Mindviewers Stories

I explored the area around the Nigerian Kanji Dam, the well-known electric dam in Naija It wasn't very close, but it was in the vicinity of my school, and I had never visited or seen how it worked. Today, I went on a little trip with three friends to check it out.

We took a vehicle that brought us straight to the entrance. After making the necessary arrangements and chatting with the security personnel, they ushered us in and gave us some instructions on how to behave. We paid a small fee and then entered the dam area. We found a good spot and admired the impressive concrete structure.

The structure of the dam was massive, and we stood in awe, looking at the waterfalls. There was a designated area nearby where people could play and have fun in the water, though it was a bit farther from the main dam. This spot was perfect for tourists who wanted to enjoy the beauty of the waterfall.

Unfortunately, we hadn't prepared for swimming or getting wet, so we could only watch, wishing we could dive in or magically produce our swimming suits. But our main purpose was to explore the area around our school, and we hadn't planned for swimming.

Afterall, it was a remarkable experience and a great sight to see. I encourage everyone to visit the Kanji Dam and see what generates electricity for your country.

It had been a long time since I played football. I used to enjoy football when I was back in the village, before I entered university. But now that I’m in university and living in the city, I feel like playing football is somewhat of a village thing or a wild activity. I’m not trying to ridicule the sport—it's actually enjoyable and very entertaining. It’s just that, you know, the city vibes and everything.

When I return to the village for holidays, I don’t really fancy playing on the dusty fields and grounds; it just feels out of place for me. However, I decided to put aside my fancy city-boy attitude and participate in the community game event. I hadn't realized how much I had lost in terms of my skills and regular playing until I started the football match. To my delight, I was pleased to take the wing position, number 11.

That was how the game started, and then we began playing. Everybody was just too fast for me. I couldn't even see the ball. The moment the ball touched my leg, it flew past me so fast that I barely saw it. We were playing, and they were scoring against our team, and I felt like I was the culprit. They always said that my wing required more action and participation, but I was just too slow.

They even planned on removing me from the game, but I wouldn’t let them. I couldn't let them ruin my confidence or cause me embarrassment. So, after the opponent scored their second goal, I decided to take off my shoes. That was when I began to recover my skills and expertise. I refused to let my city ego or whatever it was to affect my playing. I took it upon myself to push through.

With new found determination, I increased my speed and improved my skills. That was how I scored the first goal and then the second goal, too. I also made an assist pass to the 4th goal. We took the win and I was just too proud as people hailed my name.

The dangling empty palm wine cups hung above an omu leaf (palm frond) placed at the entrance of the shrine had retraced my thoughts from my past experiences back to the shrine where I was seated. It was in the late hours of the day. Nevertheless, I was determined to get a solution to my problems.

I watched baba as he bent below-walking out of his inner chamber backwards towards my direction. A clay pot of liquid substance held in his right hand. "You shall sleep in a graveyard for three days. With that, your problems will be over," he broke the silence. Then sat on a mortal.

"How? Isn't there another remedy?" Disbelief and anxiety were all written on my face like a child scribbling on a piece of paper. He stood up from a mortal already turned upside down-the reflection of the portable lantern lit beside a human skull before me enabled me to see the white chalk beneath his eyes. He wore a wicked countenance.

"That is your only solution and you must adhere to it, because I've consulted the gods already," he thundered then made his way to his inner chamber. I rustled my feet out of the shrine after a while. It felt as though I was going crazy, the thoughts of sleeping in a graveyard with evil spirits and dead bodies frightened me that I had to walk back to the shrine to plead for baba to allow me sleep in his shrine; I couldn't walk gently into that cold night.

Just take a look at Jennifer, my course mate, extremely beautiful with nice curves. Whereas, I was the opposite. I was given several ugly nicknames that threw me into depression and envy towards Jennifer. I was never in the category of "The beautiful ones". I wanted to be like her or even better than her, I desired for those attention she normally gets from random guys including her male friends. For months, I battled with inferiority complex and that was why I walked into the shrine to seek for solutions; I need to be more pretty than Jennifer.

