There's this random quote that always rings in my head, "they are no strangers in this world, they are just friends we haven't met yet". Thinking about it logically, I realized that as humans, we all have that soft spot in out hearts that triggers the emotional and sympathetic part of our being, no matter how strong-hearted we think we are.
For someone like me that went to a military school from childhood, I was trained in one of the most cruel ways you could think of, and at a point, I had the wrong mindset that it's normal for all humans to be heartless and violence towards one another.
Infact, when I graduated from military school I was very violent and cruel towards others, especially strangers because I thought we were all designed to defend ourselves against strangers in all circumstances. Back then I was violence towards every stranger I met, even before knowing them because I suspected that in one way or the other they might offend me in the future, lol.
But that all changed and my mindset was restored back to normal after a group of strangers saved me from what would have been the worst experience of my life. It was on this day that I realized that you can't give out what you don't have or what you have not received because from the day I received this love and generosity from this strangers, I became one of the most kind and peaceful person I know.
It was a journey of more than 600km by road from my base (Cross River State, Nigeria) to Kaduna a faraway state in the Northern part of the country. The journey was a very long one and so there were no vehicles going straight to Kaduna from my base, which means I would have to board 2 more buses in 2 different locations to get to my destination.
The journey was moving smoothly until I boarded the last bus going from Abuja to Kaduna. Just few minutes into the journey, I realized that I wasn't feeling my phone or wallet in my pocket, and as I searched myself I discovered that both my phone and wallet had been stolen. I was laughing at first because I never wanted to believe my eyes, but the more I searched, the more reality kept dawning on me that my own was finished for that day.
I stood up in the bus and began to threaten them that no one was leaving this bus if I don't see my phone, but everyone was just looking at me like I was joking. Some people helped me to look for the phone and wallet, but to no avail. We tried calling my number but it had been switched off, and that was when I realized my phone and wallet might have been stolen in the park before the bus even moved.
There was no money on me and my ATM card was in my stolen wallet. This was my first trip to Kaduna and I was supposed to go to my uncle's place in Kaduna where I would spend the night and find my way around the city the next day. But now I can't even communicate with my uncle again, and he was expecting my call so that he could direct me to his house. If I had gotten his number offhand, it would have been easier but I didn't.
The bus got to Kaduna and everyone was coming down and preparing to go to their various destinations, but I came down, took my bag, and stood in front of the bus. You could imagine the level of frustration I was going through as I stood there stranded because at this point I don't even know where I would spend the night.
Just while I was still deep in my thoughts, one of the passengers tapped my shoulder and gave me lots of money. I couldn't believe my eyes, and he said that some of the passengers in the bus had contributed the money for me, and now they had all gone without even waiting for me to tell them "Thank you."
I had not even finished processing what just happened, when the man added that I could spend the night at his place. Ah, I couldn't contain my joy and excitement, because I never expected strangers to show this level of love and support to another stranger. This experience changed my mindset about strangers from negative to positive, and even till today I am still seeking to repay the favour I was shown on that day.
All images as used in this post are mine.
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