Angela Jonah @fairy

I once went out with a male friend in the evening, he invited me to a small sit out, we gisted and discussed about a lot of things. I considered him my friend, because I've known him for years, so I felt safe and comfortable. It was getting late, so I told him I wanted to start going home, he didn't seem comfortable with that, but then he said he wants to tell me something, that I should follow him.

He took me to a lodge there at the sit out, I asked him what it is that he can't tell me where we were seated, he said I shouldn't be afraid of him, that he just wants to have a word with me. I considered him one of my best friends, so I saw no reason to be afraid of him. He started telling me how he has feelings for me and wants to date me, I told him I'll think about it and if that was all.

This could have been discussed outside, I couldn't understand why this had to be said inside, I got up to leave, but he stopped me and made some abnormal advances towards me, I objected. But I knew it, this guy was physically fighting me, he tried to rape me, I plunged my teeth into his chest and gave him a very deep bite, he let me go and ran outside, straight home. I didn't know he was capable of that, how could he try to rape someone whom he wants to date?

I got home, and felt pains on my back, I checked and saw injury on my back, I was wounded during the struggle, the scar remains till today. For that guy, he later came around to apologize, I accepted his apology, but we can't be friends anymore, I deleted his number from my phone. It was partly my fault, I trusted him too much. That is why till today, I don't go out with people anyhow again, that incident taught me a lesson, anybody is capable of anything.

There was a day I was coming back home very late from work, I was so hungry, so I bought bread and egg to have for dinner. The road back to my house was dark as there was no NEPA light, and the flashlight of my button phone wasn't bright enough, but I had to manage it. All my mine was to get home, take my bath, eat and sleep, nothing more, nothing less.

As I got to the compound I live, the gate was locked already, so I had to knock for somebody to come and open the gate for me. While I was still knocking, I pointed my flashlight at something not too far away from where I was standing, and I saw two eyes balls that was glowing, staring at me. At first, I tried to comport myself and pretend as if I didn't see anything.

Someone finally heard me knocking and told me she's coming to open the gate. I don't know what happened to me, I started thinking about all sort of horror stuffs I have ever heard, imagining how the two eyeballs I saw could be a ghost and how the eyes could appear at my back to terrify me. I immediately looked back to make sure that my imagination didn't happen in real life, fear gripped me.

I pointed the dim flashlight at the spot again and saw four glowing eyes, the eyes moved and I couldn't hold myself at the point, I turned back and ran. I didn't run too far when I finally heard the gate being opened, my neighbor came out with a much brighter touch and I saw that the four eyes I saw was actually two cats that were staring at me. The cats ran off and my neighbor laughed because of the way the cats terrified me. But actually I was the one that scared myself by thinking of horrible things in my mind, which in turn triggered the fear. When I checked, my egg was broken.

In the middle of the night, at around 01:00, I was still watching a movie with my phone since I couldn't sleep, and there was no power supply, so you can imagine everywhere to be dark and quiet. The compound I live in, has two blocks with 15 rooms in each, facing each other. The two ends has a gate, but on that night, the caretaker forgot to lock one of the gates.

I was still enjoying my movie in a very quiet midnight inside my room, when NEPA flashed a two seconds power supply and it went off again, what followed was commotion of somebody that was inside our compound, running with all his might towards the gate, and makes his way out. It was a thief, he was frightened by the flash, knowing that he could be seen and dashed out immediately.

The activity of thieves has increased rapidly within a short space of time in the area I live. I was wondering the level of discomfort the thief had to go through because of doing something bad. We woke up the next morning to find a phone on the floor, it didn't belong to anybody in the compound, it belonged to somebody in our neighboring compound. The phone fell from the thief while he was running when no one was pursuing him.

The neighbor was happy that her phone was returned, the phone was stolen through the window while she was asleep and she thought she'll never see it again, she was lucky, who knows how many phones was stolen that night. To do good is much easier and peaceful, than to do bad, but these thieves would never agree. Imagine the way he ran when NEPA flashed, such stress is not necessary. Everybody in the compound made a joke out of it, it was really funny, the thief almost got an heart attack because of the flash.

About a month ago, a guy came to buy food at a restaurant close to my workplace, he looked like a Yahoo boy because of his dressing, his dreadlock and his flashy car. He joked with the lady that sold rice and stew for me, that he is going to use her for rituals. The lady and every other person took as a joke, although an expensive joke.

The guy left with the food in his car, and it wasn't up to 20 minutes, we heard that the guy knocked down three people to death instantly with his car on his way to wherever he was heading to. The most mind-blowing thing we heard is that he winded up his window glass, sat comfortably in his car after killing this three people, and eating rice and stew in a takeaway.