I sank in my thoughts and soon, sleep clouded my eyes. Two days later, I headed straight to a graveyard far away from my lodge. I went that far in order for my room mates not to have a clue of my whereabout. I walked into the graveyard, quietly peeping through the thick darkness in search of a place to lay my head. Bones sat dangerously beside a rusted coffin. Fear gripped me.

Finally, I found a resting place. Although, close to a thick forest. My stay in the graveyard wasn't an easy thing. I was tormented by evil spirits every now and then. They took turns coercing me to drink several mixtures and blood from a filthy old pot, threatening to take my life if I refused to obey them. Three days seemed like one month in the graveyard.

When the three days elapsed, I walked home feeling nauseous, the boils on my face grew bigger each day that I almost died. I couldn't breathe easily, my body system changed drastically and several incurable diseases were found in my body system.

You're not defined by what people say about you, don't give a listening ear to those who try to make you feel less of yourself. Beauty doesn't apply to physical appearance alone; you're beautiful inward and outward so don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Love yourself and never stop appreciating your uniqueness.

So I finally have a travelling experience to describe as the worse of all, it was like a nightmare, an unforeseen and unfortunate event. That was when I was traveling home for Christmas, my parents called me early that morning to pack my things and get to the bus park on time, since it's a journey of 12 hours. The first bus leaves my 7:00am, I really tried to be at the park before then, but couldn't, and ended up arriving 30 minutes after the time.

And no other bus in that park was going to my state again, so I went to another place and boarded a very unfamiliar roadside bus park, as long as it was going to take me to my destination. The driver planned to drop off people at three separate destinations, before finally getting to mine, I didn't see any problem with it sha. The bus took off by 9:00am, and got spoilt after an hour, we waited for over two hours before it was repaired.

The bus took off again and got spoilt a second time, this was about 3:00pm in the afternoon, and we have not covered even half of the distance. We waited because we didn't have any other choice, we paid for the fare already. It took the driver till around 6:00pm before it was fixed, and then came up another problem; the bus had no headlamp and it was dark already. The driver had to fixed the headlamp, there is no way I was going to be inside a bus in the night without headlamp, it's simple suicide.

It was as if the driver had just excavated the bus from the earth, after being buried for centuries, things were just spoiling up and down. My parents started calling, I narrated the whole situation to them, they were terribly scared, it was night. The bus moved again around 7:00pm, and on arriving it's first destination around 10:00pm, the driver told us that he can't continue the journey again that night, that we'll have to sleep there at the park and continue again early the next morning.

I called my parents and told them, my mother freaked out and started crying and calling on God, she was terrified how her daughter will sleep at a park in an unknown place. My mum started telling me to text her the plate number of the vehicle, the address of the place, photos and videos of the place, I should switch-on the location on my phone and send her the GPS. My head was on fire through all of this, I shouldn't have joined the bus, but it was too late for that, how to get home safely was the goal now.

We were there till 11:00pm, when the driver found another bus for us that was going to our destination and beyond, my mother was almost going through severe shock and fatal heartbreak, she asked me for the plate number of the new vehicle, for security purposes. My mother called me almost every 5 minutes till the bus got to my destination by 1:00am. My parents drove to road to pick me back home, my mother's eye was red, she shedded tears, scared that the current insecurity in the country was no time to be on the road that late.

I fell sick because of the stress, I didn't expect that kind of thing to happen, it was something I have never experienced. There is no way I'm ever going to use a bus park that I'm not familiar with, my mother almost had a heart attack. I'm just imagining what could have happened if my phone went off in the process, my mother would have literally slumped, or perhaps entered into a coma. Using an old and unstable bus to drive a very far distance is barbaric, endangering the lives of people and wasting their time.

