Friday, June 3, 2016

When I Served My Country

1.


The waitress starred mouth agape at me, when I demanded for a bottle of malt. A motorcycle was dispatched for the purpose of its acquisition. On the cyclist’s return, the stare turned to his hand, which was occupied by a rumpled bottle of Amstel Malta. As I laid my hand on it, its temperature reminded me of my 9th birthday injury, where I had laid my left foot on the tip of a motorcycle’s exhaust pipe. As I opened and gulped down it’s contents, my eyes shut themselves involuntarily. As they reopened, I discovered that there was silence and that everyone else drank with me; in spirit…
Then, I realised, I had just began my National Youth Service year. Welcome to Obubra, Cross River State.

And when the darkness finally arrived, I discovered that the definition of it was never this complete. The crickets prospered in their hymn-singing business and the owls responded in unison. Aside the music, the land was dead. I struggled to give it some life with the light shining faintly from the screen of my mobile phone. Suddenly, I spotted shadows in the deep darkness! My neighbor’s 13 children had abandoned their sleep to witness this daring light that had finally conquered the Obubra darkness.

I am an i~Witness.

No comments:

Post a Comment