If I hadn't woken up to the loudest alarm ever and wasted twenty minutes of my time in traffic to get here, I would have sworn I was just dreaming about a market raid.
"Chineke, gini bu nka? (God what is this?)" I heard an old market woman scream in response to the resounding gunshots as both my friends and I dropped flat to the ground behind a row of decrepit houses.
The flight of bullets in the air sent everyone into an erratic search for safety, causing the rise of tiny dust clouds from the dry Earth.
Bewildered by the whole scene displayed before me, I stood frozen like an icicle with no idea of what may have induced such chaos.
"Adaora" Iris yelled, pulling me out of my deepest thoughts,
"has the ground swallowed your feet that you cannot run?"
already, my eyes were rheumy by the murk caused by the teargas thrown at us; I had wondered how Iris and Hazel could see through so much fog, thank goodness they called out to me.
"Ogbete market is never really the best place to be caught off-guard by such belligerent outburst, I've always loathed the idea of being in such jam-packed environments; I'm not claustrophobic, I just hate that the market is one of the most places where I'm forced to make involuntary body contacts with sweaty strangers. "ewww" this definitely isn't the right place for a squeamish person of my sort!
I ran sluggishly slow for someone who boasted so much to her friends about the medals she's won from different track competitions; omo, even the short Iris was way ahead of me: well...you shouldn't blame me, my entire body responded sensitively to the eerie scenario, my legs and hands jittered at the resounding gunshots.
We finally took cover under a spoiled Maggi bus packed right in front of a provision store, we had laid there for few more hours pondering about the next move to make. It wasn't until dusk before the whole crisis subsided; finally, there was a silver lining.
Stepping out into twilight from underneath the bus; we could hear cries of mothers who had lost their children.
"Onye, ka m'mejoro? (whom have I offended?)" I heard a certain woman lament as she held her dead teenage boy close to her chest, there were sprinkles of blood on the walls and vehicle windows...never in my life have I been a witness to so much kills: this was certainly not a coincidence, it seemed to me like a deliberate act of elimination...so I thought.
Hazel couldn't risk to spend any more time on sympathy as she waved a keke driver to a hold
"how much to Golf estate?" she asked with a shaky voice as we hurriedly got into the keke, leaving the driver in his state of confusion.
The ride to our apartment was quiet and cold, it was the first time I had ever seen my marrers so terrified and scared...Hazel gnawed on her finger nails and shook her legs uncontrollably, while Iris had her palm beneath her chin as she looked down to her knees without blinking.
"Thank God we made it out of that cacophony alive" Hazel finally broke the silence;
Iris and I could only nod our heads in approval as we paid off the driver.
Sensing how ruined everyone's mood was, it was only best that I shone some light into the darkness,
"Iris" I called out " I no know say you sabi run fast like that oo, omo, small thing I for think say you don run reach house" I said, looking towards her and pulling her long braids,
"me sef dey surprised, you your mates dey run into safety, you come stand dey look people way don die" responded Iris as we herald our presence into our apartment with our uproarious laughters.
We've lived in Golf estate for about a year and three-months now; the place isn't as cheap but it also didn't cost us an arm and leg. We moved into our three-bedroom flat three-months after convocation with hope that we'd be called to service soon (NYSC; National youth service corp).
Hazel, Iris and I have been best friends since our first years in the university...it's been five years since then- so believe me when I say "we've been through the ups and downs; we've withstood the storms and conquered turbulences".
I studied Architecture, Hazel studied Economics, while Iris studied Political science; no wonder she's hell-bent on improving every political sector at the slightest glimpse of an opportunity.
The country hasn't done us any good in the aspect of employment; so, we're basically big qualified graduates who still feed and purchase clothings from the wallets of their pensioner-parents. Pathetic!
VOTE OF THANKS
Long chapter? Yes, I know... I honestly just write as it flows; most times I forget I've got to put them in chapters, lol.
This book isn't hard to write and it also isn't easy as it's a fictionalized genre, your life in the open, judgments and all isn't really easy to take in.
Special thanks to those who made out time to read my book in progress. Special thanks to NkechiAjogwu for adding my book into the Nigerian books/authors2.
My comments section are open for reviews and encouragements, I can't say they're open for corrections though. Lol. Like I wrote earlier, this is a fictionalized book...everything has happened and therefore cannot be changed. Thanks and love you all.
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THE WRITER'S FEAR
Non-FictionBOOK PREVIEW The story of a young writer who happened to be a victim of an impromptu gun fight alongside two of her friends. This survival adventure seemed to them like a mystified mishap, they had wished it was just a nightmare. Luckily f...