There is this laundry guy that lives in the same compound with me, he graduated about a year ago, he has a laundry shop which he didn't take seriously back then. He paid one boy like that to work for him, because he felt too lazy to handle his own business. At the end of the week, the boy normally hands him 6k, that it's all he made for the week, and at the end of the month, he will still have to pay the boy his monthly salary.

This laundry guy literally did nothing, he stayed in the house all day, playing games and gisting and flexing his life, something that someone in his early 30s shouldn't be doing. And idleness has a way of making someone look useless and miserable, the guy got into so many quarrels with other tenants several times, and got himself involved in unnecessary gossips that later escalated into something unexpected. It continued like this right from the time I moved into the compound.

A month after he graduated, I don't know what transpired, but he suddenly changed and started taking his life more seriously. The boy he employed to work for him ran away with his money and people's clothes. He started handling his business full-time, and he made over 30k in a week, compared to the 6k the boy always brought to him, meaning that the boy has been syphoning over 80% of the money made. He had no time to waste in the house all day, less time for play and gossips, which is better.

He always had money problems back then, but now he has even bought a new phone, fridge and TV, gets to show that you can't fully trust somebody with your business, you must fully supervise it. He is currently making plans to marry, which is very big development. He had to leave his comfort zone to be able to achieve all this, if not, he will still be there at home, without thinking of the next step in life. And I have really observed closely, he hasn't got into a quarrel with anybody since then.

He now enjoys the business, I don't know what he was thinking as at that time, there's money in the business, he just had to determine to do it himself. I relate it to other things, you can't sleep at home all day and expect progress, you must leave your comfort zone and enter into the tough zone, that is where all the gold is. A new year, there should be a dream, if there was already a dream, push on till you achieve it. There is no two ways about it, it's either you succeed or you fail in life.

How can someone who is clueless about a thing continue to argue like he knows anything about it? This guy was actually very clueless about the point I was making, yet he continued to rival my points and facts with his ignorance. I wanted to give him some advice about building an online community, but he was trying to make a point where there isnt.

I'm already running my community, and it's going quite well, I can say. In the heat of the conversation, I wanted to offer him tips on how to build his own community for free, but he wouldn't let me. His mouth was rattling like a snake, and he talked too much for a man. He was countering my facts with invalid points and absurdities, which got me pissed, and I thought to myself, isn't it better to keep to myself?

Then, as I reflected on the situation, I realized that I was at fault and that I shouldn't even be talking publicly about these points—usually very valid points and credible information that are hidden and not just supplied easily to the mass. This guy was a stranger to me; we just lived in the same compound. I had come out to take some fresh air, and then he also came around, leading to our conversation. As he wouldn't agree with my points, I decided to keep quiet and admit that I was wrong.

It was one of those days when a simple task turned into a long adventure. My friend asked me to join him in towing a car from a nearby village back to the city. It sounded straightforward enough (a 3-4 hour journey, max). Since we left early and had no time to eat, I packed some rice and stew with a bottle of water to keep me going.

We hadn’t even reached the car we were supposed to tow when our own vehicle started acting up. Out of nowhere, it just stopped in the middle of the road. We got down, struggled with a few things, and after some time, we managed to fix it. Relieved, we continued the journey, laughing about how we couldn’t afford any more delays.

Barely thirty minutes later, the car battery gave up on us. My friend, always the joker, laughed and said, “Are we sure we won’t need another towing vehicle to tow this one?” At the time, it was funny, and we laughed it off. Little did we know that his joke would become reality soon enough.

Sure enough, the car completely broke down before we could even reach the village. We had no choice but to call for help. Another towing vehicle came, but instead of towing the car we originally came for, it had to tow ours to a nearby mechanic.

What was supposed to be a 3-hour journey turned into a frustrating 10-hour work. By the time we got home, we were exhausted, dusty, and hungry.

woke up early, feeling excited and ready for my trip. I had everything planned, and it seemed like the perfect day to travel. But when I got to the bus park, my excitement quickly faded.

