It has been five years since I absconded from the hospital to Lagos. It has been a rough journey since my arrival here. l lived on the street for over a year with just a pair of jeans and a T-shirt on my body. Feeding was difficult for me. People in this city are smarter than the ones in the village. My petty crimes didn't pay off here like they did in Benin. I was a king in Ikpoba back in Benin. I had to live from hand to mouth every day.
When I first got to Lagos, I tried to turn a new leaf. I made a decision not to go back to my silly attitude but after a few weeks of roaming the streets without getting any significant help aside from the little money people gave me whenever I begged which wasn't even enough for me to eat once a day , I went back to my old ways. I started stealing and snatching people's bags, phones, money, and valuables. The money I got from this was only enough for feeding. I sleep anywhere on the street when night falls. The experience was really bad.
At some point, the thought of finding you came to my mind. I searched everywhere I knew in Lagos. I searched for you on social media platforms but all efforts came to nothing. I only have your name. No other thing to help my search. When I didn't find you after months of searching, I gave up and I continued to live my wayward life. I made many friends on the street most of whom are in prison presently. Someone was killed on the street where I usually sleep at night. That's where most of them lived. The police came for an investigation, they got into a fight with them and eventually killed one of the policemen. The street was raided and every one of the street guys was thrown into prison without trial.
However, on this fateful day, I ran into Uncle Josh where I was monitoring a woman who had just gotten out of the bank with a swollen bag. He told me he was in Lagos for a meeting. I asked him about my mum, he told me she was dead. I shouted How and when? She died from the shock of the news about the sale of the house. Uncle Josh responded and told me to seek thorough forgiveness from my both parents. The news of my mum's death weakened me. I caused the doom of the Orobator family. When people pray that "may evil not before them", I am the evil they are talking about. I couldn't believe that I caused the death of a woman who had worked all her life to provide everything that I wanted.
Since then, I started feeling empty, I started feeling like I was the only one left in the world. I said to myself, no father, no mother, no roof over my head, no money to live the life I craved, what kind of life is this? Shouldn't I just end it all? I tried killing myself more than four times but obviously, I didn't succeed. It is either I was rescued by people or I vomited the poison. The last time I jumped into the bridge, I thought that was the end until I woke up in the hospital two days later. Life was unfair, even death became unfair to me.
A week later, the doctor came to inform me that I could leave. He told me I have been discharged and my bills has been settled by the man who brought me there. I told them I had nowhere to go. Luckily for me, the man walked in. He looked like someone in his late 40's. He greeted me and I thank him for saving me from perishing inside the ocean. He offered to take me in and I agreed immediately. It's not like I had other choice. I drove with him in his car to his house, a beautiful mansion in the Magodo estate. The man gave me a new hope to live, he gave me food, a roof over my head, clothes to cover my nakedness and lots of money. I started living in luxury without doing any job including the crimes that I'm only good at. The man gave me more than sufficient but I wasn't contented still, I wanted my own money. I wanted to be big like him, to own a house, fleet of cars and all good things of life. So, I made up my mind to ask him to teach me how to make money.
On one particular afternoon, we were in the living room seeing a movie together. I ask if I could ask a favor from him, He told me to go ahead. I told him I am bored in the house and I want him to get me a job. He said that's not a problem and asked about my qualification. I didn't expect such questions from him. What has my qualification got to do with getting me a job, I mumbled. Reluctantly, I told him I'm just a school certificate holder. He smiled and told me he understand. He promised to get me a job with a security company owned by one of his friend.
I almost broke my back on my first day at work. I hated everything about the job; the uniform, the environment, and the way the guest treated me. I told Sir Jones when I returned home. He encouraged me and said I would get used to it. I managed to work for three weeks and in the fourth week, I quit. The manager was happy to let me go because he was already tired of getting complaints from people about my silly attitudes. I got a chance to live a decent life but I blew it.
Sir Jones was mad at me at first, but later forgive me because he has become more like my big brother. He pardoned me and promised to get me another job. I told him I do not want a security job. I wanted something better. He smiled and I said, You reminded me of so much about me. I laughed. I quickly seize the opportunity of the atmosphere, I asked if he could teach me what he does for a living. I want to be big like you Sir Jones. Stop giving me fish big bro, teach me how to catch the fish,I said. He laughed out loud and asked if I meant what I have just said. I said yes. What do you think I do for a living? He asked again, I told him I have no idea what he does. He said okay, he would think about it. I knew he already agreed, he was just having some doubt if he should or not. I thanked him. He told me, don't thank me yet, in few days, you would know whether to thank me or not greedy boy. I smiled and he smiled too. That day marked the beginning of another phase of trouble for me.
To be continued
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