While returning from the mosque with my family early that morning, I unknowingly hit my leg against a stone and it hurt really badly.
"Sorry dear," My mom said to me, turning on her phone flashlight to see if I sustained an injury.
"Oh! Your left leg," She stuttered seeing that my toe had slightly peeled off.
The pain only lasted a few seconds, and we continued our journey home, which was about five minutes away from the mosque.
"That was a bad sign and you should be very careful today," Mom said to me immediately we got home.
"Why did you say that, Mom?" I asked, forcing myself not to laugh.
"Striking your left toe when walking is not a good thing. You can ask your father too," She replied, and I pretended to buy her stories.
My image
I started my chores immediately we arrived home because I was going out to get some wears with my friend (Wunmi), who is a fashion designer at a thrift market.
Wunmi kept texting, reminding me of when we would leave the house so that we could get good clothes before the market became crowded.
A few minutes before 8am, she arrived at my place and I was fully ready. Immediately after we left the house, I thought of leaving my big phone at home since I had a small one.
My friend thought it was a good idea because a lot of things do happen in the market so she dropped hers too. We went with our small phones and ATM cards.
We waited at the bus stop for some time and didn't get a bus going in our direction. A small car soon parked beside us and the driver asked where we were going. We told him our destination and he told us to hop in.
There were two other passengers in the car, one beside the driver and the other sitting behind him. We greeted them and settled in.
We've barely moved for five minutes when the woman sitting with us asked if I knew a particular place and I said no. She asked my friend also who just shook her head.
"What's happening there?" The passenger in front asked and the woman explained that she was carrying a very expensive item. She was heading to where someone said she could get a buyer for the item.
"Where is the item? The driver asked, and the woman brought out a shining stone from her bag. The driver stepped on the brake immediately he saw the stone and started screaming.
"Old man, please don't kill us. Why would you stop like that?" I yelled at him.
"Please don't be offended, this thing is worth millions of naira. I know where we can sell it," He replied to me and I felt lost.
"So, what's our business with that?" Wunmi asked.
"The thing is that if this woman is willing to share the money, we should all just go there with her to make the sales before continuing the journey," The driver replied.
"I will give 30% to you. I just want to sell this thing off and make money," She replied.
Wunmi looked at me and I didn't feel comfortable with the whole thing.
"Let's just rush there quickly to make the sales," The passenger in front said and I told him we weren't interested.
They started persuading us like we were the ones who knew the buyers but we insisted on not being interested. The driver got pissed and started cursing, I told him to drop us off at the nearest busstop so that they can proceed with their journey to sell their precious stones.
He grumbled and said we should just forget about it. Immediately, he started the vehicle, and I became restless and whispered to Wunmi that we were in trouble.
We'd been moving for about five minutes when the vehicle in front slowed down, and I just opened the door, screaming for help.
The few people on the road were trying to figure out what happened when the man shouted that we should alight from his car. We rushed out immediately and he zoomed off.
People asked what happened, and when we narrated the story, they said those people in the vehicle were either kidnappers or one chance (people who rob passengers in the vehicle).
I was just thanking God for saving us and didn't want to go to the market again but my friend insisted.
We arrived at the market, and the place was busy already. We were squeezing ourselves through the crowd, and it was too rough for me.
We approached a POS woman and withdrew the cash we needed. I put mine in my trousers pocket while Wunmi kept hers in a purse.
We went from one cloth seller to another, checking out their goods and pricing. After some time, I saw some leggings and wanted to patronize the seller. I dipped my hands into my pocket and couldn't find any money.
I checked the other pockets, but nothing was there. I even asked Wunmi if I had given her the cash because I was very confused. I felt really sad knowing someone had picked my pocket.
"That was all I had in my account," I told Wunmi, and she suggested that we split the money she had. With a heavy heart, we went about buying a few things.
We didn't stay long there and went back home. Upon arriving home, my mom was expecting me to come back with bags, but I came home with a small bag.
"What happened? Did you change your mind? She asked me.
We narrated our ordeal, and Mom was speechless. She could only thank God for bringing us back home safely.
Later that night, I remember what Mom said in the morning. While thinking about the whole incident, I sighed heavily and whispered, "What an unbelievable day."
