Waking up to the fresh, breathtaking Wednesday morning, the chirping birds on the tree branch sang their melody in uniform. Another day to be the best, I echoed out loud in my mind.
Stepping out to get a clearer view of the beautiful morning sunset.
Oops!! There was a huge delivery with my name on it, and I wondered in distress, What could it be, and who obviously sent it in my name?
Switching up things a little bit away from the present day to months ago. The streets were bustling with motorists, pedestrians, and lots of other activities people engaged in. There was an invasion of armed men in a multimillion-naira boutique; who could imagine such an incident in broad daylight? These armed men forcefully made their way into the boutique with the frightening looks and obvious armed weapons; at that time, no one dared to stop them. “Hurry up!"!! One of the armed men roared in his loud voice to the other men. Goods worth millions of naira were taken away in a van similar to that of a bullion van. As they zoomed out, the managing officers of the boutique were already at the top of their voices, screaming for help and rescue as it dawned on them that the damages and lost and injured weren't going to sit well with the business operation of the firm.
From the whispers of passersby to the roars of pain of these just-rigged business managing officers. Everyone around seemed to observe some moments of silence as to what occurred, which happened in the blink of an eye. I was as well a passerby in my vehicle, as I felt so much remorse and pity for this firm. The most concerned individual and myself made our way directly into the entrance of this exotic boutique that has just been robbed of valuable goods and properties. In my sincerest quest to find a proven solution to the situation at hand, I expressed my opinion that the matter be reported to the nearest local police station as soon as possible so the culprits could be brought to law. Just in, a dark-skinned young man in his late 20s or early 30s wasn't sure of his exact age at the time and totally objected to my suggestion in loud anger as to if we had personal differences from time immemorial.
I had struggled with the urge to speak and react at the same frequency, but that wasn't going to represent my personality in a demure way. I had to deal with the proper response of silence as an ethics of being in public. As to though our opinions and countless suggestions didn't really matter. I felt cold shivers already go down my spine and could tell it was time to leave. The situation took an unfamiliar existence of my mind, and for a while I drove home clearly keeping my mind off what had occurred. My heart raced with deeper questions and suspense; I felt uncomfortable doing much thinking all at a time on my way home, so I took a deep breath in and drove home calmly.
When you think it's been figured out, boom, another story is told or published about kidnapping, armed robbers, and vice versa. One wasn't sure who the next victim was going to be.Having a friend who is a journalist in a renowned broadcasting firm like James could put the news in front line and create more awareness on the rising vices in our beloved town and cities beyond. One could be on the street on Sunday evenings and be certain a sudden attack might occur. ‘Something has to be done!!! I thought aloud, ,Who knows?I might even be the next victim." Gosh, such a bad thought I snapped out of immediately. A series of ideas kept on crossing my mind on the way the news should be publicized to ensure it creates required awareness and puts the government on the peddle to improve state security. So therefore I sought out James's help to push through this innovative idea of getting the state strong and safe.
It was in the early hours of a Saturday when my phone rang and James sounded so loud as though there was good news to be shared. The news of the armed robbery incident I witnessed and many more have been broadcasted by James through their renowned station and written on different editors columns. Gently, I dragged myself to the living room to get a clearer view on the television to understand the impact and spread of the news because I still had sleepy eyes. As I managed to put the television on and grab a glass of water from a corner of the room, it was then I realized the news had gained a hundred thousand views and more within a short time and captured interest in the story. Top politicians, heads of offices, and different diplomatic personnel of status have reacted since the release of the news and in fact felt attacked, which was due to the fact that strong statements, video evidence, and reports have been placed on the case.
Aside from strengthening my quest to find the culprits of this crime, the news seemed to have spread like wildfire and obviously kept residents of my town at alert. I still needed to check out for myself the progress that has been made by the boutique management officers to track down the culprits. On this day after work hours, I drove to the boutique location to see for myself and connect more dots I found strange. I received a warm welcome because, why not? I have become an important aid to ensuring the business's safety and security from more damage or loss, but today I was precise about meeting with the managing director of the firm. There was a face I recalled to have met on the day of the incident—a dark young man who clamped down my suggestion of reporting to the police station was a staff member—that I found disturbing and strange. He always displayed restlessness whenever I paid the firm a visit; I could see it from his eyes and body language, and this didn't sit pretty with me. "Hello," we exchanged greetings, and he quickly offered me a seat in his office. I went forward to tell him about my recent findings and the unusual behavior of this particular staff. He promised to look into it as it could help the investigation greatly, and I took my leave. A few days later, he called me to inform me that the staff with the strange behavior had fled into thin air after embezzling some funds from the firm and has been traced to have a connection with that incident. That was such a relief because I knew the search was gradually coming to an end and the culprits would be brought to law.
In the moment, I was super curious about what was in the box. I moved closely, and there was a note. I opened it, and guess what was written in it?
"If you had minded your own business and looked away, you wouldn’t be receiving this package. Now, let’s welcome you properly."
I was surprised reading that, in my thoughts, "could the message come from the people I helped or the culprit wants to scare me? No, the suspect was already arrested months ago; it could be from those guys I helped.
I moved onto opening the package, and as I opened it, I jumped up in shock and moved back to stand while I stared at the package. The shocking cease my voice, a moment of silence. I couldn't breathe well for like a few seconds. Could you guess what was in the box? It's the heads of those guys I helped. I blacked out completely.
