The phone rang in my pocket while I was contemplating my newly discovered independence. I had a suspicion that he could be calling because the number wasn't stored in the contact. I made the decision not to answer the phone since I didn't know how to talk to him if he was the one calling. It kept ringing, and it appeared like the caller on the other end was persistent in making contact. I hit the red call-cutting button and then held it down for a few seconds to turn the phone off.
"So this is what freedom looks like."
I told myself as I got up from the tree base I was sitting on and started moving. I could feel the Motorola C261 in my trouser pocket when walking. To be honest, I have no clue why the ten-year-old me opted to take the phone with him on his quest for freedom. Perhaps to make a point to the phone's owner, who happened to be my father.
Those were the least of my concerns as I had left the house an hour before when my father was sleeping.
"He might have woken up and discovered I wasn't in the house and that his phone was missing," I said.
"Why bother about what the old man might be facing when you have the whole world to explore?" I pushed myself.
"But he is your father," my pathetic side realized.
"Shut up, and concentrate on using this newfound freedom to explore," my other thought retorted.
I kept going like a charged wild bull. I had no idea where I was headed, but I continued walking. Most of the streets I moved into were unfamiliar to me.
"Wow, so this place is part of my neighborhood," I thought to myself whenever I came across a new street.
Apart from going to school and church, and occasionally during vacations when my father takes me to locations like the market to buy clothing and accessories, I have always remained indoors. My dad did not allow me to go outdoors and explore the street as some parents in my neighbourhood do, and I felt oppressed as a result.
I kept walking till I was far away from home. I met several schoolmates on the streets and got to know their homes. Most of them were astonished to see me, but I didn't inform anyone I met that I had gone AWOL. I kept on exploring and began connecting the new neighbourhoods I discovered to the streets I was already familiar with. As I walked, I became fatigued, thirsty, and hungry, and the heat beat down on me. I didn't steal any money when I was running away from home, and I started to regret it.
Fortunately, I ran across a classmate who handed me a sachet of water to drink. I felt rejuvenated as I sipped the water and began to think. I realize that the freedom I thought I had was a mirage, and nothing can replace the comfort of my home.
"How do I get home now, after all the atrocities I have committed?"
"I can't just go home and knock and say, Dad, I am back!"
As evening approached, I realized that I had only been dumb enough to leave the house, so I chose to return home. I was three blocks away from home and couldn't go anymore. I felt embarrassed.
"What if the whole neighborhood knows that I'm missing or ran from home?" I pondered.
So I sat on the sidewalk, planning a strategy to go home without drawing too much notice. As I got closer to home, I spotted my neighbor's father a few meters away.
"Maybe he is looking for me."
I pretended not to notice him and that I didn't want to go home. Then he noticed me and raised his gaze to me, calling my name,"Tomi!"
He raced to grasp me and then started guiding me home. In my mind, I was relieved, but in his mind, he assumed he was the one who discovered me. I don't really care. We came home, and Naturally, my father wasn't there; he had been traversing up and down looking for me, and he was the one who alerted our neighbors that I was missing.
My neighbor's father called my father as soon as we arrived home. I'm sure that was one of the most soothing phone calls my father has ever received. Before my father returned, I was being questioned by neighbors about where I had gone, and they saw something large in my pocket and located the phone. Immediately, another call was made to my dad, who was on his way home following the initial call, informing him that his phone had been found with me.