“Chineke God!” The driver screamed in absolute shock as he kept on hitting the brakes. “Na like this I go kpai? God abeg o!” He cried out. Shirley sat still, heart thumping so loud, she could barely hear the voices of the other passengers screaming and calling on their creator for help in different languages. She tried to mouth the words for help, but her tongue was tied. Who was she kidding? She had no one to call on.
“This is it”, she thought. She remembered the hateful words she said to her father before leaving the house and concluded at that moment that he would not miss her if she died. She thought of Jolomi. The thought of missing a chance to reconnect pricked her. She was sure that this was her last moment as she closed her eyes shut, squeezed the strap of her seat belt and braced for impact. Then she heard a screeching sound and a light thud.
Shirley slowly opened her eyes, hands placed on her chest as if to stop her heart from beating too fast. She was alive and the heavy rain had stopped. She looked around to be sure it wasn’t a dream and saw that all the other passengers had alighted from the bus ready to pounce on the reckless driver, who was now kneeling on the wet asphalt with his head bowed to the ground as he made inaudible sounds. Shirley was still in shock. She alighted from the bus to inspect it and saw that the truck had only brushed the mirror on the driver’s side and swerved into a construction site, spilling all its goods on the road. It was unreal. The journey had only just begun and she was already panicking. She wondered to herself if the day could get any worse. Then her phone vibrated and she remembered Jolomi and quickly narrated the incident.
Now relieved that no one, including the truck driver, was hurt, everyone entered the bus ready to continue the journey to Port Harcourt. The driver fastened his seat belt and played some gospel music before starting the ignition. Shirley rolled her eyes at him and he noticed but fought the urge to indulge her. He wasn’t going to take chances with his life again. She plugged her headphones and her favourite song, “Lucky” by Jason Mraz filled the air. She hummed in appreciation of how lucky she truly was after a near-death experience and revelled at the thought of finally getting to see Jolomi again. Her lips curved into a smile as she looked through old pictures on her phone and imagined the stories the two of them would catch up on when they meet. It was as though she was going back in time, and then she drifted away in sound sleep.
The fresh air from the window roused Shirley from her light nap. She looked from her window to the driver, wondering why the air conditioner was turned off and the windows wound down, but she knew better than to engage the lousy driver in an argument. So she observed the time on her wristwatch and looked out the window instead.
It’s been nearly 7 hours since the accident, which took place a few miles away from the Ojota Bus Park. They had journeyed through long aisles of thickets and forests and were now back to civilization. Shirley could see huge construction sites and signposts with directions. Her phone suddenly vibrated with message notifications. She hadn’t realized that her network was out of range until she opened her phone and found 20 new messages from Jolomi asking for her location. She quickly shared her location and relaxed in her seat.
Shirley’s stomach growled like a hungry lion. She looked at the kpokpo garri and worms she bought on the roadside but didn’t have an appetite to eat due to her excitement. She would wait till she gets to the Bus Park, she thought and continued to observe the signposts on the road so she could give Jolomi updates on her location. They had agreed to meet at the Rumuokoro Bus Park since she was new to Port Harcourt.
As soon as the bus passed a signpost that reads “Rumuokoro”, Shirley’s heart began to race. She immediately reminded the driver about her bus stop. The driver who now seemed to have learned some manners on the trip shocked her with a reassuring smile and said, “you go soon reach park, no worry yourself”. He drove into a curb, leading to the massive Bus Park and parked at a designated lane. Shirley heaved a sigh of relief and saw a big signpost, which read “Jolly Ride”. She scoffed and shook her head at the memory of her last 8 hours on the road. She unbuckled her seat belt and was about to alight from the bus when she recognized a familiar scent. She quickly turned to the window to trace the scent and saw Jolomi standing a few inches from the door. Her heart skipped a beat.
To be continued…