The place was packed, and there were hardly any buses in sight. I found out that the holiday season had just ended, and everyone wanted to travel at the same time. The few buses that were there were taken in no time, leaving many people, including me, without a ride.

Before I could even reach the ticket counter, the last bus was fully booked. I stood there in shock as the driver closed the doors and drove away. My plans were ruined, and I had to postpone my trip until tomorrow.

Feeling disappointed, I walked back home, thinking about what the situation could be the next day. As I make my way home the feeling of the unexpected delay was just all over my head. Tomorrow was going to be another day to try again

I just finished serving my family egusi soup and went to my room to eat mine alone. I wanted to hear what they would say about the soup from there. Not long after, I heard my dad say, "This soup is 100/100 minus nothing," and the others burst out laughing. I smiled to myself, happy they enjoyed it.

The laughter didn’t last long because the room became quiet again. My dad loves silence whenever he’s watching the news, so everyone settled down quickly. I relaxed, thinking the evening was back to normal. Suddenly, I heard my dad’s voice again, "China, una don start again," and my elder brother added, "Which one be HMPV? This one na season 2 of 2020."

I rushed out of my room to see what was happening. The TV screen showed a headline about a new disease in China called Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV). They showed people wearing face masks, just like the early days of COVID-19. My heart skipped a beat as the memories of lockdown, fear, and uncertainty came rushing back.

I stood there for a moment, unsure of what to feel. After a while, I went back to my room and sat quietly. “God, please don’t let this turn into another lockdown,” I prayed. I didn’t know what else to do, so I just sat there, hoping this wouldn’t be a repeat of 2020.

Just as the blasting sounds died out, the air weighed heavy of pungent smoke, and the lit tire burned in a distance.
The opponents thought it was the end of the firework show, but it was just the start of our Deceitful plans.

The residents who lived at Behind Zik's Flat street always held a youthful contest filled with fireworks with the next street - Amobi Street during each festive period, whether Christmas, New year or Easter celebration.
Usually, during this competition between us and the next street, other neighbouring streets came to witness the display and eventually, make judgements from the display that they had witnessed.

Earlier on, before the fixed time, I had planned with my friends to play low at first and then when our opponents had used up their finest bangers, we would then startle them with our finest reserves. It is a known saying that the last effect is always the loudest, and it was this last effect that we were after.

The crowed jeered in praises as we launched the last minute reserves in the air. It was so beautiful that even our rivals clapped in praise.
A great plan after all after we won the challenge.

Now that I was dressed up, I heard my father say from the bedroom, "dress up let’s go." He was already getting ready, and I had no idea where he was headed. Hearing him tell me to dress up was unfamiliar, but it excited me. Whenever I dressed up to go somewhere with him, it was always a fun experience. Places like the kingsman meeting, youth gatherings, etc.

So, I dashed into my bathroom, had my bath, and put on one of my favorite casual outfits—just a bit of white and black paired with my flat shoes. I was waiting for him, and when he came out, he was smiling as he told me to get in the car. I entered the car, still unsure of where we were going, and shortly after, we made a turn and entered a beautiful space. It was like a restaurant but larger.
It was bigger than a restaurant; it was quite large, like a hotel but without all the big apartments for lodging. I sat down, and then surprisingly, my dad told me that I could order anything from the menu—anything at all, he said. I was feebly smiling; I couldn't even control it. I wanted to ask my dad, but I couldn't. I was all smiles as I murmured a thank you to him.

