Psssssssssssshhhhhhhh…..Kpuaaiii!!! That was the sound that woke me up. It sounded directly in my head like a bullet was thrown into my room. Oh my God!
I couldn’t move for what looked like five minutes, I was literarily transfixed and freezing. Armed robbers? Oh Lord! Why will it be today that am home alone with Kenny? Did she just hear what I heard or was she sound asleep in her room? What about our security man? Why did he let those hoodlums into our compound? Did he even know what had just happened or was he also sleeping? No, he had better not be! These thought kept flying through my mind.
I tried to move but could not, I needed to first lower the curtain so they won’t see me from outside. Thank God the light was off or rather that there was no light, I looked at the switch and it was turned on, I panicked what if the power was restored just now and they could see into my room? Oh Lord! What do I do?
I heard footsteps or was it raindrops? They were very faint but I could hear them, I tried to figure out which way they were headed but the wind began to blow and the sound of my ‘pounding’ heart wouldn’t let me. I wondered if they would enter through the front or the back door, I heard they also enter peoples houses through the roof. I need to act very fast. Just then, a thought flew into my head and almost set me on my feet. Oh, thank God Mummy was not home and I had the key to her room. It has an iron door so I can gently open it and lock myself inside! Bright idea! But moving from my room to hers won’t be easy, now it looked like a great distance and there seemed to be a gulf between both rooms. What if they saw me? I was still shaking on my bed and Kenny was still in her room. I need to go wake her up and we will both go and hide.
I mustered courage, with my head still down I tried to look for my phone on the bed. I rolled my hand through the bed and there it was. I held it for three seconds, I needed to know the time too but turning it on will make a sound and they might know am in the room. I had switched it off before sleeping to avoid taking those disturbing calls. Who knows how far they have gone in attempting to enter the house? Phewwwww, I exhaled.
As I held my phone, I thought of who to call… Yes, the Police…hahaha who dash me policeman number and just then I remembered the comedy skit I watched about a man who called the police to report a night robbery and they told him to find somewhere and hide because “the police is your friend” (lol). I had better take that advice too. I held my phone tightly and switched it on and I quickly quenched the sound. It was as if someone’s eye was looking at me and I slumped back into the bed. Just then, I was able to see the time, 12:20am. Oh Lord! The night is still young and this is going to be a long night. Who will I call to help by this time of the night?
What if they were drunk? What if they used drugs? What about stories of rape I had heard? Jehovah!!! My thoughts kept racing like those Formula 1 cars on super sports. I have to move now, my legs were shaking. I listened again and the wind continued, oh Lord if it starts raining, they might stay longer.
I tried to pray, what will I say? Deliver me Lord, no, help me Lord, Confuse them Lord, cause them to flee. I couldn’t even utter any meaningful word. There was dead silence, my heart had stopped beating or so I thought. Then I thought of writing!!! Hian Nasa, write gini? In this condition, armed robbers, no light? Mbanu, not this night. But the story kept forming in my head- this story.
Just then I heard it clearly, it was raindrops not footsteps; oh thank God, who knows? They might have taken to flight. I took a deep breath and listened again, nobody was banging at my door.
As I thought about writing again, I felt the sweet hands of sleep, my good friend carrying me, cuddling me and singing in my ears and I couldn’t resist it, thank God I didn’t even try.
I woke up the next morning and it was 6:15am, I looked through the window, our driver had come and he was pumping the deflated tyre that burst that night. I greeted him and heaved a sigh of relief!