We wouldn't have believed our ears, if not for the fact that we saw him buy the rice and stew from the restaurant beside my workplace, where he joked about using the lady for ritual. The guy was eating comfortably in his car after taking the lives of three people, people knocked on the car and gestured that he winds down his window mirror or comes down from the car, as people began to question his act.

He didn't feel any remorse or regret or any sign of sympathy for what he had just done, he replied them by saying that none of them has money enough to talk to him in a disrespectful manner, and that they should call the family of the people he killed so that he can pay them and move on with where he was headed. This was very clear, to me I believe that he killed them deliberately for money rituals, I know I'm right.

The police came and took the guy to their station, I haven't heard about how they handled the case from there. But today, I saw the guy again at the restaurant close to my workplace, he was there to buy the same rice and stew from the same lady, I was terrified when I saw him. I don't know if this is the new update; eating rice and stew after claiming lives. I prayed deep down that if it's his plan again today to kill people, that it won't work.

I have always emphasized the need to treat people nicely and avoid saying terrible things to people, it hurts so much and might leave an emotional trauma. My lady, although a very young lady at 23, did something that made me cry. Our toilet chambers had issues, so the tenants contributed money so that it can be repaired, and this happened during the repay of the chambers.

We were told that nobody will use the toilet till the repair is complete and is set to be used, we had no choice than to comply so that it can be fixed. The plumber came late in the afternoon and worked on the chambers, couldn't finish that day and had to come back the next day to complete the work. And after the work was done the following day, he told us that the toilet will be ready for use the next day which is the third day.

I met the landlady and told her that somebody like me doesn't have any relative or friend around, where I can go and use their toilet, and that it is not possible to tell people to stay for straight three days without using the toilet. She had friends and relatives around, and so she wasn't bothered because she had where to use a toilet. I was sure not to sound harsh or insulting, but I was shocked by her reaction, I didn't expect that from her.

She insulted, abused and cursed me, telling me I'm useless, stupid, senseless, uneducated and many more, telling me that it's not her business as to how I'll ease myself till the third day. I kept quiet, went inside and cried bitterly, no one has ever called me 'useless'. And now I just discovered that the final year project term paper that I have been spending sleepless nights, data and time to compile, belongs to my landlady, what a small world. She asked somebody to help her do it, and they person gave it to me to help do it, now her fate lays in the hands of the person she termed 'useless'. My landlady got to know that I'm the one doing her project, I don't know if she is ashamed of herself, because she has been avoiding eye contact with me, she hasn't said anything yet, I'm still waiting.

Having to deal with greedy colleagues in place of work is a very hard thing to do, I know it now because I have faced such situation. I remember working in a boutique where clothes, shoes and other accessories are being sold, and the kind of problem I faced while working with the workers in that boutique. Our boss was a lady, she was very nice and caring, she goes as far as providing lunch for us and giving us the sum of 500 naira everyday for our transport fare.

Costly stuffs were being sold there, it was a really very nice place, but things were fast to change. My job was to make accounts of everything that was sold at the end of each day, coupled with other minor activities. The first day was something I can't really explain, I made an account and discovered that everything didn't match, but the sales girl altered the calculation and calculated what I couldn't understand. At the end, she told me to write any figure, that it's not as if our boss will go through it.

Same thing happened the second day, and I understand that she syphoned some of the money, and that is why the record wasn't accurate and didn't match the products sold. She met me and tried to convince me into covering up the accounts, in exchange for a percentage of the stolen money. The boutique sells up to millions naira worth of goods, and so no one would notice a little amount missing, but I declined. Our boss was nice, lunch and transport fare is provided everyday, and so it will be very bad and terrible to repay her in such a way.

I soon became the most hated worker by my colleagues, I didn't agree to their terms, and they knew I will implicate them if the account should have anymore fault. After a month, our boss met me and told me that it is the first time in her boutique that accounts made gets to be accurate. We thought she doesn't go through the record, but she does, and said she didn't say anything about it because all the people she has employed to do the accounts never gave an accurate account, and so she gave up and refused to let herself be bothered over the little they steal.

I was the exception, the woman made me her friend, increased my salary and transport fare, and I was entitled to a lunch and a take-home food. I was put in charge of everything that had to do with money and trust, imagine getting close to such a big woman because of being honest, it's a great honor. The woman will always think of me first whenever a person of honesty and integrity was needed. The feeling is good, I've gotten a lot of benefits from the woman, my simple act of being sincere had earned me that.

Just few days back, I had a very scary encounter in the midnight. My house has a protector, I returned from work very late in the night, and during the process of trying to prepare food to eat, take my bath and maybe cool off from the day's stress, I slept off before i knew it, leaving my key in the padlock that locks my protector, it was very careless of me.

