A Nightmare

I opened my eyes with a smile. The long awaited day had come. The day I had so craved for, up to 3 months now, was finally here. I felt a sparkle of happiness within me. I had never imagined this day would come. I was to officially become a student in the prestigious university of Nigeria. I had only slept not up to 3 hours ago. I was so excited that I lay awake on my bed imagining how today would be. Today was to mark the beginning of a new chapter in my life's story, I just couldn't wait for it to begin anyway. It was 6am and my mum had come to call me for our regular morning prayers. She was suprised to see I was already set and waiting for her, unlike me who would've to be sprinkled with drops of freezing cold water before awakening. I followed her to the sitting room where we were to pray. My mum was a middle aged woman and I was the youngest of her children. This meant a lot to her that finally her little boy of yesterday was finally a university student. She happily, kept on singing joyful praises to God that morning before we started praying. Her major prayer points were obviously all for me. We spent up to 45 minutes praying. We then read the Bible and concluded.
After prayers, I opened all the windows and curtains to lighten up the room. I took a peep outside and it seemed to be such a blissful morning that was. I smiled to myself before my mum yelled my name to remind me of how long and far my Destination is to enable start preparing. I went into my room and brought all my luggage out and then took off to brush my teeth and then take my bath from go there. I knew that by the time I was done my food would've been ready. I was so quick and sort of clumsy in doing things that morning, well it comes with my happy moods. I was already done with bathing and my mum went in next and my guess was right, my food was waiting for me in the dining table, I trusted my mum on this.
When we had all finished, I  packed the luggage into the car's booth while my mum did her normal test run to check if the car was good to go. She opened the bonnet and her eyes went straight to the lead-acid battery powering the electrical parts of the car. The battery had an indicator at the top most corner which depicted it's strength and luckily for us that morning, it was as strong as ever. Everything seemed perfect that morning, the skies, the weather, everything! It seemed as though I had gotten my happily ever after. It was as if I've finally made it. Despite all the scorn I received, all the mockery, I had still gotten all I dreamed of. It was like a dream come true.
"Chidiebere! Chidiebere!". My mum brought me back from my fantasy. She was calling me to come into the sitting room so we could pray. My mum didn't joke with prayers. She strongly believed in them and never misses a meal of prayer everyday. We took some hymns and she made a brief prayer after which she still gave me another round of advice. She called my Dad too, who wasn't around. He prayed and counselled me, warned me of the evils of higher institutions before he now hung up.
We went into the car and my mum made another brief prayer before we drove off. We were heading to one of those motor parks en route Enugu. It was not up to 10km away. I suddenly started feeling uneasy. This feeling comes to me anytime something bad wants to happen, anytime I make a decision that yields terrible repercussion. The nation's elections we're drawing closer, just a week away precisely. My mum had earlier adviced me to wait till it's conclusion before travelling, but I just thought she wanted to delay me intentionally. It didn't take her time to notice my uneasy feeling. She decided to ask but I waved it off as just a minor feeling when you're traveling to a place where you know no one. We got to the park around 10:25am. We went straight to the counter after my mum had parked her car and paid for the journey. The attendant then directed us to the next bus that'd be leaving in 20. She then helped me with my luggage which we brought close to the bus. We were then charged for luggages. It was then that my mum left. I was still feeling uneasy and many thoughts filled my mind. What if I don't get there in one piece? What if we get kidnapped? No, that's out of question. Enugu is safe. Even if we get there in one piece, who do I know? It was then I remembered the number my brother had given me earlier. It belonged to his friend. I was to stay with him for the time being.
Then another question struck me, how would I adapt? How would I get to make friends in this land? How will I get another clique? How would I program myself? These were what rang in my head. I tried as much as I could to proffer answers to my ever inquisitive and curious mind. It was then the driver blasted the car's horn notifying us that it was time to take off. We all quickly rushed in, in accordance to the seat numbers written on the tickets
During the journey, I kept on debating with my thoughts. I kept on being skeptical about this journey. The once bright happiness I felt was now dim. It became unclear to me why I felt happy earlier. I decided to drown myself in music. I took out my phone and went into my music app. I connected my phone with my headset and blocked my ears. As the music played, I tried to put off my thoughts and just stay blank. But this was a case of 'more haste, less speed'. As the struggle continued, my mind got exhausted and needed rest. It was then that I slept off.
The next time I opened my eyes, there was sort of a commotion. Lots of noises in the bus. I couldn't get a clear picture because I had been sleeping. I remember hearing a woman shout at the driver for not stopping her at a particular location. The driver had obviously smoked😥 and lost himself. He drove so fast. Then a woman in the bus spat on him, he tried to look back and slap her. Then, a man screamed, "driver, see car dey come front ohh, I no wan die!😭😭". The driver then turned and in an attempt to escape collision, he drove into a pothole and then , out vehicle feel sideways. The last I could remember was hearing the sounds of shattered glasses and cries.
The next time I opened my eyes, I saw myself on a bed with my brother beside me. It was the room we shared. I searched for my phone and checked the time, it was the wee hours of the day. I realized I had been sleeping and it had all been a dream 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