioural experiment carried out from time past to cause a change and engender development and most time both parties involved enjoy the benefits of it.

A reward doesn't inherently come with gifts attached to it. It comes as a lesson to serve a correction like the scar that I still carry till this day.

It can also come as a discount on something you originally felt you had traded money or a valuable for in return for a service rendered.

I smile sometimes when I find myself using an App in my young-adult days now and instead of having all my money gone at once for a certain purchase, I receive a generous percentage back for it. I can't lie it does keep me coming, because it makes me feel seen and considered by the company. 

A strategy, yes. But what's more, I would call it a symbiotic partnership. 

The reward is, the company gets me to refer more people to them, and I also keep on enjoying the benefits and who knows, I might even get extra for referring. 

An historical example of such practice is found in the trading and use of gold along the Trans Saharan trade routes.

In ancient times, The Trans-Saharan trade routes were crucial for the exchange of goods, including gold, salt, ivory, and other valuable commodities, between the kingdoms and empires of North Africa and West Africa. Gold was highly sought after by North African traders and beyond, and it played a significant role in this trade.

Local African rulers and communities in West Africa, particularly in regions like the Mali Empire, Ghana Empire, and Songhai Empire, controlled access to gold mines and were responsible for its extraction.

They would then trade this gold with North African merchants who brought goods like salt, textiles, and horses.

In this trade, local rulers would reward miners, laborers, and merchants who contributed to the gold extraction and trade. These rewards could include land, positions of authority, or valuable items. However, it's important to note that these rulers also took a portion of the gold as taxes or tribute.

While rewards were given to those involved in gold production, rulers and elites ensured that they also benefited from the wealth generated through taxation and control of trade routes. This practice allowed the African kingdoms to maintain stability, finance infrastructure, and promote economic growth.

Reward has always been a catalyst for change or exchange.

At the end, we are to strive to rather bring or give value to a cause and not necessarily because we desire a reward. If all we seek is the reward we might end up failing to achieve that which we desire and sometimes in a bid to have it at all cost we become a villain of a story that was meant to make us a hero.

So dearest future reader and eventual Critic of this writing as it is to serve for a competition.

I have made peace with the fact that my writing might not be part of the selected best. But in it as you read, I hope you come to learn from my personal lessons and a bit of knowledge from my numerous short stories embedded on the inside of it.

Who knows, maybe my reward will not only be that I get to share these thoughts but also that I get the price tag it comes it.