I and my family have been residing in a shabby apartment on the outskirts of Lagos, known as "Face Me, Slap You, for the past 10 years. Then one morning, my dad delivered the good news we had been waiting for; he told us that we were finally moving to our own house. Everyone in the family was excited about the prospect of getting our own home. When packing day finally came, I folded my old memories in preparation for unfolding a new one.
We arrived at our new home after hours of traveling, and the following morning my father informed us that he would be going to work because he had a lot of things to take care of but that he would be joining us soon. Our new apartment was in a wooded neighborhood, but I liked it because of the natural surroundings and the peace and quiet.
On arriving at the place, my mom and I went to greet the neighbors, then we took time to unpack our belongings and clean the place. After the cleaning, my mom called me into her room, and then she said,
"Sade, can you please cook some rice for us? We are hungry".
I hurriedly left for the kitchen, as my mom had instructed me. Because we were hungry, I took the poor lamp that we had, so I quietly headed there. As I was rushing to the kitchen, my leg stepped on a cold, slippery object on the floor. At first, I thought it was a wet mop, so my mind skipped it.
However, as I took another step, I realized that I couldn't move my legs anymore. Panic set in as I tried to free myself, but I couldn't. It was then that I realized that something had happened to me. I screamed for help and called out my family. My younger brother quickly retrieved his phone from our neighbor; he was on the light, and then we saw a big, shining green snake laying on the floor. The truth dawned on us: I had been bitten by a snake.
My brother wrapped my leg with a cloth, and I was escorted to a clinic while my mother hastily locked the door in a fit of rage. Everyone was terrified, but my brother mustered the courage to kill the snake. However, for a week, I was unable to speak due to my fear; even moving to the passage was a problem for me. Many thoughts crossed my mind, including that if I had died, there would be news spreading that we had moved to a new house and I had been bitten by a snake. Nevertheless, I still thanked God that I was alive.