The sun was up just like every other morning and Leah turned to the other side of her bed, ready to go into a deeper dimension of her sleep. As the sun rays shinned more into her room, Leah opened her eyes, as she thought of ways she could stop the rays or maybe expand her curtains, more than the length of her windows. But just as she closed her eyes back, seeing that none of that was ever going to be possible, she opened her eyes again as she remembered that she had to be somewhere that day.
She got up from her bed and headed to her bathroom, to begin to prepare for her journey. After she was done with getting ready, she got out of the house with her bag in hand and a small travelling bag she rolled on the ground. As she came out, she saw Akin who rushed to her and took the travelling bag from her despite her refusal for him to do so. He took her bags and put it at the back of the car, then went to open the door for her as she gets into the car. As she drove out, she saw her parents coming into the compound, dressed in workout attire. Leah stopped driving, and rolled down her window to speak to them.
"I didn't know you guys still did this?" Leah asked her parents.
"your mother was serious on dropping weight, that she didn't have. And was keen on making me join her, to drop weight I needed" mark, her father said.
"you were having a port belly Mr" Victoria said.
"I'm getting old dear, it comes with the times" Mark said and Leah chuckled. Her father had an answer for everything, especially everything her mother had to say. And she always had something to say.
"exactly my point. o ko mọ ohun ti reining bayi ni suga daddy vibes (you don't know what is reining now is sugar daddy vibes). You have the face, the money, you now want to complete the thing by adding port belly on top" Victoria said.
"maṣe fi mi sinu wahala (don't put me inside trouble). I cannot come and be fighting with one small girl again. ko ṣee ṣe. Kii ṣe emi. Kò (it's not possible. Not me. Never). And you know your father is a sweet talker" Victoria added, completely amusing Leah and Mark.
"but if you get him in shape, wouldn't that make him look better?" Leah asked as she and her father shared look.
"like" Mark chipped in, supporting his daughter's point.
"yes. But then this is how the conversation will go" Victoria said then cleared her throat to mimic a young girls voice. "hey there. I just have to say, you look really good" that's after she has finish giving one stupid laugh to one of your father's lame jokes. Then you father will now say "thank you. My wife got me into the routine, that keeps me this way. That's why I love her so much. She is so smart and amazing and wonderful, and did I mention that I love her?" Victoria said and Mark and Leah busted into laughter. Even Akin joined in the laugh.
"Victoria, my God" Mark exclaimed in awe and disbelief of the kind of thoughts his wife had and how long she had cooked them up in her head.
"you know I have eyes only for you" he added.
"uh, that's what they all said. Now why are they in court" Victoria said, which made them laugh.
"mommy why? Why the drama?" Leah asked as she laughed.
"you don't get married for someone to come and steal your husband, ti ko tọ (that's wrong). When I'm alive, ko ṣee ṣe (impossible). It's not a laughing matter oh, people doing that thing should be jailed" Victoria said with a serious tone, though it was a joke.
"it's funny mom, even Akin is laughing" Leah said and her parents chuckled. Leah looked at her time and saw that, she was already late. So she started the car again and changed her gear in preparation to drive. "okay, I'm leaving. I'm going to be late if I keep listening to this" she added and her parents laughed.
"bye baby" Victoria said with a smile.
"take care my dear, drive safe" Mark said, also with a smile.
"yes. And don't give your father's number to any woman" Victoria said.
"in her 20's?" Leah asked jokingly.
"in all ages. This thing no dey get age limit again. (This thing has no age limit anymore). Times have changed, awon jet age. (Jet age)" Victoria said which made Leah laugh as she reversed her car. She waved at them and they waved back, and she drove off.
* * * *
Hours into the journey, it seemed like she is getting nowhere. She had missed her way as she took a wrong turn, and seeing that she was on the wrong path, she tried to find her way back to the main road, so she could be back on her journey to the customers at Oshodi. She asked people around and they kept directing her to different turns till she ended up on a road amidst bushes. She decided to keep driving in hopes that she would get to the end of the road which will bust her out on a main road.
Night fall had come, with darkness filling the sky and Leah had not gotten to a main road. Instead each end of a road, led to another road in a bushy part. She wondered where she could be at. But more worry set in as it was night and she could barely make out any features of where she was, save for the long grasses that made up the bushes.
She began to feel frustrated and tired. To her It was an endless circle. She called her fiancée for the untempt time but his line was not going through, so she continued to drive. She took a turn into an empty road, which was tied than the other dusty roads. A bit of joy began to set in as she felt this could lead to a main road, and that maybe there was hope for her after all. But that feeling was quickly downed down as her head lights began to flicker, and her car started jerking. She stopped the car and came down to go check it as she resisted the urge to scream in frustration of curse at the car. She put on her phone's flash light, then opened the bonnet of her car and looked into it. She saw that the car is over-heating. She sighed and ran her hand through her head, her frustration very evident. She stared at the car for some seconds, confused and unsure of what to do next.
She decided to close the hood, then went back to the car, so she could try to move it and park it by the side. As she was going back to the car, she heard some voices in a distance. She heard some grunts and then what sounded like someone pleading. She decided to quickly get into her car and try to start it and just driveway and avoid getting involved with whatever was going on. She got into the car and tried starting it, but the car refused to start. Out of frustration, she hit the steering area and in the process, she hit the headlight button and the headlight blinked, which made her see the people who were in a bit of distance away from her. They were with guns and one of them shot a man and he falls to the ground. He probably was the one that was pleading she thought to herself.
Shocked and in panic, she hit the steering area again causing her horn to blare this time, and the headlight came on again, in time for her see them shooting the man two more times. Hearing the horn and seeing the light, the men turned to the direction of her car, from where they hear the sound. She tried to put off the headlight, but instead, in her state of fear and confusion, she put on the wiper and double lights and the horn blared again. The men called out for who was there. She looked at their direction and saw that they were starting to come towards her. She tried again to start the car and it doesn't work, then she jumped out of the car and starts running and they began to chase after her.
Leah ran into the bush and they followed. Panting and scared, she runs further into the bush. As she was running, she stopped for a while to catch her breath, but sees that she has no time to waste as the men chasing her are closing in on her. She took a deep breath and continued to run. She gets further into the bush, and she has no idea where she is or where she is going. She then goes to hide in between some tall grasses. She stays there and tries to slaw her ragged breathing, especially as she sees the men approaching the direction she is hiding at.
As they got closer to her, her heart began to race faster and faster. She puts her hand on her chest to try slow its beating and heaving. They eventually passed by her and didn't notice her. Seeing that they are gone, she gave a sigh of relief and let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. She dropped her hand from her chest and was about standing up, when she felt a force pulling her up which caused her to hold her breath and become frozen. Goose bumps and chills were all over her body. She remained speechless. A million thoughts began to run through her mind in that second, one of which was that, maybe this was her last day on earth.