I quickly gestured to the waitress and gave her my order. I wanted pepper soup; the aroma of the pepper soup was all over the place, and I think immediately, even before looking at the menu, that was what I wanted with a drink to go with it. My father also collected the menu and made his order.
After some time, he gave me some advice and explained the reason for our outing. It was for a father-son advice talk, and it was memorable

In this new year, I would have been celebrating it in tears, if not for God that proved himself to be God. I would have lost my uncle, but God saved him, the way it happened shows that it was really God that saved him. My uncle is a brick layer, and there is this church that wants to erect a new and bigger structure, and pull down the old one gradually, so that service can be held there, to avoid leaving people in the open. So my uncle worked there.

Foundation of the new structure was digged besides the old one, with the intentions of building it up to the height of the old one, but the old one will be pulled down. My uncle went to work there on that fateful day, he was digging the foundation, it's a storey building, so the foundation was deep. According to my uncle, he became very pressed, one that he couldn't afford to waste anymore time around, and needed to use the toilet immediately.

Immediately he entered the toilet, he heard a loud sound where he working; the wall that was close to the foundation fell on where he was digging. The toilet he went to use, he couldn't as he was no longer pressed. On his way back from the toilet to where he was digging, he saw what had happened and people were lamenting, and also trying to dig out the wall that had collapsed, thinking that my uncle was under it. They were shocked to see my uncle walking towards them, something that a crowd of people gathered around, believing that the wall fell on him.

Truly it would have fallen on him, if not that he left to use the toilet, which he didn't. You can imagine the uncontrollable joy on people's faces, after lamenting that someone is under piles of blocks, probably dead, and then boom, the person walks towards you. I was very happy to hear this, this is enough evidence to show that it was God that intervened, because my uncle wasn't pressed again for the whole day. His life was preserved and we're celebrating this new year together, to God be the glory.

God did this one.
Happy New Year to you all 🎊🎉

The festive period is over, now our regular lives continues, the decisions people took during the season is already taking a toll on some people, it's not going to be funny, January will have 70 days to some people. People spend and forget that they have a life after the season. Most people gather money from January till November, with the sole aim of lavishing it all in December, and start all over again the next year, how much more pathetic can it get.

Just the first day of a new year, somebody is already asking me to help him out with transportation fare, to travel from his village back to where he normally stays. This is the same person that was busy oppressing other people, with pictures of outings with girlfriend and friends, spending money as if Elon Musk is his father. I thought that he did really have more than enough to spare, but now it's clear that he was trying to impress people and feel among too.

Ever since I learnt to spend accords to my pocket, I have not had any problem that has to do with money. I spent money during this season, yes, but it was according to my capacity, not more than I have. The guy can't subject me to pressure now, I won't displease myself to please him, so I simply told him "No". I didn't lend him any money, I told him that I'm also traveling back to school, which is money draining, I won't face the penalty for his deeds.

Now if he successfully gets the money from somebody, and travels back to where he stays, has he thought about how he will feed? Certainly his own January will have up to 100 days, still he won't learn, he will repeat the same mistake again this year's December. If this January looks tough to anyone, the person should assess the way he spent during the festive period, he will agree with me that he spent too much. The guy now seems to be angry with me, for refusing to help him out with the transportation fare, hmm.

I told the guy many things; this is a new year, and if you don't have any big dream you have made up your mind to achieve, you're not going to get much out of this year. Write it down if possible, set targets for yourself or you will end up joining the general target; which is to work and save up to lavish all in December. There are people that their lives evolves round this cycle, not nice. Living under pressure is not my kind of thing anymore, that's the only way to have all round peace of mind. Have a wonderful year.

I didn’t have the chance to tell you all how I ended up managing my savings and Christmas expenditures.
Yes, I had withdrawn some cash about two days before Christmas, and my aim was to cover just the necessary basic needs. Things like food stuffs and some beverages for preparing things like salads and the rest during this festive period.

Well, it went as planned; I won’t lie. The money I had saved in my wallet, along with contributions from mindviewers, played a huge role in making my Christmas an awesome day. Even though prices had skyrocketed in the market, I had to bargain a lot before I could manage that money and come home with something tangible.

