On a very beautiful Thursday afternoon when the sun was at it's peak shining brightly and illuminating every hidden corners of the environment, the heat was too much to bear due to the hotness of the sun that day and it made almost everyone in the compound to step out of their rooms and sit outside their corridors just for a little fresh air, because prior to that day, it was made known to us that there won't be light because the transformer cables got stolen by thieves in the night.
Seated outside with some of my neighbours in the compound, we suddenly heard a horn blaring at our gate signaling us to open the gate and one of our neighbour whose room was close to the gate went to open the gate.
Immediately, a private car drove in together with two pickup truck fully loaded with things like cushion, wardrobe, bedframes and other things, making it obvious that a new tenant just moved in.
After settling down and unpacking, we got to know our new neighbour who is a civil servant working for the federal government and he was just transferred to Abuja, precisely Nyanya.
"Good afternoon sir and welcome" I greeted the man, as I tried to be welcoming and hospitable
"Good afternoon" he responded back, "thank you for helping me unpack" he added, even though I wasn't the only one helping him unpack but I was the first to take the initiative to start a conversation
I was about to continue the conversation when we suddenly heard the sound of plate's breaking as they fell to the floor
"John, what happened" the father enquired as he rush into the room to check, and after confirming that John was not injured, the father dragged him out of the room as his mum try to clean up the broken plates from the floor
John was his second child and the only boy in-between two girls and from the first impression it was obvious the father cherish the boy alot. After unpacking everything, we left our new neighbour to arrange their house the way they want and we left.
Later that evening, some of my neighbours and my mum included cooked and took the food to our new tenants as a way to welcome them properly. The new tenants were very surprised by that kind gesture and they accepted the food after some persuasion from my mum and others.
John came out to hang out with us as he left his parents discussing and getting to know each other better with their new neighbours. We began gisting as if we had known each other for a long time and that was when I knew that he was a simple and understanding person but naive in some ways.
Days turn to weeks and John got to meet new friends aside from us but some of those friends where not trustworthy and we tried to advise him against some of them but he was too excited about making new friends that he let it overwhelmed him. One day I called him and said
"John, be careful with Barnabas because he is very mischievous and dangerous" I warned him
"But he's a nice guy" John responded, "and he told me you guys will advice me against him", he further added
I was not surprised by what Barnabas will tell him but I still asked again
"so what do you think, from your perspective is he trustworthy?"
"I think so" he said
"Ok, if you say so but just be careful and watch your back" I said and left immediately without hearing his response.
After some days, John's father drove his mother to her school where she is furthering her education and while he was still there, he got a call from one of our neighbours that his son was missing
"What !!! How is John missing" the father asked with a panicked voice, "it's not up to 5 hours that I left home to drop his mother off"
"I will be on my way right now" said the father and he ended the call
It turns out John and Barnabas were outside with some friends when they saw a big hot air balloon floating in the sky with some people being carried by the ballon, surprised and shocked by what they saw, they all began following the Balloon on foot while the people who mounted the hot air balloon where just waving them from the balloon.
They trekked for hours following roads they had never followed, entering places normally they won't enter just so they could meet and see the people that were on the hot air balloon. After meeting and seeing them, it turns out they weren't the only one's that were captivated and hypnotised by the floating balloon.
Suddenly John remembered that it was already late and he needed to go back home, as he turned around to tell Barnabas that they should go back home, he didn't see any of them. What he saw were unfamiliar faces and he began to panic because he doesn't remember the road they came from.
"Barnabas where are you" he screamed at the top of his lungs but there was no response nor were they present. Soon everyone started dispersing and John decided to follow the crowd hoping that he would see Barnabas along the way or find his way home, but unfortunately he found himself in a particular high way close to a police station and he doesn't even know where to go or who to call.
"John why are you here and where is your dad" said one officer after he recognised him
"Sir, am lost and I don't know the way back home" replied John as he narrated everything that has happened to the police officer.
Immediately the police officer called John's father because he knew him and after 30 minutes, the father arrived and thanked the officer saying he was about to come and make a report before his call came in and he picked John up and they went home.
The next day it was confirmed that Barnabas had left John in the bush and followed one of his uncle who was also present during the touchdown of the balloon.
I approached John that morning and said "I told you not to trust these guys, you see as they left you alone in the bush right".
Feeling annoyed, he responded "yes you told me, but I didn't listen"
"Barnabas is a wolf in sheep clothing" he added.
Thank you for reading and hope you enjoyed it
All images are properly sourced
Samarijr 🖊️