TOMMOROW AWAITS by OneNigerianGirl Episode 4 The bank entrance was crowded with people milling in out of it. With what had happened yesterday, one would have expected a mellow environment, silence as the dead were being mourned and losses counted,instead,at the wake of such a terrifying incident in history people were hurrying to the bank. Hardly surprising, as the average Nigerian was concerned about his money at the bank,his only hope at survival. Mohammed was dialling his mothers line without success. It had rung three consecutive times on end yet nobody picked it up,the fourth time he tried,it was switched off. I think i should just pop inside and see whats going on,maybe someone knows where my mom is He shrugged. I tapped my foot on the floor mat. We were in the car park adjacent to the main entrance, a vantage position from which we could see who went in and who came out. Most of the people coming out were carrying bags,clear evidence that they had gone to withdrawal all their money. I chuckled to myself as i imagined the bank running out of available cash and shutting down before noon. I dont think you should! They might decide to bomb here next,you dont know who might be in there I said,my eyes firmly fixed at the entrance. My hesitation was more about me not wanting to be alone outside that the risk of him going in. For the first time,i heard him laugh,a beautiful sound. Youre just being paranoid. I dont think theyre gonna bomb Lagos again any time soon. Hell,theyve done their worst,plus the security here is tight. Just keep the windows down,Ill be back before you know it I shrugged. What could i say? He had to find his mom anyway,his only living relation. I kept my eyes on him till he entered the building. He had perfectly calculated gait to match his beauty. Staying in the car alone was already driving me crazy,i jumped at the slightest of sounds. People kept pouring into the bank in their numbers,my fists clenched of their own accord. So many tax paying citizens had lost their lives in the most gruesome way possible over the last twenty-four hours and all these people cared about was money. Money they probably were never going to use. In their minds,life goes on. So what a few people died? In war,there are always casualties, it was to be expected,at least the Lord in his infinite mercies kept them alive. The media on its own part will carry the news,make money out of it,attract international sympathy which of course was also to be expected. Sympathies will pour in from all countries, condemnation and prayers,presidents will give long,meaningless speeches and donate more money to the families of the victims, money that would never reach their hands. Then it will die down slowly, life will return to normal. At the end,nobody will care,about the pain and terror,losing everything you once held dear,finding yourself all alone with a stranger whom you are expected to hate because his brothers did this to you. People will write letters and articles expressing sympathy while deep down,they are grateful it didnt happen to them. At the end of the day,you are your own army,your own team,left to weather the storm alone. I sighed deeply and wished i was one of those people withdrawing money with no care in the world,no bullet ridden body in their sitting room,no missing parent,well stocked kitchen and a roof they can stay under with no fear of what the next knock would bring. My musing was cut short when i saw Mohammed approaching, the picture of dejection, his shoulders slumped. I can barely recognize any one in there and all the people i asked have never seen her before He said. I felt pity for this stranger i had become accustomed to. This stranger that saved me. Maybe something happened,we should check the hospitals, maybe they brought in someone fitting her description. We should go I said,trying to give the hope i couldnt even feel. He shrugged again and engaged the car in reverse. We were half a mile away from the bank when we heard and felt the first tremors of the explosion. I felt myself slam into Mohammed who hit the side door with a force that nearly ripped it open as the car swerved off the highway and rammed into the wall of a nearby building. All around us,people screamed,the hopeless screaming of people close to their deaths as their cars skidded and somersaulted,some bursting into flames and ramming into vehicles before it. People were screaming and running helter skelter,blood dripping from cuts on their faces. Mohammed struggled with his side door and we tumbled out and landed on the asphalt with me on top of him. I awkwardly rolled over on my back and we lay there,out of breath,staring at the sky,around us people lay on the ground too,probably dead. Load Page 2
Posted on: Sat, 20 Sep 2014 19:14:06 +0000
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