It was our
family’s custom to go for the cross-over service on New Year’s Eve at our
church and was more relevant because my parents were Knights of St Mulumba in
Corpus Christi Cathedral. This year,
some of our extended relations came to celebrate with the New Year with us.
When the
mass was over, it was past midnight already. My Uncle and my two cousins
decided to walk home.
“Make sure you people don’t branch anywhere oh!” Mum cautioned.
“Musa! Come
and walk back with us, I thought you said you are a big boy now?” Uncle Habib
asked sarcastically as they strolled away.
I was a
juvenile mummy’s boy that was scared of the dark and aware of the rampant vices
in Portharcourt particularly during the festive period.
“Leave me
alone” grasping tight unto my mother’s dress, like a suckling to its mother’s
breast.
“If you
people are not ready to go, I will go and leave you oh!” Dad said impatiently
as he started the car.
We arrived
home early. My aunt whom was not catholic had already returned from her church.
It was late at night, so we went to bed.
My mum had
not gone to bed yet when she overheard voices from her window which she had
forgotten to close earlier on.
“Which one be your oga house?” a deep, bass voice to the security man
We lived on
the first floor of a three storied apartment. The house on the ground floor was
still unoccupied.
The thieves
were asking for the man living on the second floor but since that was his
employer, the security man lied;
“Ahh! You wan attack my oga? He no
get anything oh! But the Oga for the other house na Senator brother”
Kneeling, with one hand protecting
his head and the other pointing towards my house.
Thief oh!
Thief oh! My mum began screaming like a woman set ablaze.
They heard
her voice, ran towards our house door and started banging it.
“If you
don’t open this door, when we come in, we will shoot all of you” the same voice mum heard earlier.
Vices were
extremely rampant in my neighbourhood that when you hear people screaming for
help, you ensure all your doors are locked and take shelter. I have heard cries
for help many times but I never imagined it coming from my house.
I was sleeping with my aunt in the girl’s room
which is opposite my parents’ because my uncle and cousins had not yet arrived
home.
“Musa wake
up and hide oh! Thieves have come” my aunt whispered with a quivering voice as
she sneaked behind the door to hide.
The girl’s
room in our house had two double bunk beds. I was a seven year old boy and I
still had a petit physique. Whenever I played hide and seek with my friends in
the house I would always shove myself through the narrow space under the bed.
It was dark;
I woke up to the alarming voice of my mother and it took me a while to
comprehend what was happening. I rapidly shoved my tiny body under the bed.
Going under the bed was not as easy as during hide and seek. I had to struggle
harder to get under.
I wanted to
say the that Lord’s Prayer but I was shivering in fear so I started;
“God please let them not shoot my
mummy and my daddy. I promise to continue to go to church”
I was hoping
not to hear the sound of a gunshot.
The house
had gone quiet and my room’s door opened. I turned my face to the opposite
direction frightened that I was about to die and more frightened to say my last
prayer.
“Please
don’t kill us” my aunt had already given me away by saying “us”, crouching
behind the door with her eyes firmly closed.
“They have
gone oh!” my mum said, coming into the room with my dad and both laughing at
the countenance of my aunt.
“Where is
Musa?” dad asked seeming worried now.
I made my
way out of my hiding place which emboldened them to laugh even harder; my aunt
included.
My cousins
and Uncle returned ten minutes later and found the security man tied down with
a rope and swollen eye. Frightened by this; my uncle picked up a large stick
and headed to the door while my cousins hid outside.
At dawn,
people started coming to the house to say they heard noises but no one actually
helped. One of the people said he called the police but they never showed up.
As for the
security man, my parents dealt with his matter. I don’t know how but I know I
never saw him again.