For the new year celebration, I didn't save anything in my MindViewers wallet, but I'm glad that I'm seeing the new year, and everything I need for the celebration is already ready. All thanks to the Lord! I'm feeling grateful for the blessings and looking forward to what this year will bring.
Next year must be great.

In a small village, 12-year old Awoniyi returns home from school, experiencing an intense hunger that led him to devour a banana from a nearby tree. As he saves some bananas for later, and headed home.
Awoniyi lived with his grandmother, Ranti. Ranti was old 85-years of age, she was still agile and strong enough to take good care of Awoniyi.
Awoniyi eats from the sacred tree for days, triggering a series of strange events. He experiences strange visions, physical changes and his craving for bananas becomes an obsession. Awoniyi's wise and agile grandmother, who takes care of him, shows her love, concern, and guidance as she helps Awoniyi understand what was happening. Ranti shared stories about the banana tree's history and significance. Awoniyi learns about the tree's spiritual power and the importance of respecting nature. Ranti further, gathered materials such as sacred leaves and herbs as ritual to appease the spiritual power, they perform the ritual, calling upon the ancestors and three spirit to calm it's power and the ritual was successful, and the banana tree's spiritual power began to wane.
Awoniyi reflects on his actions, acknowledging his responsibility to respect nature. Awoniyi's craving and visions fade, and he returns to his normal life. Ranti was happy, they headed back home and enjoyed meal together.

On my way home, I stumbled upon a new relaxation spot that looked recently built. It wasn’t there the last time I passed by, and it caught my attention. I decided to sit down for a bit with my two younger sisters, just to take a breather. The place was quiet, with only a few people around, and it seemed like a peaceful spot to relax after a long day.

While we were chatting, a scruffy-looking man suddenly walked up to us. He looked unkempt, with a cigarette dangling from his fingers, and his face had a strange expression. He told us we weren’t allowed to sit there, but his tone didn’t sound official. I figured he was drunk or just trying to act important, so I brushed him off and told my sisters to ignore him.

Things took a different turn when he reached out and tried to grab my youngest sister’s hand. At that moment, I stood up immediately and blocked him. I told him calmly but firmly to leave us alone. He acted like he wanted to make a scene, puffing his chest and pretending to be tough, but when I didn’t back down, he hesitated. He looked around awkwardly and eventually walked away, muttering to himself.

We sat there for a while longer, but the incident left us feeling uneasy. It was strange and unnecessary, and I couldn’t figure out why he acted that way. After some time, we decided to leave the place and head home. I was just grateful nothing worse happened, and we all stayed safe.

You know that feeling in your stomach when you run into someone you didn't expect to see again. Well, that was me today, and that feeling held me in a tight embrace. I was coming back from the seminar this afternoon when I walked past this lady on nose mask and brown tinted sun shades.

“Excuse me”, she said. “You are Desmond right?”
“And who are you?”

“Oh I am Chinwe, Chinwe Nwachukwu”, she said as she removed her glasses and nose mask.
“Oh, I see, holla”

And that was how I found myself in a restaurant with her where we had some rice and chicken. We talked about things one would normally talk about when you meet someone after a long time.

We used to be friends in school back then. With time, we stopped talking. I didn’t know why, but I think it had something to do with one guy she met back then. Good for her. But I was hurt when she excluded me from things we normally did together and went incommunicado. It was exhausting but I walked anyways and here she was, sitting opposite me.

She is popular on YouTube these days. I had seen her in some movies. She was good alright. Her flair and talent was kool.

Her phone rang a couple of times and in the presiding discussions that followed, it was all about her man. You try talking with her about work, politics, the economy or life in general and she would go like, “Her Man thinks, Her Man says, Her Man this, Her Man that…” I tire oh. Nah so the food wey I chop come vanish for my body like this. I had to excuse myself to use the men’s room.

While in there, I called Trisha (that my coursemate from Lagbaja) and told her it was a code 9 emergency. Girl, you gotta get me outta here.

