AN UNFORGETTABLE EXPERIENCE

"Juuuliet !!!!, my mother screamed.

I was so playful as a child that my Mom would need to stretch her vocal cords beyond its breaking point to get my attention.

"The dustbins are filled up and should be disposed of".

"Alright, Mum", I replied grudgingly.

In response to Mum's order, I and my sister quickly transferred the refuse into two jute sacks and then headed for the hills which was just a stone's throw from our residence. This was one of the benefits living at Stone-base, Niger state granted us.

Indigenes were mostly farmers and hunters. As a result of its rich dark porous soil, most crops grew so well. Bush meat was something one could get without much ado. The trees around and the serene environment in those hilly areas provided a very favourable environment for animals to thrive. At age 10, young boys could boast of having caught at least a grasscutter.

On reaching the base of the mountains, the angry words of a middle-aged woman who lived around give a reset to my brain. I had wanted to quickly get rid of the dirt anywhere and then return to my default play-mode.

"You no see the 'NO REFUSE HERE' order? You sabi read at all?", she poured out.

"Madam, abeg no vex", I quickly replied.

To avoid issues, I and my younger sister had to climb up higher to get the refuse disposed. I was about to do so when I saw him.

Dangora, a bush meat seller was about 6 years older than I was. He was someone so mysterious, there was more to him that meets the eyes. His father was well known to be a sworn drunkard of Burukutu, a locally made alcoholic beverage, and his mother, a petty food seller always wore a long face. Dangaro and his siblings wore clothings that were no better than that of Alamajiris.

My father had been patronizing him lately, partly because of his attitude which spoke of someone so experienced. I had become attracted to him too on that account.

"Juliet, how far nah. You cum throway dorty?"

" Yes oo, our dustbin is filled up and this is the only way to do justice to it.

"E nice o, well done".

Dagory, as he was popularly called began to move uneasily, scratch his head continuously, and swallow saliva a million times in a minute.

" Hmmm, e get wetin I wan give you but e be like say you dey in a hurry. Abi, you go like return?", he continued.

Curiosity took the greater part of me and I did not know when I blurted out.

"I'll be back. There's a little refuse remaining in our house."

"Alright, till you come"

True to my words, I disposed the dirt I was with and returned with another. It took a lot of rampaging to get the much I gathered. This wasn't an issue to me as I was only concerned with feeding my curiosity. I climbed the hills as carefully as I had them climbed down and met Dangora where I had left him.

"Thank heavens," I muttered under my breath.

" Juliet, you come sharrp sharrp"

" I told you I will come", I replied bubbling with excitement.

" Alright, before I give you wetin I promise you eh, e get wetin I watch for film..."

His facial expression now spoke of profound conflicting emotions. His voice became shaky and he was gradually moving closer to me. The stench from his mouth was getting sharper.

"You just need to lie down with your belle make I show you wetin I watch", he continued.

It seemed to be a battle of what I watched versus what he watched as I quickly remembered how kidnappers butchered the heads of children in the forest and mountainous areas. That place looked like the one I do see in movies, the rocks forming a kind of covering in holy matrimony with the trees and another a flattened ground that would hasten whatever process he had in mind.

With bloodshot eyes and my heart racing so fast, the only word that kept resounding in my ears so loudly was "RUN"!

Before one could say "Jack", I had turned back and had begun to run down the hills as fast as my legs could carry me. How I was able to run down the rocks without missing a step and smashing my head remains a huge mystery to me. I never looked back to see his reaction to my sudden action. It has nothing to do with me. As to whether he chased me, I cannot tell. All I can say was once "I was almost killed, now I am delivered" .

My mum must not hear of it. The only one I told was my younger sister and she couldn't help but stare at me. The trauma of that experience still lasts up till now and even as I narrate it, I still feel shivers running through my spine even to the neurones at the tip of my fingers.