My Nigerian Fairytale (Completed)

Chapter 32- Confrontations

  After that awkward moment no one says anything again, and I think Mr. Iyare picked up on the mood in the car because he doesn’t try to make conversation again.

   We arrive at Ikorodu late afternoon and Mr. Iyare immediately checks us into a hotel. Patricia, Emmanuella, and I get a room. While Tobi, Emmanuel, and Richard get another. Mr. Iyare has a room to himself.

“You all should settle in. I have somewhere to go urgently,” Mr. Iyare says, leaving us in the hotel lobby.

  We find our rooms and settle in. The boy’s room is two doors away from ours. The room is wide, with an equally big bed, a small balcony, and a bathroom. So, a normal hotel room.

   Already exhausted from the trip I immediately flop onto the bed and sleep off. Patricia wakes me up few hours later to eat the dinner Mr. Iyare had ordered for us, and after that I go back to bed.

   I wake up the next day feeling rejuvenated and ready to help. Patricia and Emmanuella are still asleep so I head to the bathroom to freshen up. They finally get up when room service delivers our food and soon we are ready to go.

  The community we are going to is tucked deep inside Ikorodu, and we have to drive 30 minutes from the hotel to get to the community. We are on a highway, but on both sides of the road are thick forests and that’s all I see for a full ten minutes before Mr. Iyare makes a bend into a dusty road. That’s when I begin to see signs of human lives. There are shops, mud houses which I’m shocked still exist (you only see these kind of houses in movies), and people walking around. Patricia had told me the area is basically on the outskirt of Lagos and you just have to drive a little farther to cross into Ogun state. This is definitely a part of Lagos I do not want to get lost in. I can hardly pronounce the community name much less find my way back home if I’m left out here.

  At the hotel Mr. Iyare gave us a run-down of what we will be doing for the next four days. Half of the community market had burnt down in a fire accident last month, a lot of people’s means of livelihood had been destroyed. We are here to provide them with relief items to help them get by while the shops are being rebuilt. Mr. Iyare has a church branch here and thus felt obligated to help the community.

   “Miracle you are terrible bed mate,” Patricia interrupts my train of thoughts. She is sitting with Emmanuel at the back. I’d managed to grab the middle seat and selfishly refused to let anyone sit with me, Emmanuella is in the first row, and Richard is in the front seat. Tobi of course is at the back.

   “You should learn the art of sleeping on your side of the bed,” she continues complaining.

   “Try sleeping with Richard. I have no idea who he fights with in his sleep,” Emmanuel complains as well.

   “All this talk is because someone deemed you worthy of sharing a bed with you,” I say, “Is it my fault you people are boring both in dream land and the real world?”

   “What is she even saying?” Emmanuel gives me a weird look.

   “I go on adventures in my dream. Traveling far and wide, to places you can only imagine,” I say proudly.

   “Only witches travel in their dream,” Patricia says.

   I’m about to reply when Mr. Iyare speaks up, “Who is talking about witches in my bus? Please let’s not start the day on a bad note.”

  Since I can’t reply I make do with sticking my tongue out at them. They both give me unamused looks.

  Mr. Iyare suddenly stops, “We are here,” he announces.