Two days had passed, and Mark hadn't heard from his brother Johnson. The last time they spoke, Johnson was travelling back to school in the Northern part of Nigeria, and he called to inform Mark that the bus was leaving the park. The trip was expected to last 13 hours but it's been 48 hours and there was no word from Johnson.
Mark was distraught since it's unusual for them not to speak to each other for a whole day.
"But he should know I would be worried," Mark told his friend Mayowa who was also concerned about Johnson's silence.
"Something must have kept him occupied," Johnson replied.
"Too occupied to inform me that he has arrived at Kaduna already? You know how the security issues are over there," Mark replied. He sighed heavily and checked if Johnson had responded to any of his messages.
"If he doesn't reply to me by tomorrow morning, I am going to Kaduna. Nothing must happen to him," Mark muttered.
"But you have exams tomorrow morning," Mayowa reminded him.
"I will always choose Johnson over anything in the world. He is not just my brother, he is the reason why I am here. I won't even get a chance to study if he isn't working and schooling at the same time," Mark replied.
"I know how important he is to you but sweating over it won't change anything. Your brother wouldn't want to see you miss those papers tomorrow because of him," Mayowa replied and they heard a knock on the door.
"The door is open," Mark replied and it was Segun, another close friend and coursemate in school.
"Hi guys, what's with the moody face? Segun asked immediately after he entered the room. He could tell that something wasn't right.
"He can't reach his brother since he travelled to Kaduna on Friday evening," Mayowa replied.
"You mean brother Johnson?" Segun stuttered.
"How many brothers do I have?" Mark asked and hissed.
"Come on, you don't have to sound like that. Have you checked the news to see if anything happened, probably an accident or something?" Segun asked as he sat on the small couch.
"Segun, please if you don't have any comforting words, just keep quiet. Accident as how? Mayowa replied.
Mark dressed up and left the room warning Segun not to follow him. He was angry and worried that something might have happened really.
"Did I say something wrong?" Segun asked Mayowa who was looking pissed too.
"Just let me be," Mayowa muttered turning his face away from Segun.
"Has he called his parents to ask if Brother Johnson contacted them?" Segun asked even though Mayowa had turned away from him.
"He can't because if Johnson were to call anyone first, it would be Mark. Calling home would only cause everyone to panic," Mayowa replied and the room went quiet.
Mark returned an hour later, and he apologised to Segun for reacting that way, which was understandable. Mark took Segun's advice and they started checking the social media to see if anything was happening in Kaduna that might have prevented his brother from calling him.
After scrolling around for some time, they found nothing. No bad news and they were all relieved to an extent.
"Do you have any of his friends' contacts or someone we can reach through Facebook?" Segun asked.
"No, I don't know any of his friends. He doesn't even keep friends?" Mark replied.
"I think you should just call your parents," Segun suggested again.
"They will panic more than I am doing, I can't risk it. I know them very well," Mark replied. He thought about it again and decided to call his parents.
Upon hearing the news, they started screaming on the phone. Mark could hear his mother crying and he felt bad calling them.
"I knew this would happen," Mark suttered after ending the call.
"You didn't want that but you should be sure he hasn't called them," Segun tried cheering Mark.
"I understand and just hate to see my parents in that state," He replied, wiping his face.
"Are you crying? Don't do that," Mayowa said and moved closer to Mark, patting him on the back.
"You won't understand because you are not part of my family. Johnson is everything to us and we can't be calm not hearing from him," Mark replied.
He was emotional throughout the evening and his friends didn't leave his side. They couldn't even prepare for the exam, spending the night at Mark's place.
Very early the next morning, Mark had prepared for his trip to Kaduna. His friends were up to and they decided to walk him down to the park before returning to prepare for their paper by 1pm.
"Sorry, we can't go with you. I wish you journey mercy," Mayowa told Mark as they waited for the bus to get filled up.
"I understand," Mark replied and waved his friend goodbye.
The bus filled up about an hour later and just as the bus left the park, Mark's phone started vibrating. He reached for it in the crossbag and was surprised to see Johnson's name on the screen.
His hands were shaking as he picked up the call, and hearing Johnson's voice made him scream with joy. The other passengers were confused, and the driver had to stop to be sure everything was fine.
Mark didn't mind them and just continued speaking to Johnson.
"What happened? We've been trying to reach you since Friday," He stuttered.
"There was an accident on the road and my bus stopped to help the passengers. While we were at it, some people came around too, and I didn't know if my phone had fallen off or if it had been stolen. I called you immediately after I retrieved my line this morning," Johnson explained.
"I was worried and you should have contacted me with someone's phone," He replied.
"I left my diary at home. I was only able to call you because I backed up my contacts on my mail. I even borrowed the phone I am using now," Johnson replied.
The call ended and Mark called his parents immediately. They were happy and also felt relieved. Mark alighted from the bus even though the driver insisted there was no refund and his friends were surprised and happy to see that he came back for the exam.
He explained what happened to his brother and they were all happy.
