Janet Solomon's Diary - Episode 6

Janet Solomon's Diary - Episode 6

Before I continue, I would like to highlight that the story title has been changed to Janet Solomon's Dairy from Diary of a Hustling Single Girl. 

Thank you for reading the other episodes and still following the story. 

It continues...

“Where have you been since morning this girl? You don go see your boyfriend again abi?”

“No ma, the market was busy today and I had to move round to see other places”.

“Na lie u dey lie. But wait oo, you go other places go buy wetin? You come buy nonsense come this house abi?”

“No ma, this ones even sell better than our customers”.

“Oh, you dey even tell me how to buy and where to buy abi? You don dey get mind oh. You and that your boyfriend don dey plan for me. Oya, kneel down there I dey come”.

She went inside and came out with a leather belt that Big Daddy had sent to her the previous month, and started flogging me like I had killed her then, she resurrected to revenge.

“Aunty please, I’m not feeling too well ma”.

“Yes na. Na wetin make me dey flog you so the sickness go run comot”.

She continued flogging me and I started bleeding on my head, it was at that point I made the decision.

The two angels came as usual:

White angel: stay and be tolerant, joy shall come in the morning.

Black angel: Who told you that? Don’t mind her; she just wants you to die here for nothing. Run away from there and be free.

White angel: you can never be free if you leave the house. The outside world is not for you, you’re not old enough to survive there.

Black angel: what is this one saying? Anybody can survive anywhere, just go first and see what happens.

I just chased the both of them away and ran away as fast as I could out of the house.

I’m sure I kept running for three hours, because I wanted to get far away from my aunt as possible.

When I was sure that I was far beyond my aunt's reach I sat on the floor beside some women selling fruits. I was hoping one of them would pity me and give me some of it, or even take me home in the night.

They seemed to be oblivious of me. I looked at myself to be sure I wasn’t a ghost. With blood on my body I was still ignored?

I concluded at that point that those women were just the same as my aunt – wicked! Wicked! And more wicked!!

Hours passed and yet, I sat there hopefully. It was a waste of time though. Evening came and they parked their wares and left me there to die.

They even gossiped about me.

"You see that girl wey siddon for there?"

"No mind am jare. Maybe na witch be that one now, we no know".

"Hmm... me I even think say she be ogbanje".

"Ogbanje abi ogbanje".

How was I to survive this? My aunty's house isn’t an option, because I was next to my own grave. They had taught us in Church to pray against early death, and so, I didn’t want to die at a tender age.

The two angels came back in the night, but before they said anything one boy about my age, two years older than me (I was fourteen years then) had passed me but he came back and stood in front of me.

“What are you doing here?”

“I don’t know”.

“Ok, can you come with me to where my friends and I stay?”

The two angels that were already there started again.

White angel: don’t go with him, go back home because your aunt is looking for you.

Black angle: nice try. She is already out and nothing can take her back again.

I wanted to be off those two ever-fighting spirits, and so, I agreed to go with him.

We walked and walked and walked and walked and my legs started shaking.

“Are we not there yet?”

“Almost there”.

After that, I had to sit on the floor because I was exhausted. He carried me on his back and took me to an uncompleted building. Some other children were there.

He introduced me to those children, but I was almost out and I saw only blurry images of them.

I woke up the next day and my head was hitting like an ‘odo’, with some heavy pounding going on in it.

So many children ran to where I was, which made me quite shy. I was happy that some people liked me around them. At least, it was better than being with Delilah in hell.

I allowed myself to fit into their midst well. They took care of me like their own. Gave me food (although it wasn’t as good, but it was eaten with love), made sure I was welcome, also allowing me to rest before they told me the story of how they survive.

Amidst all that, something took my interest.

To be continued…