Shadows Of The Past

Tragedy

Dedicated to olakukay
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The weekends were noted for general cleaning of the house and often times, we would complete the cleaning task before we started cooking.

This unfateful day was not an exception. We had cleaned the entire house and had piled the refuse at the backyard for burning when she suddenly slumped.

At loss of what to do in the moment of hysteria, all my instincts could signal to me was to alert the neighbors in an outcry and I did just that.

"HELP! EGBAMI OO!"

It took time for people to attend to us for the reason being that, majority of the neighbors had resumed to the market and to their various lines of duty. Nevertheless, some of them that were around for one reason or the other hearkened and rushed over.

"What happened?"

"She slumped", I replied, pointing to her seemingly lifeless body on the floor.

"She what?"

"She fainted, FAINTED!!!", I yelled

In that instant,they gave me directions to get buckets of water and buckets after buckets, we kept pouring until she was resuscitated.

We went to the nearby pharmacy store thereafter and drugs were dispensed. That incident however, marked a detour in her health. We could not go to the hospital because we didn't even have enough money for consultation.

It was not until the pharmacy referred us to the hospital that I had to beg on the streets and pick pockets to raise funds. By the time we got to the hospital, she was declared DOA(Dead On Arrival).

The shock led me into coma for a whole day. Everything just seemed to be repetition of events. I was discharged after a good Samaritan nurse offered to pay up my bills.

She took me back home,apologizing profusely for not being able to accommodate me in her house. She subsequently gave me some money.

Life became really difficult and many a time, the thought of committing suicide came to my mind. I hustled on the streets and did almost every job to feed.

Second term examinations came and I failed woefully. I was ejected from the scholarship scheme and had to pay for the final SSCE examinations.

There was nobody! Nobody at all! No one cared to understand the reason for the sudden poor performance, nobody bothered to check up on my welfare. In fact, I was avoided in school like a plague. Consequently, I learnt very early in life that no one owed me anything.

I was opportune to get a buyer for the house I lived in with my runaway mother and had purposed to use the money to pay for the examinations and balance up my school fees.

But unfortunately, I met with some guys who made me an irresistible offer of multiplying the amount I had by ten. TEN! What I had to do was to invest the money into the drugs they were dealing with. So, I went ahead to do it, convincing myself over and over that it was going to be my last to ease my pricking conscience.

I was just delivering the drugs to the customer and about collecting the life changing amount of money when we were rounded up by the police.

How I fled the scene still remains a mystery. The adrenaline pumped so much that I can only remember vaguely, the incidence of the running.

I ran back to those guys and told them everything that had happened. They gave me just two thousand naira and told me the most shocking thing I ever heard;
     
         "RUN AWAY"

I tried to argue with them,claiming my rights and my money when one of them said;

        "You're too young to go to jail.
           Run while you still can"

JAIL!

I trembled and that and with so much shock, I asked;

     "Where should I run to?"

      "Anywhere. Just make sure you run far. We are leaving this place immediately. Peace", he said,as he kept looking to and fro with so much alertness.

They covered their faces with hoods thereafter and began to walk away leaving me too stupefied to say another word.

I ran ahead to the bus stop and boarded a bus that was going to Lagos that very afternoon.

Egbami - Come to my rescue/Help
Samaritan- In that sense, it only means a good person with a large heart. Not literally someone who is Samaritan by citizenship.
SSCE-  Senior School Certificate Examination. A certificate one must have before applying to a university or college.

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Please stay safe as well.
Peace! ✌[In that drug dealer's voice😁]