Hell In A Cell- A Tall Tale

The Wisdom Behind Folly

The bicycle was a little bit intact, if not for the removed chains, bent pedals, broken gears, and a twisted rim. Meanwhile, my kneecap was bruised and my palm had peeled. Meshach rushed over to pull me up. My clothes covered in dust and painted in dirt.
I staggered into the compound, like an injured Kangaroo. Later Meshach went in to take his bathe and I saw a need to. I picked up my phone, towel and sponge box and headed for the bathroom. The soap I rubbed on my skin was made out of menthol so it cooled my body and made it foamy. Johnny Drille- wait for me track suddenly rolled in as my phone auto-played music tracks. I tried easing-off the pain I was feeling from within and tried swimming in the sweet melody of the music.
“I would be so far away, promise you would wait for me…” I sang, feeling like I was in a live concert and shutting my eyes while deep in my head her imagery flashed in my mind-Janny. I saw how the hostel wear looked different on her perfect framed stature, that unending happiness on her cheeks.
Oh! That’s true I haven’t seen her frown before. Ever! And her words were like a ice drink in a scotching sun. I remembered how we held hands on the day we vacated, walking home while our bags and luggage had been sent home by a friend or a member of the family.
     ‘two days sounds like two years without you Janny,” I said staring at her as we walked down the busy street with bike men racing like mad men giving bikes to ride and people shouting indistinctly.
“Yeah! To me too, it would be but you just have to relaxing at home and visit your mom. She needs you more you know?” she said with a smile, which showed a dimple.
Behind us were Bola, Kenny, Tayo, Tunde, and Bolu. We lived in a community not too far from each other so we all had to take the same route and when one us had to leave, we said our byes.
“That’s true.” I smiled back, while we looked each other in the eye, lost in the calmness of her brown pupil, her smooth cheeks and her small pale lips. Some of the streets we had to pass were filled with mud and their weren’t gutters by the sides of most of them. Janny left, passing a street she felt was shorter to her house while Tunde, Kenny Bola and I kept walking, cracking jokes and mocking some of our mates who had done foolish things.
           “We better take another road, this one ahead seems baked in heavy mud,” Kenny said as he stopped calling our attentions to the terrible road ahead.
“Ah! That’s true o. Bad road full everywhere. I have been too far from home, I have forgotten how terrible this road use to be from the year 1990” Bola joked, making everyone of us laugh as she frowned and waited beside Kenny.
“Abeg jare, the mud aren’t really that deep, we should be able to pass,” I said, feeling brave.  Tayo joined the rest and they watched me, walked my way into the mud, I took a step at a time, avoiding the slippery paths but my luck was too good to last when I stepped into a gully that had been filled up by mud.
“Wawu!” Tunde shouted and started laughing.
“See Broda Ode!” Ope said with tears stuck to her eyes as she laughed hysterically.
“Mumu had turn his shoe to golden boot,” Kenny added holding Bolu shoulder as they laughed.
        My face changed, obviously, I felt stupid, how I wished I had just joined them and followed the advice of following another route. Now I had added a new name to my tally. Golden boot. They passed another route and I had to wait for them to join me. I thanked God Janny wasn’t here to watch my foolish act, I would have felt like crying. I wasn’t far from home any longer so I had to walk that way home, In my golden boots.
The tap was running and it had filled up the bucket and was overflowing into the drain. I had finished bathing and sat on the water closet doing virtually nothing than staring at the tiles wall and floor, then this heavy knock came, “Kola do fast now! I want to Poo-Poo.”