The Journey

 

The town

One faithful sunny morning in one of the South West States, my friend and I were about to visit the bank, which is about five hundred kilometers from where we were staying.

It was a beautiful morning with the sun just rising above the mountain peaks. This is a town surrounded by mountains, and you can guess the fun when the sun sets. There are so many fun spots and hiking with a lot of people doing picnics at the very top of the mountain. I remember one day I climbed the mountain for the very first time, and boy, I was just inexperienced and without any gear. It was one of the most difficult climbs, and I was afraid I would fall because it was just my feet and my hands doing the climbing with no rope or any safety gear. My thighs were burning me, and my throat was as dry as the desert, but I couldn't give up because I would fall if I made one single mistake. I had tears in my eyes, but I pressed on with determination, and my friend was encouraging me, but I guess he was scared because he was the one who asked me to climb with him, knowing I had never done it before. So when we reached the top, lo and behold, I saw a cave and a few people murmuring some kind of prayers, all of them wearing white garments. I asked him, "What is going on here?"

He looked at me and raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

I nodded at the people kneeling and praying as if their lives depended on it.

He sighed and said, "Bro, are you not aware?"

"Of what?"

"They are worshipers of that giant snake that lives in the cave."

"What did you just say?" I asked, looking around with my heart in my mouth.

"There is a snake in there," he said, pointing at the darkness beyond the cave entrance.

"A snake?"

"Yes."

"A giant snake?"

"Yes," he said with exasperation, rolling his eyes as he usually does when tired of answering a question.

"And you made me climb to the top?"

"Don't worry, nothing will happen."

"You must be joking," I said, taking a step backward and eyeing the distance to the ground. I was shocked to see how far I was — even a moving vehicle driving at a speed of one hundred kilometers per hour looked like a tortoise crawling. I started panicking and calling on the Savior to save me, then I started descending at a rate even I couldn't believe — all because I didn't want to be swallowed by a giant snake.

So that sunny morning, I looked at the mountain and shook my head. At that moment, a car stopped for us to enter, but there were only two seats left, so we entered. As the car was about to move, a girl knocked on it and asked the driver to help her because she was in a hurry.

"Ma'am, I'm sorry, there is no more room; you will have to wait for another vehicle."

"But I need to be at the bank in the next hour — it is very important."

"Alas, there is nothing I can do unless you can swap with a passenger," he said, looking at us, and we all avoided his eyes.

That is when I accidentally turned my head, and lo and behold, I saw she was in a real hurry and needed help.

I turned to her and said, "Eh, my dear, if you will not mind, you can share my seat with me. Sir," I looked at the driver, "is that okay with you?"

He nodded, and my friend whispered, "What is wrong with you?"

I ignored him and asked her to climb in. I adjusted to make room for her to sit comfortably. My friend gave me a look but said nothing.

The old man in the front smiled and said if I got tired of sharing, he could help.

I said, "Don't worry, I will manage." Then the vehicle started moving, and you can never believe the bumps and potholes on that road. The ride was bumpy, and we all held on as best we could.

It was one hell of a ride — full of laughter from the bumps and everyone's jokes. My friend kept shifting, trying to get comfortable, but I focused on the journey.

When we finally reached our destination, we thanked the driver and went our ways.

After we were done with our transaction, we went back to the boarding terminal, and I saw a girl, a little plump but as beautiful as the sky on a bright, golden morning. I nudged my friend and nodded at the girl, but he ignored me, so I went to her. "Good afternoon, beauty."

"Good afternoon, sir. My name is not Beauty," she said with a smile.

I just smiled and said, "You are too beautiful, and I like what I see in you."

"And what do you see in me?"

"The most beautiful girl in this town."

"I'm not beautiful," she said with a shake of her head.

"Now you are wrong," I said, and I looked at my friend and asked him, "Hey, bro, is she not beautiful?"

He frowned and said, "You are a mean bastard. You've been the lucky one today. I guess I have to give it to you for your boldness — and yes, she is beautiful. Happy now?"

I turned to her and said, "There you have it."

She smiled shyly.

I introduced myself and asked her name.

"My name is Mojisola," she said, extending her hand for a handshake.

"My name is Alex, and it is my pleasure to meet you," I said, shaking her hand politely. She giggled and turned around, hiding her blushes.

Alex smiled inside, feeling happy to meet such a nice girl.

