Leaves flustered and lightening flashes.
Rebecca came out of the church feeling relieved. She was happy she had her umbrella with her.
The clouds had gathered and it was threatening to rain heavily. Rebecca looked up to the dark clouds.
"I pray make I reach house first before this rain start". Immediately those words left Rebecca's mouth, the rain started drizzling.
"Ahhh God". She grumbled, turned on her umbrella and walked out of the church premises.
Rebecca walked towards the street junction hoping to find a tricycle or bus. When she got there couldn't find any. To make matters worse the downpour turned from bad to worse.
"Ah God". Rebecca murmured under her breath, standing, completely drenched.
Her umbrella turned out to be defenseless against the fierce hurricane. She turned around and saw a tricycle approaching slowly.
Rebecca was so happy she almost jumped up. She stood in the middle of the road waving at the tricycle.
The blue and white vehicle parked at the side of the road and Rebecca jumped inside the tricycle Like a baby jumping to her father's embrace.
"Where you dey go?". The Tricycle rider asked Rebecca who suddenly jumped into his Tricycle completely soaked.
"alegbo junction". Rebecca shouted struggling to zip down the curtain of the tricycle. The tricycle rider helped her with the curtain and the vehicle took off slowly.
The tricycle halted at alegbo junction. Rebecca paid the rider and came out of the tricycle. The storm had finally calmed but rain still drizzled together with lightning flashes and thunder claps. Rebecca walked into the street shivering.
Rebecca folded her hands together trying to get some warmth. She continued shivering she wasn't warm enough she tried rubbing her palms together and placed them on her face.
Bang! Bang!
The sound of gunshots rang on Rebecca's brain, she instinctively raised her head up and looked to the direction where the shots were fired from. Her face turned gloomy realizing it came from the direction of her house.
Rebecca ran as fast as her legs could carry her. She ran faster than she had ever ran before, Rebecca was gasping for air but she still continued running. She felt a heavy lump on her chest.
Tears streamed down her eyes and she prayed silently as she took out her phone and tried calling her dad. The phone rang twice but nobody answered.
"Ah God, please, abeg a…bbegg…". Rebecca cried pleading with God. She recalled seeing her father run into the house with a terrified face. He went straight into his study and barred the door refusing to let anyone in, not even his own wife.
Rebecca gasped for air getting to her compound. Her lungs were burning and her legs ache. She had never ran like this her entire life. She opened the gate and was about to enter into the compound when a bike sped past her almost hitting her.
The biker drove into the street disappearing out of sight. Rebecca ran inside the house going straight to her father's study. She opened the door to her father's study gently.
"He's alright, he's alright" Rebecca prayed pushing the door lightly. She collapsed on the floor at the sight of her father in the pool of his own blood.
"oh.. no" she cried "daddyy….". she cried running towards her father, who was lying in the pool of his own blood. She felt her heart stop when she heard her mother's voice behind her.
"Honey…."Rebecca's mom, Helen cried seeing the state of her husband. She was on her way back from the market when she heard the gunshots.
Helen drove as fast as she could to the house. When she got to her husband's study and saw her husband lying lifelessly on his desk, she slumped down.
Sirens wailed and in less than 15 minutes after the shots were fired, the compound was filled with police officers. The emergency medical team arrived with an ambulance and carried the victim to the hospital.