They've been digging the floor underneath their bed in the prison for over ninety days now; guess what? Neither of them knew they had been looking forward to seeing each other for over twenty-five years.
Their part of the room falls at the extreme end; it is a small room that has been cast away, and it stands on its own in the big prison yard; even prison warders and prisoners rarely visit the place. That was where the old man everyone called Baba stayed; after a few years of which he was there, Femi went to prison too, and since the place is filled to the brim, he was to manage with the old man called Baba.
It was after a week of his stay in the room that he noticed a hole beneath their bed. He and Baba barely talk, but the man had to open up to him about it. He's trying to make an escape. That was where Femi learned that the actual place Baba was digging leads straight into a small tunnel, which then leads to the outside world.
That night Femi joined him to dig; he still didn't really like Baba, but since this is an escape route, he felt he could be a part of it.
"Baba, you're digging too slowly." Femi said with a frown on his face.
"You can't compare my bone with yours." Baba said with a smile.
Femi rolled his eyes at him and went to collect the small instrument they are using to dig.
"Go and help keep a watch..." He said as he collected it.
And that was how they took turns digging for weeks. The only time they both talk is during work at midnight; Femi still doesn't feel okay with getting too close to him. So during the day they act like strangers, and at night they are partners.
"Do you have anyone waiting for you out there?" Baba asked him one night while digging.
"I have no one. My mom died a long time ago, and my dad..." He paused...
"I don't even know him." He finally said.
"I'm sorry about that." Baba said
"Sorry? You don't need to be sorry for me." Femi shrugged as he responded
Both of them said nothing as they continued to dig.
Two nights later, while Femi was digging, Baba was humming a soft lullaby near the door where he was keeping watch.
As if something had stung Femi, he suddenly stopped digging and almost shouted.
"That lullaby.... My mom used to hum it too." He said.
"A lot of mothers did." Baba replied.
He wasn't satisfied with Baba's response, but then he didn't want to drag it either. So, they continued with work.
A few days after they had the conversation about the lullaby, they finally dug through and could now make their way out. So they planned on not wasting time and agreed to move the next day. They both smiled at each other, and since they were too happy to sleep, they engaged themselves and began to discuss. One thing led to another, and Femi talked about where his mom came from.
"My mom came from Ojudade; she said it's a very big village." Femi said, then added quickly, "She always talked about the one and only mango tree in the whole village."
Baba's heart skipped a beat as he heard the last sentence...
"The mango tree sits in the middle of the road...." He said.
"Yes." Femi replied. "How did you know."
"I'm not from that village, but I spent a lot of years there." Baba responded.
Tunde just stared, not knowing what next to say....
"Well, I know very little about the place, except the little I remember my mum telling me before her passing." He finally said.
"I used to work there then; thinking about it now... I miss those times I used to carve wooden birds for children." Baba said and sighed.
"Wooden birds? My mom had two different ones." Femi said.
"Your mom? What's her name?" Baba asked.
"Her name is Funmi." Femi replied.
Baba's jaw dropped as tears seemed to start forming on his face.
And for minutes, neither of them said anything.
"Funmi is my wife. I carved those two different birds for her." Baba finally said.
Femi was forced to laugh out loud. Not because what Baba said was funny, but because it looked and sounded impossible.
"No, what are you even trying to say." Femi said, smiling.
"I was arrested before you were born for an offense I know absolutely nothing about." Baba said. "She was already pregnant as of then."
"You are just joking." Femi said, still trying to wave it all off.
*"I wish I was." Baba said
Baba dipped his hand inside his cloth and removed a small wooden object.
"Did you ever see something like that with your mom?" Baba asked.
Femi couldn't believe his eyes; he stared at the wooden piece Baba was holding as he searched the inside of his clothes to remove a wooden piece that not just matched but also completed the one Baba was holding.
"You ever tried looking for us?" Femi asked.
"Yes, I did the best I could behind these walls." Baba replied.
An office warden passed by then and was curious as to what they were discussing. He warned them not to fight, or else they will both be forced out to work on the field since, to him, both of them don't get along.
The following day, during a sanitation session. A warden got to find out something is going on, and they are trying to hide it. He wasn't sure what it was yet, so he stepped out to call out to others to come over.
Immediately he stepped out, Baba told Femi to get underneath the bed and crawl through.
"What about you?" Femi asked.
"Don't worry, you just go. I've already lost about twenty-five years; I don't want you to lose yours." Baba said.
"No come with me." Femi said as he grabbed Baba's hand.
"My son, go. We both know you know nothing about how you got here too. Go." He said.
So Femi crawled in, looked up at his father for the last time, and went. Baba quickly blocked the hole with the bricks underneath the bed that they've been using to cover it all this while.
By the time the warden came in with others, Femi was gone. They asked Baba about him, and he told them he walked out immediately the warden stepped out the other time.
And since they still believe that both Baba and Femi don't get along, they left to look for him. It was on the night of the second day that they finally saw the hole.
Baba quickly rushed there and used all of his strength to shout inside the hole....
"Run!"
Even though he's not sure if he's been heard or not.
But Femi heard it "Run," as he was about to open the covering of the tunnel at the other end.
Years later, Femi is doing very well for himself. And he can't help but smile when he remembers the incident and how he finally finds the person he never knew he was looking for.
馃尮
Images are AI generated.
Thanks a lot for taking your time to read through, kindly do well to stop by my blog 
鉂ｏ笍鉂ｏ笍鉂ｏ笍
