Chapter 02

Caro had run for about an hour through the light bushes behind Chief's house. So far, she had not found the way very smooth. There were creeping plants, fallen trees and hollows in the ground, but after every fall, she would get up and continue the journey without looking back. Her goal was to get out of anyone's reach before daybreak and passing through the bushes was the shortest cut to her very first destination: the local town hall. She arrived there tired and breathless, dirty and bruised from her many falls, but her senses were intact. It was almost pitch dark, but she knew every inch of the community, having hawked to every nook and cranny practically all her life. The town hall would be her hotel for most part of the night, so she set about doing a little recon of the place. She walked around the solitary building and found no one hanging around and perceived no smell of cigarette or 'Mary Jane'. Then she stepped in cautiously so as not to wake others who had already taken up residence there for the night. The place was always locked, but a small window at one side served as entry point for night occupants. Caro would not go through that window. That was a risk too big to take: being boxed on all sides. She would stay outside instead. Walking into the corridor that was partly fenced with a large balustrade, she sat down on the floor, her back to the wall. She pulled her knees up to her chest, extended her frock to cover her ankles and tucked it tightly between her legs. Sitting as she was, wedged between the low balustrade and the wall of the main hall, with an exit point just a few feet away, she went to sleep, largely protected from mosquitoes by her long-sleeved frock. *** At 4am prompt, Caro opened her eyes. She had not been awakened by anyone or anything other than habit. All her life, she had been raised to wake up at exactly that time in order to do housework and then, hawk kerosene and other items before going off to school. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hands, stretched herself and yawned. She got to her feet and stretched again, ready to wake her siblings so they would join her to sweep the kitchen, wash the plates, and begin fetching water before their mother would start distributing the early morning blows and knocks. But oh!... it hit her like a shock wave and she almost staggered from the sudden realization. She wasn't at home, was she? She looked beside her and none of her siblings were there. She wasn't even running from home, she was running from her husband's home. Then there was no time to lose! It was still dark, very dark. Caro hurried out of the townhall and at a brisk run, commenced her journey - the second phase of it. She knew that soon, it would be wake up time for Chief, but if he didn't stir, none of his wives or children would dare to disturb him. And if in a few hours, he still wasn't up and about, there would be some grumbling, but it would be noon before anyone would risk his/her hide to go knock on that door and by that time, Caro would be in Lagos or almost there at any rate. She ran fast, not going through the bush this time, but through the open town. Her way was clear because those living after the town hall were mostly reclusive farmers who paid little attention to anything even if they were to see the Devil himself riding through the town on a war steed. In less than an hour, Caro could sight the only motorpark in the the community, but she had another pit stop to make. Veering away from the course that led to the park, she took the bush path leading to her temporary destination. She could feel the dew and cobwebs clinging to her as she brushed the plants aside, walking carefully to avoid stepping on unwanted creatures that the place was notorious for. In a few minutes, she saw what she was looking for: a small lake totally surrounded by dense bushes. Looking quickly around, she went to the water's edge and pulled off one of her slippers to disturb the calm water. The surface at first and then deeper. After that warning to the unknown and probably dangerous creatures lurking underwater, she proceeded to wash herself. She could have loved a good swim, but not only was she short of time, but she had also heard rumors of the presence of alligators and large snakes in the lake. So, limiting herself to scooping up the water with her hands, she washed her face, arms, neck, hair and legs before taking a quick pee. Feeling ready, she dusted off her clothes the twigs, cobwebs and brambles before setting off for the road again. She was just in time. The last early morning bus heading for Lagos was just about to leave. She caught it ahead of a fat woman who had spent crucial seconds trying to find out if she was the daughter of Mama Caro. *** Caro arrived in Lagos in the late afternoon and she was exhausted by the long journey, the switching of vehicles and the horrible seating arrangement in the bus. She had almost been squeezed to death between two adult women and had to gain some space