A few people have asked me what it is I went to look for in my village. Well, I can tell you right now, it’s definitely not natural resources.
I’ll answer that at the end of this post.
My journey began at about 7:30am right on schedule (please note that I’m talking about the actual trip here not my life journey) and like every other road trip in Nigeria, this journey had it’s fair share of bumps and pot holes. I dare to say that the true state of Nigeria is in her roads. It’s only a drunk driver that would drive straight on a Nigerian Highway.
Need I say more?
As I pictured in my head all the places I could be, the things I could be doing rather than being here and whether or not I made the right decision for my life… all this running through my mind as I held on to the sit in front of me, trying so hard to prevent my body from swaying in a “shaku shaku” like motion. My heart was racing and my breath was uneven. I couldn’t seem to hold a thought for more than 3 seconds. Do I listen to music? Do I read a book? There was no service bar on my phone. What could I do to calm myself? I was panicking. The bus was cold but I was sweating. Had I passed the point of no return?
JESUS!!!
Someone yelled from the back of the bus
Driver take it easy na! yelled another. This your car doesn’t have shock-absorbers o!!! Alas we’d hit yet another pothole. but of course the Driver could care less.
I looked behind in concern for my fellow passengers and I couldn’t help but notice a familiar face sitting at the very back of the bus.
Immediately my brain launched it’s very own advanced and more refined facial recognition software (picture that scene from your favorite movie). It couldn’t be who I thought it was. What are the odds that I’d be sitting in the same vehicle with one of my favorite writers? On this very day???
All my worries had suddenly disappeared. Curiosity had taken over. Not wanting to get ahead of myself or end up embarrassing myself by asking all across the bus, I decided to wait till we stopped to stretch our legs.
Guess what? I started worrying again. What if this, what if that? What about that? The devil just kept feeding me with every excuse in the book but the devil is a what?
you too are a liar lol
GO WITH YOUR GUT FEELING ALWAYS!
Long story short, I asked and she was the one! plus she was also very nice and cheerful even though we didn’t meet in the best of circumstances. We had a brief conversation and I told her about my idea and she totally encouraged me and also shared a similar experience she had had the previous year. This singular conversation renewed my confidence. She was also kind enough to take a picture with me. Sorry I can’t share that with you guys :p
HER NAME IS AMARA NICOLE OKOLO AND SHE IS THE AUTHOR OF BLACK SPARCLE AND SON OF MAN
Follow her on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AmaraNOkolo
Journal of a Free Spirit 