Life is sweet. Life is bitter. Life is best described as bittersweet. In fact ‘bittersweet’ as a word was invented just to better describe life. I had a fair share of the sweet and bitter moments in my life. But this story is not about the sweet part. This is about a bitter part. Bitter than bitterleaf bitter.
I was going home from a business trip to Oyo town. Going back to Ibadan to my wife and wonderful daughters. The car I was driving is relatively new and I was proud to call it mine. The journey has been going smoothly until my car started overheating. I packed beside the road and made what I will later refer to as the worst mistake in my life. I brought out a bottle water, opened the bonnet and promptly emptied its content into my radiator. The engine cooled down after a while. I tried to start the car again and I got nothing. I checked my time, it was only 5pm. Enough time to get a mechanic to make the necessary repairs so I can be on my way.
I realized a little too late that I just passed Iroko, a little too far for the nearest mechanic or even a towing agency. I changed my mind and tried to get a lift to no avail. I picked my phone and told my wife about the situation and promised to be at home soon. After all Ibadan is just twenty minutes away in a car. The phone went off before I had the chance to tell my wife how much I love her.
By 7pm, I still had no luck with a lift. And in that part of the world, 7pm is dark already. And what was the miracle of the decade, a towing vehicle was driving towards me as if someone had contacted them and told them my location ( I didn’t think about it much. I was already desperate to get home). Without making the long story longer, my car was hitched to the towing vehicle by the driver and his assistant. I got in my car to control it from behind. Then we started moving towards Ibadan. Then the rain started. The rain was so heavy that the only thing visible to me was the taillights’ of the towing vehicle. I checked my watch and it displayed 8pm. “I will soon be home honey” I muttered. Little did I know that I won’t see my home that day.
As suddenly as it had started, the rain stopped. And to my surprise, we’re not at Ibadan. All I could see was forest all around and I noticed something else. We were no longer on the express. We were on a bushy path and moving deeper into the forest. The towing vehicle stopped suddenly and two men rashly pulled me out of my vehicle. I had no clue where they came from. My hands were tied behind my back with a rope but it was hastily done as if the guy was not paying much attention. One of the men that tied me up went to the driver of the towing vehicle and gave him some money. I couldn’t see how much it was, at least I’d know how much I was worth.
We went deeper into the forest till we got to a bungalow in the middle of nowhere. I have been afraid all along but the seeing bones and what appeared to be human skulls cracked all my resolve. I pissed myself and suddenly burst into tears. I thought of nothing and everything. I peed again and the tears stopped. I looked around my surrounding. I saw the house clearly now and I noticed that the electricity is on. And every other thing is dark. I know the forest is around us but I had no idea which was leads to salvation.
The two men went inside and left me outside tied to a pole. Like a cattle ready for slaughter. I tried to pull myself from the pole and surprisingly the rope loosened. Without having second thoughts or calculating chances of survival I bolted. It was so dark and cloudy due to the rain but my eyes have adjusted a bit and I can make out the mud road we came through earlier. 10pm said the glow of my watch (expensive watches have their perks).
I ran as fast as my legs would carry me. After a few heartbeats I had the sound of motorcycles and I knew my escape has been detected. It did not take long before they were on me. I can see the road clearly now, but I was faster than a motorcycle. I jumped into the forest without thinking. (I did a lot of ‘not thinking’ that night). I was extremely lucky for the first ten minutes. I didn’t run into any tree. Although I did not run into any tree, I had no idea I have travelling in a colony of soldier ants. My abductors were still chasing after me but they were far away from where I was. I stopped to rest and it turn out to be another mistake. A few soldier ants have found their way into my boxers and they all decided to bite at once. The screamed I emitted directed my captors to my location and I had to stared running again. But this time only managing to avoid the trees and thorns. I started bleeding from various cuts but I took no notice.
I had no idea how long I’ve been running but my watch displayed 11:45pm the next time I checked. My captors stopped chasing me immediately I entered a clearing. The ground here was wet and I understood my plight in about four seconds. I sank faster than hot knife in butter. I found myself in a swamp and I understood why my captors went back. They didn’t expect me to survive the ordeal. And I would not have survived if not for divine intervention. As I was flailing around in the mud, my hand struck the root of a tree and I held on for dear life. I did not move for what seemed like a very long time.
I only swam to dry land when I can see light in the horizon. It was not really swimming as much as dragging myself in the mud. I used the root as my guide. I started running immediately it was bright enough to see. How I got back to the express, I can’t explain. How I got a ride home, I can’t explain. I got back home and spent weeks in the hospital. I recovered well but the ordeal still haunts me at night.
Life is unfair. Life is not a bed of roses. Even if life is a bed of roses, there are always thorns.
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Sophocles Writes 