It was on a night like any other, or so it seemed, and I had just gotten unto the last bus that would take me to the bus stop closest to my house. I was in at the back of the fourteen-seater bus; an older man joined me, and then the lady whom this story is about showed up at the door of the bus with a supposed escort.
She really looked old; somewhere above 70 years, maybe even closer to 80 than 70. First, it was her difficulty in climbing onto the bus. I really had to stretch from the one end of the back seat where I was to aid her. Good thing I did because she ended up sitting just about three inches on the seat. Initially I thought that it was old age, how wrong I was! Yes she was old, but I realized soon that she was ‘blind’ in the darkness of the night. This became most apparent when she brought out money to pay the fare for herself and the ‘supposed’ escort. She brought out a thousand naira note and gave it to the escort who told her the denomination, paid the conductor and collected the balance on her behalf.
Soon the bus was on its way. She was the first to stop and by then she had missed her stop by a good three to four minutes by the speed of the bus. So when the bus eventually stopped for her to alight she just couldn’t figure out where she had been dropped. Getting off was another issue. She carried her bag, just like any other woman would, and then there was a heavy carrier bag that she had which made her attempt rather clumsy and awkward.
That was when I decided that I had to do something if I did not want to spend a long time afterwards, which could run into days or months, thinking whether she got home or not. So off the bus I got, telling the already bewildered co-passengers that I would help her home. It was as though they had never heard anything like it. And it was really a great risk for me because kidnapping is a common thing and I would not last ten minutes if they decided that I looked like one who would abduct, for whatsoever reason, this old lady.
I tried to get her on a tricycle-like motor that is used locally for transport. It was not going our way but was gracious enough to point us in the direction to head. And on we walked for some ten to fifteen minutes. I held the bigger bag in one hand and guided her with the other.
She talked about where she had been, and had she known it would take so long getting to her last stop she would have stayed the night. I asked her if anyone would be worried about her at home. Guess what; she had worried them so many times than she could number. She grinned when she said this. And her English was clear and flawless. ‘Oh what a sweet old lady’ I thought to myself. She had gone visiting her grandfather’s place!
After sighting the landmark she mentioned, I got her to describe the house and I was most confused to find out that it was the best looking house on that street. I wondered again how she got out or who let her out in the first place. But she looked like one hell of a fighter for not once did she feel sorry for herself going through all the stress.
After I had helped her into the compound I took my leave. And though I tried to get a bus to get me to my destination, I didn’t succeed and had to do the 45minutes plus, trekking home. But it was well worth it because I felt so light having helped someone out. Secondly, I could free my mind from worrying about her - whether she got home safely or not.
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Happy Birthday to my Bos... Mayokun olatunbosun Sanni. Many happy returns.
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