by occasionally using her elbows on their ribs. They did not complain, but their glares told of their dislike for her strategy. But she cared less. The thought of Lagos had been the thought of something grand and beautiful, but now that she was here, Caro was nothing short of disappointed. The dirt, the traffic gridlock, the crowd of constantly moving people and the noisy touts told a very different story from those she had been told. In fact, she was heading to meet the storyteller and she would ask her why she had deceived her and everyone else in the village, but that would be after she must have managed to extricate the hem of her frock from whatever was holding on to it as she tried to exit the bus. "Abeg wait o!", she shouted frantically, but the driver was already moving ahead, the vehicle slowly picking up speed. The conductor himself was much unconcerned about her plight, instead he was more focused on wooing new passengers. She was lucky that none of her legs had touched the ground yet or she would be dragged on the ground as the vehicle moved. With one hand on the side of the bus, she roughly jerked her frock away from the sharp part of the iron seat that it had hooked on to, tearing off a little part of the material in the process. But that was a small price to pay for not missing her bus stop. With a calculated jump, she exited the moving vehicle and managed to hit the ground running. "Useless idiots," she cursed, after she had caught her breath, as she inspected the torn part of her dress. Then she lifted it up, fished into the pocket of the little shorts she wore underneath and pulled out the small white paper stored there. She had earlier memorized its contents, but the happenings of the last few minutes were enough to make one forget even his/her name. Caro was sure that she was at the right bus stop. There was the street's name up there on a pole - the only good thing she had seen of Lagos so far. But being at the bus stop was still another problem on its own. The entire place was one big noisy market. There was an untarred dirt road that led to God knew where, but from her point of view at the bus stop, she could see that the road was not only far from straight, but it also had some branches which people were constantly taking. Joining the throng would be nothing short of madness. She was not in any way familiar with this environment and she could easily get lost. She had to ask for help. But perhaps she needed a little something to spur her on? She heard the angry blast of a danfo horn and she jumped out of the way just in time as the driver maneuvered his rickety contraption of a vehicle into a temporary parking spot, throwing curses at her as he went. His conductor had already jumped down and was shouting the locations his bus would reach and go through. Before she could fully recover her composure, she received a sharp push from a middle-aged man whose path she had been blocking. In fact, she was still blocking the path of many other people. The solution was to keep moving and keep her eyes and ears open. At first, she stood still to allow people pass before moving on, but after several pushes from the back and sides, she finally learned to move like everyone else in the throng. When she eventually reached the roasted plantain seller a few metres away, she had spent about half an hour, a journey that would take any other person in the area only a few seconds. But in that half hour, she had learnt what would have taken some people at least a day to learn. She was from a crazy environment herself, the biggest difference was in the population and the density, but adjusting was not going to be much of a problem. "Good afternoon, ma," she greeted the woman selling the roasted plantain, groundnuts and a few other items like soft drinks in a cooler. "Kil'efe?", the woman asked, vigorously fanning the hot coals she was using for her roasting. "Eh?", Caro blurted in total lack of comprehension. "Wetin you wan buy?", the woman repeated in pidgin English. "Oh. I no wan buy anything. I just wan find out where this place dey." Caro hurriedly unfolded her little white paper containing the address of her mother's cousin preparatory to showing it to the woman. But the plantain seller, seeing that the girl had no intention whatsoever to buy anything from her, promptly hissed and turned away. "Tunde!", she called at the top of her lungs. "Tunde!", she called again. And still, no response. "Lo pe egbon e wa," she said to a little chubby calabash-bellied child seated on the ground beside her. "Sare sare." Caro watched as the child darted off on the errand, hoping that the woman had some intention of helping her, but the look she received when the woman finally looked her way left her in no doubt that she had to try somewhere else. Tunde was obviously being called for a reason that had nothing to do with her situation. *** The heat from the sun was quite at it its peak when Caro finally arrived at her final destination. The sweat was dripping down her