In the midnight while I was sleeping, my phone rang, it was my brother that called, and immediately I heard some noise from my protector. I moved outside and saw that my protector had been unlocked with the key I forgot inside the padlock, the person took off immediately my phone rang, leaving the protector widely open, and the padlock on the ground.

I was scared and confused, sleep vanished from my eyes, the thief would have sneaked into my house and maybe steal my phone or any other thing he sees fit to steal, because I was too tired to have been woken by a little noise, my phone rang out loudly, and I don't think there is anyone sleeping close to the phone that would have not been woken by the loud ringing tone.

The call from my brother at that time of the night and at that particular time had saved me from being stolen from or robbed, I was lucky. When I called my brother back, he didn't really have anything to tell me, he just wanted to hear my voice and that is why he called. Such a careless act would have given me deep regrets, I'm happy I still have my phone with me, and there's no way I'll sleep again without making sure I don't forget the key in the padlock again.

It was around 5:45 in the evening, I went to fill my gas cylinder, I was really hungry and needed to cook. The gas station is not far from my house, so I just walked down there, looking very tired because I had just returned from work. I met a queue at the gas station, it was not much, but for a hungry human being like me, I felt I might faint if I stood a little longer without getting my cylinder filled.

It was my turn to get my cylinder filled and all of sudden, I saw some group of boys with matchets and guns, chasing down one guy, just across the gas station. They held the guy down gave him a beating of his life with the matchets, and started shooting bullets in the air. Everybody ran for their life, I was not an exemption, initially I was looking weak like someone who is at the point of collapse, I was surprised to know that I had that much strength left in me, I left my cylinder and ran with all my strength.

I branch a compound and took cover until the gunshots had gone completely and it was safe to come out, I slowly walked back to the gas station, on guard to take off in case I hear any further gunshots or see the guys that shot the gun. They were gone, leaving only the guy they had beaten seriously with matchets, it's obvious he was one of them, and he must have tampered with the rules. The police soon arrived and the guy was taken to the hospital. I returned to the gas station only to find out that they closed immediately because of the incident that just occurred.

I was left with no other choice than to take my empty cylinder home, the hunger came back worse than before. On my way home, I met some students singing funeral songs and holding a picture flex of one of them who died, rumors has it that he was killed by his fellow cult members. My thought shifted from hunger to how people willingly endanger their lives by getting their selves involved in ungodly groups, therefore cutting their life short. I bought some snacks, and that was what I took for dinner, I wasn't satisfied, but it helped. At least I was alive, got my cylinder filled the next day.

It was the third term in JS2, I still remember how I had to say goodbye to my friends because of my father who is a pastor, and was transferred to another station and I was going to change school too. During the last days of exams, I told my classmates and friends of how we won't be seeing and might never see each other again after the end of the term, it was a very heart breaking period for me. The friends I had made always made my day bright and fun, smiles is sure to be on my face anytime I set my eyes on them.

Although in JS2, I used to represent the school in quiz competition, and so I was known by the principal and all the teachers and students, I was well loved, and the pains of giving up such a sweet environment was just too much. My best friend back then; Cynthia, she gave me her phone number to call her when I finally have a phone, I got my first phone when I was in SS1 and I called the number, but it was never reachable. I remember how some of my classmates even asked where my father was transferred to, so they can know where to find me, it showed how much they cared about me.

On the day of closing for the third time, I knew I would never see them again after that day, and so I cried so much, and my classmates couldn't hold their tears too, my principal and teachers gave me a farewell hug, I was a brilliant student with a constant first position and the students I used to help do home works felt like it's the end of the world for them. It was a very emotional moment, I cried till I was home. Few days later, we packed and moved to my father's new station, I remember seeing about three of my classmates while I was in the vehicle that drove us to the new station, I waved at them till I could not see them anymore, I still remember them screaming my name on top of their voice, hot tears ran down my cheek and I felt pains in my heart, I felt like going back.

A new term came and I was now in JS3, got enrolled in a new school and certainly made new friends, but the friends and classmates I had in my JS2 were still very fresh in my head, I still remember their names till today and it's as if it was just yesterday. But the painful thing is that I have never seen any of them again, except on Facebook for some of them. The same thing played out again when I got to SS3 where we graduated and left secondary school, I have only seen few of them over the years, the rest are either married or single parents, and that connection was totally cut off after our secondary school days. I got to realize that life revolves, and no matter what, our set of friends will keep on changing till our last day on earth, you keep the ones you can and feel pains for the others you're unable to keep in touch with. But to me, the memories of friends I have had, will always and forever be in my heart, they will always be remembered.