Two years ago, I was house hunting. I searched for an apartment for more than three months, and I couldn’t get anyone that was within my budget, and the ones within, they were either not renting it to me because I am a female or because I am unmarried. Despite that, I didn’t give up.
After searching for a while, my sister suggested that we change environment. So, we looked outside our state, and we eventually got one. The self-contained apartment was so good that I didn’t even bother to make any background search on it. Rather, I jumped for joy and thanked God for helping me find one very okay within my budget and my marital status didn’t matter.
I had neighbours who had dogs that I loved, and fed. I related with my neighbours like I normally would, and I trusted that they related with me because we had a mutual understanding. However, one thing I didn’t realize in time was that my neighbours were fraudsters, smokers, and drug takers, and by the time I found out, it was already late because the landlord wouldn’t refund my money, and I didn’t have any other funds to use. So, I opted for running away from home at every slight opportunity I got.
In one of my runnings, I embarked on a seven hours journey to visit my cousin in the eastern part of my country where I had planned to spend one month, and return home after to start house hunting because I knew I couldn’t stay in that house any longer if I would have to keep finding a place to stay out of my home.
Barely one week after I got there, I got a call from a strange line:
The caller: “Hello, am I on to Miss Monsurat?”
Me: Yes, you are. Who am I talking to, please?
The caller: This is a call from the Lagos State Police. Your landlord reported that you bypassed the electricity and have accumulated a total debt of over forty thousand naira and some other expenses.
Me: (confused).** I don’t even know what you are talking about. Bypassed electricity? How? When? Where? By who?
The caller: You are advised to report to the police station very early tomorrow before we file a report against you. For your own good!
And the call ended.
I was mid-work when I got this call, and the first feeling I had was confusion. I just paid one of those neighbours recommended by our house caretaker to help me recharge my apartment’s light, which I hadn’t even gotten a response from him, and here I was getting accused of what I had no understanding of.
I called one of my uncles who is in the force, and he guided me on what to do. I called the landlord and explained that I wasn’t around, and would reach out when I returned home, and he agreed.
By the time I returned home, I saw a report from the police. I didn’t show up at the police station, rather, I called the landlord that I was at around.
Eventually, I had to pay the money I knew nothing about how the debt was incurred, but it was a way of saving myself from police harassment and exploitation.
I was angry that I had to borrow money to pay, and I realized that my neighbours who were the culprits weren’t arrested or anything.
I trusted my neighbours to be good people, yet it turned out to be the worst mistake I made at the time. I was angry, yet I couldn't vent my anger on anyone. Rather, I eventually paid the money and packed my bags to leave home again to my brother's where I resumed house hunting.
Three months later, I got another place, and I moved out.
This is my entry to InLeo’s prompt for March. You can find the details here
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