It was the end of the 2022–2023 academic session, and the school management presented two options for us to choose from. Of the two, a picnic received the highest vote.
We got to the field and spread out the blankets. Excitement filled the air as we chatted like one big family.
"Sir, please let every end of the term continue to be this exciting," Teacher Precious said as she helped unpack the items we brought to make the day what it should be.
The picnic ground was surrounded by tall trees, and in one hidden part of the space was a narrow path. I was so curious to know where the path would take us.
"Today is fun and exciting; no amount of adjectives is enough to compliment today. But today won't be complete without us exploring that narrow road". I pointed in that direction.
"Since this is our first time being here, exploring all the places won't be bad. I support teacher Mary," Teacher Mbotidem said.
"I do the same too; it could be fun!" Teacher Nse said
"The only person who has the final say is the proprietor," Teacher Solomon said as he gave me a shea, you know, kind of look.
"The majority carries the vote," the proprietor said.
"That settles it; off we go, guys," I said happily as we packed all our delicious items into one of the teachers' backpacks.
While we set off for the narrow path, my intuition kept screaming at me about how risky the place could be, but I shook the feeling off. I was unarmed but ready for the risk ahead.
After some minutes of walk, we saw a stream with some rocks inside the water. I marveled at the scene, as that was my first time seeing it. Offshore were other bigger rocks with grasses around them.
"I feel like walking on these rocks inside this stream," One of the teachers said.
"Don't imagine such a thing; you will slip from the rock, and this river seems deep," the proprietor said.
We preferred the new place to the initial spot. As the sun went down to its horizon, the place got dark; we could see a little but not very well. A touch would be needed to pick up a pen that fell off.
"Haaaaa!! Teacher Nse shouted.
My heart pounded as I jumped up, thinking there was a need for us to flee.
"Something speedy crossed my leg; it was fast, but I can't tell. I'm scared," Teacher Nse said, the quietest of all the teachers.
Immediately after she said that, we all turned our phone torches on and began to search. At that moment, my intuition hit me hard, and I began to feel guilty even when I didn't have any idea if it was mere grass that touched her leg.
We all became scared; only the proprietor was serious with the search while we all stood in fear.
After a long search and nothing being found, we burst into laughter, mimicking Teacher Nse.
As the atmosphere was getting calmer, we saw a greenish snake with a very high speed ran into the grass. We quickly made our way out of the stream. Grateful that teacher Nse was not bitten by the snake the first time it ran across her leg.
After we got back to our initial spot, we sat down and discussed the incident and how the snake would have spoiled a fun-filled day for us. I couldn't help but feel guilty for not listening to my instinct.
"I'm very sorry for what I would have caused today. The truth is that my intuition told me that it might be dangerous to go down that narrow path, but my curiosity made me doubt my intuition," I apologized to the group.
Learn to trust your instincts; they are usually accurate. This should be a lesson to us and some of us here that are as you when it comes to trusting their intuition," the proprietor said.
From that day on, I learned to trust my instincts, knowing that they held the key to saving us from unforeseen circumstances.