"What brings you to this town?" she asked.

"Oh, we came here to do business with the local bank. What about you?"

"I sell bananas over there," she said, pointing toward a shade.

"Bananas? I guess I will have to buy some."

She laughed, and we chatted more.

"Never mind, let us go and meet my mum," she said, hooking her arm with mine, and she led me to her mum.

"Mummy, meet my friend Alex," she said with a beaming smile.

Her mum turned from what she was doing and said, "Good afternoon, young man. How are you?"

"I'm fine."

"So you are my daughter's friend?"

"We just met, but I hope to be good friends."

"Hmmm... That is interesting. I suppose she is of age — you know she is twenty-six years old."

"Wow! She looks like a twenty-year-old to me."

"And how old are you, young man?"

"I'm twenty-seven, ma'am."

"Interesting indeed," she said with a big smile. "I hope I will not regret letting you talk to her."

"No, you will not regret it, ma'am," I said, looking at my friend, who shrugged his shoulders.

"So, young man, do you like my daughter?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"And what is your intention with her?"

I turned and looked at my friend, who returned the look with a big grin.

"Eh, ma'am, I don't know yet. I only know I enjoy talking to her and would like to get to know her better."

"If you want to know her better, then you are talking of something serious?"

"Eh, serious?"

"Yes, or is my daughter not good enough for that?"

"No, I never thought that far. I just want to take it slowly and see how it goes."

"So you want to take it slowly and see if you will get tired of her?"

"No, ma'am, I don't mean it like that, please." I said, looking at my friend who was beaming with a big smile.

"Are you sure you are serious about her?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"So, what is bad if you consider marriage?"

"Nothing."

"Then think about it."

"I'm not ready yet," I said and started sweating. Alex wondered how things had come to this. Was it a setup? He questioned himself.

At that moment, two hefty-looking young men with bulging muscles came out of the house just behind Mama Mojisola's stall. "Mama Mojisola! What is the commotion all about that we can't have our fun in peace?"

I didn't wait to hear what she said, but found my two legs running. My friend saw me running and took off too. We ran for almost five hundred meters before we slowed down, breathing hard with sweat dripping from our faces and brows, our shirts stuck to our bodies.

"You're evil," I said, panting, and looking at my friend with a dagger eye.

"Me evil? How? And why would you say that?"

"I thought we were friends?"

"Of course, we are friends."

"Then why didn't you say something back there?" I said, pointing in the direction we came from.

"Something like what?"

"Anything would have helped."

"Ha, am I the one chatting up the girl?"

"That is no excuse."

"But I signaled you to run, eh?"

"Yeah, you did — that is what you are good at, you know, running."

"And yet you are the one who took the lead," my friend said with a grin, and we both started laughing.

After some time, I got angry. "That Mojisola is a snake and a deceptive one at that," I said, looking back to make sure no one was pursuing us.

"Yeah, she smiled and then brought you to her mum's feet for the final talk."

"Come to think of it," I said, wiping sweat from my brow and having a mind to go back and show them who is the man, "why marriage?"

"Aren't you still getting it?" my friend said, shaking his head. "Man, you are so dense."

"Getting what?"

"She is twenty-six years old — marriageable age, and getting older. Not someone looking for casual fun."

"Yeah, I never saw that coming."

"Learn from your mistake. This is not your town; you are just a visitor here. Be careful."

"I will."

Alex and his friend rode home in silence, chauffeured by the driver my friend had arranged. The car’s atmosphere felt heavy, charged with unspoken tension. Alex sensed the other passengers’ eyes on him, their awareness of his earlier blunder hanging like a fog. Shame gnawed at him, and though he tried to push it down, he couldn’t shake the fear that they were judging him in their thoughts.

He had learned a hard lesson. As a visitor to this unfamiliar town, ignorant of its customs and traditions, Alex vowed never to repeat his mistake. He’d let his guard down once, swayed by a beautiful woman, but he wouldn’t again—not here, not ever.

From that day, Alex came to the conclusion that he needed to know and understand the culture and traditions of his host community. He stopped behaving as if everyone was beneath him and that he could get away with anything he wanted. He thought of writing a letter to the mother to ask for forgiveness, considering he would be passing through that place again. He shook his head and came to the conclusion that the best thing he could do was to buy a gift and then apologize to her in person. He had learned his lesson and promised to be of good behavior.

THE END