The police officer took me to a room with a table and some chairs. He asked me to sit down and left me to my own devices. I had not seen my bag since I entered the station. It was 10pm already, I wondered if I would get a bus or a cab home.
As I sat down there, I saw a part of night life that I had never had cause to cross paths with before; prostitutes and policemen in a strange dance that was difficult to decipher.
A policeman arrested one and brought her inside to where I was seated, while another prostitute was seated comfortably on another seat, chatting with another policeman as if they were old friends. One policeman was arguing with a different prostitute over 1000 naira while another policeman spanked the wriggling buttocks of another prostitute passing by. She cursed him and he chuckled and spanked her some more. She giggled, they exchanged numbers.
I turned until my neck hurt but I could not understand the dance. From where I sat, the two professions acted as friendly enemies or something similar; it was weird to see.
My observation ended when the police officer returned and asked me how much I had on me. I told him it was just 200 naira and I need it to transport home. He looked at me for some seconds then he brought 100 naira out of his pocket and gave it to me while taking the 200 naira from me. He was giving me change! Which business did we do? He handed over my bag containing my laptop and told me to go home.
It was 10:30pm, my city had gone to sleep. Getting a transport back to my nook was next to impossible. I told the officer this. He told me they had space but I would have to share it with drunks, thieves and degenerates. I thought about it and decided to take my chances with the night.
I stared at the silent night and sighed. There was not one single bus on the road. I walked some distance away from the police station and stood hoping to get a lift, but besides the mosquitoes and the sour breeze from the drain behind me, nothing was moving. After some minutes, I decided to walk down the road and try my luck somewhere else. I had not gone far when a torch appeared out of the night and a voice yelled for me to stop.
The voice was followed by two lanky youths carrying sawed off shotguns and frowning face. The one with the torch asked me were I was coming from and I told him my experience with the police. He shook his head sadly and said I would not get transport to my part of town by that time.
They were vigilantes, guarding their street, the guy with the torch said. For me to pass them, I had to give them something. I told the guy I had just 100 naira with me. He said for him to help me, I need to find him some money. I had nothing to give to him, so he turned and walked away with his colleague. I was left alone on the dark road. It was 11pm.
After deliberating on my situation for some minutes, I decided to keep on walking even as I tried to flag down the few automobiles that crawled passed. I walked on slowly until a car slowed down and the driver asked my destination. I informed him of where I was headed and he shook his head; he want going that far but he can drop me some distance down the road. It didn't matter to me, I joined the man in his car and we drove off.
True to his word, he dropped me off at the mouth of the street that I had come out of after leaving the lady and her one bottle of beer several hours ago. I was basically were I had started from; with just 100 naira and time was 11:25pm.
I considered my options and decided to just walk. I was drawing close to a church when I saw a torchlight waving in the distance. A car drove from the direction of the light and it's lights fell on the people with the torch and I realised that the torchlight was coming from a group of policemen. Police again? I knew if these ones caught me, I was sleeping in a cell.
I walked to the church and listened as they prayed and called on God to come and save them. I knocked and knocked on their gate but they were obviously in the spirit, because no one came to my aid. Anyway, it suddenly began to rain.
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Peace
art and flair courtesy of @PegasusPhysics
