Fragments

9

I sang along to Victoria Orenze's latest song track playing in the vehicle.

"I walk with God the Father. I walk with God the Son. I walk with God the Spirit. Three of them in one. I get backing o. I no dey walk alone..."

My bestie, Natasha, whom I affectionately call Tash, murdered the Yoruba part of the lyrics.

My name is Wura, but Tash calls me the English equivalent—Gold.
My parents are Nigerian though I was born and bred in England.

For this Christmas break when we get to spend quality time together away, Tash and I decided to go on an adventure, a tour of the bustling streets and country roads of London.
We rented a vintage van and took off.

After we sang for the umpteenth time, I switched off the stereo.
Tash asked Google Maps how much longer it was till our next stop.

"Oh, look! There is a shortcut," Tash pointed out.

"It's a detour. Let's stay on the main road," I said as-a-matter-of-factly.

Tash huffed and rolled her eyes.

Suddenly, a large deer leapt out of the woods flanking the road and froze a few meters in front of our fast-moving van.

Too late to slam the brakes, I swerved our van to the left.

My entire life flashed through my mind.

"Jesus, take the wheels," I thought, closing my eyes.

Thankfully, a large tree stopped the van from careening down to the cavern below.

We came out to check the damages.
 
"Oh, thank you, Jesus," Tash said, "I thought we would die. If we had just taken the shortcut—"

I sighed and threw a duffel at her.

"Come on, it's hiking time. Let's get to the next motel before it's dark. We'll get a tow truck tomorrow to clean up this mess."