Opening my eyes was harder than it should be, but when I did, I heard voices. Both within and outside my head. I was in a tent like structure made of wood. The floor was clay and the roof was aluminium sheets. A Danfo bus was packed in front of me.
My mouth was dry and tongue heavy. I was lying on a piece of rag. The clothes I was in, I couldnt remember having. I didnt know where I was, then it dawned on me me......I didnt know who I was.
I sat up with a probing pain in my head telling me it was a bad idea. Then the voices got clearer, I was in a motor park. The people outside were screaming 'Abuja', 'okene', 'Auchi'...I passed out. When I woke up, it was pretty dark. Some people sat beside me. While some were eating, others were smoking, a few had little bottles of gin with them. They seemed to ignore me as I looked at them. I had my eyes fixated at one in particular. He had ugly tribal marks and spoke really fast. They all seemed to listen to him as spoke. I tried to talk but I couldnt. My throat hurt. My head was still hurting too, running my hands through my head I felt stitches and something that could have been a gash. Touching it hurt but it looked like the only link to my past. I guess it was really late because some of the guys around started leaving, others slept on benches and some on the floor. A couple of others entered d danfo dat I had seen earlier.
That was when she came in. I didnt know who she was but I knew she was coming straight for me. She held a plate in her right hand and a satchet of water on her left. She was brown in complexion, with full bosoms and piercing eyes with heavily applied Tiro.
'Eat', she said gently like I was a kid. I had a million questions to ask her but I couldnt talk just yet. What came out of my mouth was incoherent. Even my goddam name would have been fine. Why can’t she just say my name?
She noticed my pain as she placed her hand on d stitches on my head n caressed it.
'Please eat, you will say everything you want to later, we have more questions for you then you have for us', she said in Yoruba.
I freaking knew she was speaking yoruba, I could also perfectly understand her. That was d first clue I had of my past. I was a Yoruba boy or I have lived in yoruba land for a while. Secondly and a little troubling, I liked bosoms.
I woke up inbetween a guy on singlets, whose snores must have been the reason why I woke up, and the girl who had brought me food earlier. Across the tent were some other people sleeping on a piece of rag like we did.
I took a look at the guy on singlets, his slightly exposed mouth was almost crashing into my nose. He had bushy brows and a thin mustache. He looked handsome. I tried to remember how I looked but I couldnt. Then it occurred to me that seeing my face might bring back memories. I stood up and it was surprisingly easy, I tiptoed so as not to wake all the people scattered around me. My aim was to get to the danfo and look at the mirror. Unfortunately its side mirrors were broken.
I decided against looking at the windows because of the people sleeping inside. The only other option was for me to step outside the tent.
Thou majority of the car park's populace were asleep. A few were awake. Sitting on car bonnets, smoking and listening to Fuji Music. As I walked down trying to ignore the glares! I saw the guy with the ugly tribal marks sitting by himself, I wanted to meet him and ask a couple of questions but decided against it. Instead I saw a Sienna car that had good mirrors and approached it.
I was shocked when I looked at my face. I didnt look like a yoruba boy. I noticed I was light skinned earlier but my face was moreso. I had light brown eyes, almost like an albino. But I had black hair. So I wasnt an albino. I looked old enough to vote but too young to marry.
A group of igbo (weed) smokers were getting to were I was so I decided to go back to my tenth. When I passed by the tribal mark guy, he was asleep, but his phone was emmiting out religious yoruba music. The phone looked very big and loud, almost like a miniature Tv.
On getting to the tent, I realised that the singlet guy and the food lady were having a convo, he had shifted to my position and they didnt notice I was approaching. So I stopped and went through the other side of the danfo, beyond their eyes. I was hoping that by eaves dropping, I would hear some clues of who I was.
Food girl: what if somebody wakes up or just enters the tent, you know Alhaji has said no park boy should gbansh here
Singlet boy: But I wanna gbansh Alhaji is in d hotel opposite us with two girls, because he can afford it. Baby you know this job requires renewal of the body every now and then
Food girl: so I am what?..a thing for renewal?
Singlet guy: No, you are my future wife na, as soon as I have a bus of my own. You know since that guy came, we have not been having regular sex o.
Hearing him refer to me, I got excited, expected her to say something that will trigger more info. I was disappointed.
Food girl: oya come , before you go and sleep with Bose again, saying its because of starvation.
As she said this, he smiled and watch her fold up her skirt to reveal white lace panties. I didnt expect that she would look that clean beneath. He hurriedly pulled down his sokoto to reveal a chelsea adorned boxers. As she pulled her panties, he was alreading waiting to meet her.
I realised there was a swelling in my ugly looking trousers. Then she moaned as he penetrated her. I could hardly muster the strength to look away. . .