Since the inception of the pandemic, I had always had a great deal of feelings of uncertainty every morning when I woke up. The viral infection had unexpectedly hit our planet earth. The name being COVID. Already 5 months and the monster was still flying in the air. Sometimes when I woke up, I wished I was in another world or planet with no such sudden “uncertain” feelings.
I did not have many friends I could video call as such but I had an internal invisible friend. Weird- you would say. Truly, My friend with the tiny, calm and soothing
voice constantly comforted and made the life easier.
On this fateful evening, I had some few household things to get, many streets away from mine. I was to take a walk. It wasn’t meant to take so long before I would get back to my house. I envisaged like two hours max.
On getting to the town square market, I waited for ages for the butcher to arrive .. when he finally came He said he needed to close up, that the government had issued an impromptu curfew due to increasing rate of the viral transmission in the area.
The butcher mentioned that the other parts of town were closing down gradually and advised whoever cared to listen to find their way as soon as possible back to their respective homes. Almost immediately, every seller closed up, people got into their cars and drove home. I was a able to get a tiny kilos of beef.
On getting out of the square market, the town was quiet.. and I felt worried on how to get home. The paths home were tiny, and trekabble and were not all that motorable..even if there was, it was ridiculous to spend any money on public transport. It was not worth it taking a taxi or something
So I decided to take the same usual short cut i took when coming to the market, it was locked , I took another one that I knew, always a little quiet , it was still open , but I saw some gang of boys. One of them was my brother’s old friend, so he told me that the army was around, I should wait a bit in their house, when everything calmed down I should then find my way home. I agreed , as it sounded reasonable.
The government was always quick to enforce laws in the area, as the area was known to have many outlaws. At every slight instance, the security officials were always looking out for scape goats in moments like that.
In addition, the rate of infection is higher in our area because people there loved partying not caring of what the Covid number said.
At this point I knew the government was overly serious about the curfew and would make a scape goat of anyone who was caught.
I came into my brother’s friend’s house waiting till the soldiers vanished before proceeding to my street. The apartment was very messy. I could endure for a little while I thought
They were smoking, drinking, gaming. After this, I saw one of the boys sniffing something that looked like coke, my heart skipped. Then few seconds later, another drunk duo -a guy and a girl almost having sex with each other right in the presence of everyone.
Then another “not normal” guy came to me and was asking for my name, insinuating a strange interest in me.. the whole place did not look right or safe enough to wait till I was able to go home. My brother’s old friend whom I know was even no where to be found at this point. How do I leave this den to go into the street where the army would arrest me, get me fined, fined of an amount I couldn’t afford .
But I had to make a quick decision. So I thought, it’s better to approach the soldiers and explain my plight to them, that my street wasn’t far ,then get their permission for movement. So I left the boy’s house quietly, not being noticed and made out for the officers.
The sweet inner voice I told you earlier that comforted me in my low times somewhat warned me not to approach the soldiers, but I hesitated. They were positioned not too far from the house I left…
I was fidgety as I walked closer. I greeted them, and focused on the one that gave me most of the attention. I was a fair looking, beautiful lady with attractive body features. I was born by mixed-tribe parents . As most people always assumed , I was from the Eastern part of the country. But I understood very well the language of the people from the western part of the country because I was born amin the west. So these armed men were Westerners. And they were conversing in their language which I understood unknowingly to them. They were using flirty words, talking about my bum , breast and how succulent I would be, if they were to have to taste.
The one listening to me was smiling as his colleagues were flirting with me in their language. I noticed that an evil idea would have dropped in their mind and he said to them. Thank God she needs my help and I am masked up. She or anyone won’t be able to recognise me- he said to his colleagues in their language.
Truthfully with their army helmet, and the anti-covid protective masks , would not permit anyone to recognise or know who was who! So he said to me in English, that’s no problem young lady, I can drop you off with the truck in your house : hop in…..pointing to the truck they brought…
I knew running wasn’t an option as they wouldn’t hesitate to waste me, if I misbehaved. It was very common of some bad soldiers to misuse their power like that.
So I had to think of an alternative way of escape. The tiny voice suggested a way out which I noted.
I hopped into the truck beside the driver, He said I should gradually show him the way to my precise street. I nodded .
My house to where we took off, was just the next two streets . As we proceeded with the tiny trip, I directed him to turn right.. He said he preferred to take the other way .I had spent many years in the area, I knew every corner. There was no other motorable way as he claimed.
So I added that he planned to kidnap me, rape me, then dump me somewhere, if am lucky enough not to be killed- the conclusion I made with everything happening so far.
Few meters away from the deviation, the traffic light was on red, and he was unusually calm enough to obey it, unlike many of his colleagues who use their sirens as camouflage to disobey the traffic light. I knew it was my moment. It was right then or never !
His rifle he had put behind the driver seat, I opened the truck door and ran. The street we were, had a bushy area where I could easily hide and disappear. I ran into the place, climbed the fence and connected it to my street…
He was too shocked to even make any attempt at the middle of the road. With few essential workers in their cars watching from behind him.
I was dying to get home, and I did get home at last, running away from the drama of the terrible day. The “beef ” I went to get had been left in the army’s truck. He could romance the beef for all I care. That was my terrible encounter on the COVID kinda day .
Thanks to my calm-voiced friend who was always showing me the way out. May be I would have died not of the virus now but of Bad man army.
(THE END)
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