November 03, 2008; 06:23am
As I stepped out into the street from behind our compound gate, I pondered briefly on my dislike for mornings such as this; slightly warm, in a way that makes you dread the afternoon sun many hours before it peeks out from underneath its’ blanket. I fished out my phone from my bag to let my bf know I was already on the move.
As I talked on the phone, I absent mindedly noticed a bike speed past. There were two guys on it; the rider and a passenger. In the still dark morning, the electronic green and yellow glow slipping through the sides of my Sony Ericsson was as bright as a bulb light in the dark.
I had barely slid my phone shut to end my call when the bike from a few moments before rolled up to me and one of the guys called out “sister…”. I was already thinking if it was directions they needed, they had the wrong girl when the passenger pulled a gun and jumped to my side even as he extended his hand for my bag.
Without a second’s thought, I offered the bag. But I was still clutching my phone 'cos of the just concluded call that doubtlessly attracted them. He must have thought I was trying to play smart by holding on to the phone ‘cos he reached out to slap me, and was half way to my already burning cheek (fear) when he deflected, grabbed the phone and hopped back on the bike as it sped off.
Only then did I begin to shake …
November 10, 2009; 08:37pm
We were driving towards Third Mainland. If we could cross the bridge and leave the island behind us, the frustrations of the day would be of no more consequence. But as with everyday in Lagos, traffic was conspiring with the dark forces to keep us from the respite we were reaching for with both hands.
To kill time as we crept along with the other road users, I decided to read my newly purchased Genevieve magazine. Our nerves were already frayed, thanks to our individually hectic day, so I hoped that the shared activity (me reading and him listening and commenting) would help us find a good play field. So I dug out my Sony Erisson phone so I could read by its faint light. It was the same model as the one I lost to robbers the year before. Such was my devotion to the phone!
The plan, which had been working, was interrupted by a rude knock on the driver’s windscreen “Wind down! Wind down now or I go blast your head” I looked up from the magazine, on the other side of the glass was a tout. There was no gun in sight, but that didn’t guarantee that there wasn’t one tucked somewhere. I didn’t want to find out and I assume my bf didn’t either ‘cos he inched the glass down a bit to allow us pass to the robber our phones, at his request.
It was the damned phone that had done me in again, not just the phone but its beacon-like yellowish-green glow.
“Oya, Gimme the bag” the thief shouted gruffly. “Not again!” I thought as I recalled the gold necklace carelessly stashed in my wallet just as the last time. I didn’t mind him having the bag, if I could just sneak my wallet out of it. “’Not a chance” I thought dejectedly as I passed the bag to my bf.
Just then, a gap opened in the lane to my side, and instead of handing the bag over to the assailant, my bf snuck into the gap and pushed forward with the flowing traffic. I could hear my heart beating as we made our way through the traffic at a pace that I considered inimical to our existence.
October 28, 2010
It’s almost that time of the year. I like to think that I have taken every necessary precaution to forestall any attacks this year, thanks to my acquired paranoia and phobia. I do not own a Sony Ericsson and I try not to read in traffic save by sun light. I think I’m out of harm’s way. What do you think? Might I have left something out?
Picture source here
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