All I did was ask the lady abductor for help but it looked as if I had stirred up a hornet’s nest. It was panic mode activated. I was asked to get up and sit far away from the others. Tears poured down my cheeks like torrential rain as I pleaded for my life.
As I made my way to my new spot, I tripped over what seemed like a lifeless body and I fell down, I was very weak as I staggered to get to my feet but I fell on two ladies that sat in my way, I uttered my apologies to them but I was shocked when my abductors charged at me with sticks, belts and anything they could lay their hands on. They almost beat the living day lights out of me, calling me unprintable names. The ladies I stepped on were asked to join me where I was and I was warned not to make contact with anyone else. I was confused, what did touching anybody have to do with anything?.
The ladies had no physical strength to beat me up but what they couldn’t do with their hands, they did with their mouths. They hurled insults at me for dragging them into my predicament. We had no clue why we were secluded from the other people, but it didn’t look good at all.
All this time, I had become a sticky mess with blood all over my body…from between my thighs and all the beating I had received.
We sat in the isolation spot for hours while the old man paced about, casting menacing glances at me, probably trying to figure out how to dissect my insides. I cringed as I thought about it.
In what could only be a miracle, the old man called for our clothes to be brought to us. Apparently I was contaminated because of my period. The ladies too were contaminated by proxy because I touched them when I fell. The abductors couldn’t touch or kill us because our “contamination” could cause problems for them. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. What they said was like music in my ears. This spelt freedom for me and the girls.
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Since our captors could not touch us, they had to arrange for motorcycles to take us out of the jungle. It was a long wait but I didn’t mind. The trouser that I had put on was over size, it wasn’t mine but I didn’t mind. I was soaked in my blood but I didn’t mind. My mind was set on the freedom that I was about to get. I slipped in and out of consciousness but I tried to stay strong so that I could leave that place alive.
Finally, we heard the revving of engines as the motorcycles approached. We were blindfolded and made to sit on the bikes between the rider and another man. It was a long ride out of the jungle.
After several hours, they stopped by a bush path, took off our blindfolds and threw us out of the bikes, then they sped off into the dark.
It started raining and we had to walk a long distance before we stumbled on a Vigilante group who listened to our story and offered us help. We were told that we were in Ekiti state. Long story short, we were taken to the police station, then to the hospital and our families were contacted.
The ladies who earlier on wanted to chop my head off were full of appreciation. They were happy that I “contaminated them” and rendered them unfit for the rituals.
While I was in the jungle, it seemed like I had been held captive for just a few days but I was shocked when I realised that it had been well over two weeks. I even learnt that Abi had led the search party that was looking for me.
Abi! Abi! I haven’t thought about her since the night at the party. I suddenly remembered her conversation with Makanaki. It might have been vague but I had heard enough to know that she set me up.
Abi left Lagos and was never seen again. Makanaki was no where to be found either. I am happy to be alive and that’s what really matters. I am one of the few that went through the valley of the shadow of death and lived to tell story.
Did I learn my lesson? You bet!.
Did I turn a new leaf? Definitely!.
I said a prayer and my mom’s God came through for me. He gave me a second chance at life and I cannot afford to blow that away.
I lived with the trauma of the abduction for a very long time but the experience shaped my life. I used to think that I was on the path to fun and enjoyment, little did I know that I was going on a long road to nowhere, I am grateful that I found my way back.
Udy Osaro-Edobor
@udy’s_chapter
[email protected]
08131180541
