Chance or Destiny ..Part 5 continues.......

......The beam lights from the old Peugeot 504 cut through the blanket of the darkness like a hot knife cuts through butter,it was so dark that as soon as the cab passed,it was enveloped.


It seemed the jungle all about us were  fraternising ,it was an all powerfully choking inundating darkness,the chirps of the crickets were distinguishable,the tall trees swayed to the left and right as if there were dancing to a symphony tune that was being orchestrated by our passage.Surprisingly the road was not all that bad though it was a dirt road.Clouds of dust gathered behind us as the cab sped away,the dust seemed to be seducing the darknes cos it all seemed entwined.

I felt small in a colossal universe,felt like i was dropped in the middle of an ocean.I had actually toured a lot of states in Nigeria but mostly the big cities but here was i, a Lagos boy,being shown the reality of the rural areas.

Questioning the driver ,i was told that this was the best road to take and that it will save us a whole hour better than taking the high road.There was dead silence in the cab,seemed every one was occupied with their thoughts.The other corper was asleep.If that day was not the last day to report to camp i would have gone to sleep in Owerri then set out the following day.

I saw a small flicker of lamp in the horizon,it got bolder as we approached,i could not fathom any living being in this thick forest .
'Driver wetin be dat light?...... i asked

My voice sounded like a Cathedral church bell in the silence.

'bros,na hunter o,iwotago?'.....he replied

We got close to him and passed him and i was taken back when i saw that the hunter had the lamp fixed on his hat.I only saw that in home videos.I prayed silently that the cab would not break down in this thick forest.We began to pass some little settlements ,though there was no electricity,one could make out the little lamp lights.I began to see the silhouettes of large buildings.

'why dem de build these kind houses for inside bush'...i broke the silence again.

'Na our people wey dey obodo Lagos o,the civil war don teach them lesson to always have a house in the village,iwotago?'...................he replied me,seemed he could not complete a sentence without saying 'iwotago'.From my small understanding of the ibo language ,i know that means 'you understand?'

'hmmmm'.......the reality of the civil war hit me at once,it must have been very difficult for the ibos during the war.One united Nigeria came at a very high cost.

Here was i for the very first time in a community in Nigeria, years after independence and i could not see a single high tension pole or wire to show that almighty NEPA had plans for them ,yet the Elites of the area tried to out do themselves with who had the biggest mansion in the village.I shook my head at the impiety and the vanity of theses people.

We travelled in silence for some minutes,the driver was on a steady speed,i began to relax too and even dozed off a couple of times.

The Cab sped through a bad spot on the road,the car bounced up ,this woke me up and sleep was murdered.

'Well done Oga'.....i said to the driver,trying to encourage him  and at the same time to find out if he was awake.
'Thank you'.....he answered sharply....as if he knew my intent.......Ope o! no iwotago this time.

The driver and i saw it at the same time,......he battled with the brakes but the speed was too much,he slammed on it for some seconds and knew he could not make the the braking distance,he had no choice ,he floored the pedal hoping that more speed will supersede any torque...

They were too bright eyes ,the beam of the light caught it  ,it stood still in the middle of the road as if transfixed by the engulfing beam.it looked indecisive,whether to run or not but i guessed curiosity took over and fate decided the rest...

it was too late....................................for  all of us.....