body and her once precious but now useless paper was almost in shreds due to it being passed from one rough hand to another. But there was not much reason for worry. Aunty Rosa would be hosting her in a few minutes and she would get a bath, food and some much needed rest. Her legs were so tired! At the compound she had been directed to, as being the residence of her aunty, she found three gum-munching older girls seated on two benches outside and clad only in short jean skirts and bras. Caro could hardly fault them. She knew all too well what the heat could do. As she approached them, two of the girls gave her a once-over with a practised eye. She chose the only girl who didn't stop looking and walked up to her. "Sista, good afternoon," she greeted and was replied with a little nod as the girl's mouth continued chewing the gum as if the health of her teeth depended on it. She didn't looking harsh or angry, rather she looked curious. This gave Caro the confidence she needed to make her enquiry. "Abeg, I dey find somebody... Aunty Rosa. Dem tell me say na here she dey stay." "Rosa?", the girl asked, surprised at the Aunty part. "Na her area be that na," she said, after Caro nodded in response, pointing to a door opposite. "Oh thank you, sista. But she dey house so?" "She dey na. E be like say she dey work sef." Caro did not understand what she meant by 'she dey work', but not wanting to push her already unbelievable luck too far, she thanked the girl again and crossed over to the door that she had pointed out to her. Caro gave a sharp rap on the closed door and received an instant response. "Who be that?", was the semi-angry shout from inside. "Na me o, Aunty," Caro called back. "Caro... Caro from village." "Eh?", was the surprised response. "Wetin you find come here?" "I just..." She stopped to listen to what was being said in the room: "Abeg, come dey go. This family people don carry their wahala come. I no dey like wey person dey disturb my market like this." Then, hardly seconds later, a man in police uniform opened the door and came out of the room, tightening his belt as he walked. He gave only a passing glance at Caro before hurrying off, but Caro kept her eyes on his retreating figure. She was so focused on him and wondering what he had been doing in her Aunty's apartment that she did not notice Rosa watching her from the open doorway. She was clad in only a tiny pair of bum shorts and a bra. One hand on her waist and another on the door frame, she regarded her cousin's daughter with little love. "So Caro, wetin happen? Wetin you find come Lagos? Na only you waka come?" Caro, shocked by the sudden sound of a voice and taken aback by her Aunty's attire, stuttered helplessly, "Goo... good afternoon, Aunty." "I know say na afternoon. Don't remind me. Answer my question." "Ehh... na only me come," Caro replied, already sensing that she was not welcome. "I just... I just wan change environment to... you know... further the hustle." "Which hustle be that? Kerosene hawking hustle? Abi e get another thing wey you sabi?" "Ah Aunty, even if I no sabi anything sef, I'm a fast learner. If I follow you do your business, before you know it, I don even..." "Hey, shut up there!", Rosa cut her off. "What business do you think I'm doing, eh?" "Err... I never know yet, but if you fit teach me..." "Hey, look here. I don't run a lodge or a charity organization here, or even a vocational training centre, so nobody should just walk here and... and.. and... by the way, you sure say no be run you dey run from home? Where your things?" "Ehhh...," Caro was about to weave and deliver a suitable lie, but Rosa did not let her finish the process. "Look here. Sheybi you know the road wey you pass come? Pass that same road and go back to the village. Lagos no be for children. How old are you that you're talking of hustling? Do you even know how to spell the word?" "H..U..S..." "Come on, shut up there! Idiot. Now, turn 360. Make I dey see your back now now now. I will call your mother and t..." "But Aunty," Caro wailed in panic. "That time wey you come village, you tell us say anybody wey wan come Lagos, you go help the person find work and..." "That was then. Things don change. Economy don spoil. So go back home, you hear? Go back home and manage what you have in the village. Lagos no be for children. I dey go inside now, if I come out and still see you here... only God go save you." With that, she turned and went back into her room. Caro stood dejected, rejected and disappointed. She had not anticipated such a blow-off and as a result, had not prepared for it. For once in her life, she was totally stranded and helpless in a strange land. Going back to the village was a huge no-no. Staying where she was for one extra second was another no-no. Apart from whatever she planned to return with, Rosa had already promised to call her mother and she had to put as much distance between herself and this area before her family would come in search. But the big question was, where would she go?