In the next few minutes after using the restroom, she called me and I was like, “That’s My Woman, I got to get this”, I made sure the call sound was a little more audible so Chinwe could hear.

“Boo, where are you?, I have missed you…”
“Awwwwwwwwwwwwn, I miss you too, I am having lunch with an acquaintance”,
“But Babes, I was gonna take you out like I said nowu😢🥺”
“My world, I am sorry, I will be there soon. My Lady, My Angel, don’t be mad, I am coming”

Me to Chinwe: Did I take long? My bad.
Chinwe: I heard it all, you guys were cute on phone.

Me (Pretending I didn’t know what I did but smiling inwardly in Ekwensu Red Expression): You don’t mean it. Was it on speaker, oh nooooo (Acts shy). Sorry about that.

And that was how I wrapped up things with Chinwe. We split the bills and I walked home. Thanks to Trisha for the acting. We should star in a movie sometime. No be me Chinwe go frustrate. Inukwanu m nonsense in condensed form.

She took my hands and made us swirl around in the dust as she sung what she thought was a romantic song- what she learnt from watching a lot of Nollywood movies.
She always dragged me by hand and forced marriage on me despite how young I was. Though I didn't like the fact that she paraded me along the village square and commanded my friends to stay away or snatching my privacy away each day, I still endured her company because she was pretty.

My younger sister and I had gone down to the Villa to celebrate Christmas with Granny and that was where I met my partner- Dubem.
Dubem was obviously older than me and schooled at a private junior secondary school at the town boarder. She was fluent in English which made her a bit respected by her fellow peers and it was with this ego that she had the courage to think she deserved me, a city-boy for herself.

We were walking down the red sand holding hands when she got distracted by an Udara tree (African star fruit). The tree was standing gloriously in a known compound decorated and decorated by the delicious yellow fruits.

"Pluck some Udara for me na, nwoke mara mma" Chidubem said, staring into my face with a pitiful look.

I was hesitant at first but as she pestered me, I decided to challenge my fear, knowing fully well that plucking any fruit in the community was against the village rules.
I was about to throw a second stone to a branch that held ripe seeds, when I felt something grab my arm.
I quickly stared at the spot where my supposed wife Dube was, and Voila! She was gone!
I glanced up to what was holding my arm, it was Mr. Maduka, a scary man who taunted children and disciplined the slightest misconduct.
"Are you from the Eze's? ", he asked me. I nodded instantly in affirmation, trying to wipe my teary eyes with the one hand I was left with.
"I will let you go today, but don't try this again", Mr. Maduka said, taking off his grip on me.

I scurried away happily, hopping along the shorter part that let to my Granny's house. It was my second chance to life and I won't let any Dubem influence my will ever again. Away with the marriage rubbish! I said before throwing myself on the bed.

The village people named the river the Echava River, E-C-H-A-V-A. That's where I went to swim with some of my friends. I think I had swum there once before, maybe twice, but this time I was swimming very freely. I had never heard of any rules governing the rivers or anything of the sort, and it was Christmas Day, so we went there to have fun.

We brought along some drinks, delicious cakes, tasty chops, and some chicken, which we enjoyed along the riverbank. Whenever we came to the riverbank, we took a few bites of our food before diving back into the water. It was truly a fun day, and I cherished the time with my friends.

While swimming, I decided to take a very long swim back to the other end of the river. I started off, and all of a sudden, I heard people shouting. At first, I had no idea they were shouting about me; I thought they were reacting to something else happening by the river. But when I looked up and waved, I realized they were actually telling me to come back. I quickly realized that I had made a mistake and had ventured too far. I never knew I could swim that fast these days; it amazed me all the way. However, I was also filled with fear and uncertainty as I made my way back.

