As one who loves to experience new things and go on adventures, travelling was something I did often. I loved travelling from the boisterous city of Lagos down to the Eastern parts of Nigeria. Usually, these trips of mine were scheduled towards the Christmas holiday period, as that was the time when there would be huge gatherings of relatives.
Five years back, I eagerly embarked on such a trip from Lagos down to the Eastern states. I was the last person to travel from my family as I had to round off work before travelling. I went to the bus station, bought my ticket and waited for the bus to take off.
The bus conductor already fixed my black luggage inside the boot of the bus with that of other passengers. Soon, the bus took off leaving the bus station and I closed my eyes to enjoy a little nap as the bus moved. When the bus got to Benin city, the driver parked to enable passengers to buy food items and to allow those who wanted to relieve themselves to do so easily.
I joined other passengers to go buy some food for the journey. I recalled not eating anything before embarking on the trip. So I bought some bread, suya and one Fanta drink to go. I also used the spare time to visit the restroom so as to relieve myself.
All was going great. The passengers were all enjoying a bubbly burst of laughter and soft banter. The camaraderie and rapport was good. Soon, we arrived at Onitsha in Anambra state. A place popular for having the Niger bridge. A particular passenger who sat in front of me alighted the bus.
As we drove off, I noticed him carrying a black luggage tht looked similar to mine and so I protested…
”Driver wait! That guy has carried my luggage”
*”It is not your luggage madam. Please don't delay the journey. I saw your luggage, it is still in the boot, the driver replied.
I quickly said ”okay” and the journey continues. After a few hours, the bus arrived at my stop and I alighted. Indeed my black luggage was handed over to me and I waved the rest of the passengers goodbye before heading to where I would take a cab to my family compound.
I stopped to take out my diary, where I had written some of my relatives' numbers. ”It was inside my bag lying safely” I thought as I dipped my hands into the side pocket of my luggage to take out the diary but to my surprise, the diary wasn't there.
Cold sweat broke all over my body. I then decided to open the larger pocket side to see if I kept it there. As I opened up the box, what I saw did not look likemfemale clothings at all. There were boots, Jeans and hoodies. Those were not my usual kind of outfits.
That as when it dawned on me that there had been a mix-up with my luggage. I was not confused as to who had my luggage. All that I thought about was how to get back my luggage. I immediately put a call through to the driver explaining the situation at hand. He promised to get the guy's number for me so that we could communicate. I thanked him and waited briefly.
True to his words, I received a text message with a phone number and amen of the guy who took my luggage. Without much Ado, I dialed his number and waited for a response…
”Hello, Is this Mr Patrick? My name is Becky. I was on the same bus with you today. I sat behind you inside the bus earlier. Please there's a situation, you took my own luggage while yours is with me here” I rambled out in a single breath.
”Yes I am Patrick and I also just found out now that the luggage with me is not mine. Can you send me your address so that I can get your luggage to you and retrieve mine?” He asked.
”Yes, I'll send it to you now. Thanks for your understanding” I finally said before hanging up the call. I quickly sent him a text message of my location, doing my best to be as clear as possible. He called to acknowledge receipt of my message and so I was left somewhat stranded
I sat down there for another two hours before Patrick's call came through. I picked up the call and after a few questioning, Patrick and I were able to locate each other and the luggage mix-up was sorted out. Though it took more time than usual, I was glad to have retrieved my luggage in one piece.
Thank you all for reading.
Images used are mine.