As I swam and noticed that I was getting closer to them, I switched from swimming to walking when I reached the shallow end to meet my friends. When I finally got to them, they grabbed me and exclaimed how that part of the river had a history of drowning people and all sorts of bad news.
But such is never meant for me, God's favourite!

It's the season of the celebration of the birth of Jesus, celebrations of different forms is at play currently. This is the best Christmas celebration I have ever had, in the sense that I am not under any kind of tension, I'm celebrating according to my capacity, and above all, I am not pleasing anybody and displeasing myself. Christmas is about the celebration of the birth of our Saviour, and not going into depression to please people, but sadly this was my case.

My friends have always looked up to me, in seasons like this, to take them out, fund their Christmas celebration and buy gifts for them. I can not remember ever looking up to any of my friends during this season for any kind of benefit, I was always the one in the spotlight. And it was not as if I had more money than them, it was just that I loved putting smiles on people's faces. But I was doing all this at a high cost; displeasing myself and sending myself into depression.

Most times, nothing will be left for me after this season, as I would have spent everything to make my friends happy. What am awful life. I have promised not to pass my limits in spending, and this Christmas is evidence that I've kept my words. What I find funny is that as usual, my friends have contacted me and asked me if I'm take them out, good for me I learnt how to say 'NO' to people. More funny how about three of my friends have sent their bank account details to my WhatsApp.

I didn't tell any of them to send their bank account details, I've told them that they are the ones to host me this season, but unfortunately, no one has invited me to anywhere, not even to share a plate of rice. It's now as if I was always the one moving the motion, and nothing would be done without me. Well, it's not bad to be the only one giving out and making others happy, but that will only happy when I'm capable enough, not spending more than you have.

I have a lot of plans for next year, so I'm not going to spend more than I'm supposed to. I have still been able to split some amount and celebrate this season with my family members, and I'm not feeling depressed like other years, no kind of tension, I'm perfectly alright. My account has not been wounded. Moving forward, I'm never displeasing myself to please others again, it's Christmas, and we're even supposed to share with others, and show love and peace and care, not extorting from others

Enjoy the season!
Happy new year in advance!

So many things have changed when it comes to Christmas, I remember how it used to be years back when I was a kid, it is not to be compared to the way it is now. The momentum has gone down, not the way it used to be. I have walked around, checked everywhere, I'm yet to see any incident that is similar to the ones that occurred every Christmas as a kid. I don't know if it's the hardship in the economy, a lot has changed and it's not that much fun anymore.

I remember how my mother will use broom stick or sewing thread to measure my legs for my Christmas shoe. Christmas cloth will be bought some days to Christmas, I can remember sleeping with my Christmas cloth, shoe, fancy eye glasses and hat on my bed, every night before Christmas. Making sure to check up on the items on a daily basis, giving it maximum care and respect and all efforts made to prevent it from staining with dirt.

My parents kept a criteria to be qualified for all this items, it could be that you must obedient, and not stubborn. It could be that you must pass your exams well, and I'm telling you that every kid back then will put on his/her best behavior in order for their parents to buy them Christmas clothes and shoes. That is why we had more good kids back then, children didn't give their parents problems. And if you fail to meet up with the criteria, you fit the prize.

I remember one certain Christmas where I fumbled, and couldn't meet up with the criteria, I was denied the prize, I cried my eyes out, but I made sure it never happened again afterwards, I did better. All this starting losing momentum when kids don't have to compete or put on their best to get the Christmas prize. Something I used to spend sleepless nights, imagining how I will flex with my outfit on Christmas, we looked up to the day as the most special of all days.

Not to talk about harmattan and fireworks. Back then harmattan will literally turned people into white, but now there is no more harmattan, not in my state, everywhere looks like other regular months. Fireworks would have been rocking everywhere, but now it's too expensive to spend cash on, when you haven't finished buying garri and rice and Christmas chicken. So expensive that you will be pained to buy it, and that's why I haven't heard any this season. I don't know if it is like this in other states, but this is the situation currently in my state.