NOT DEAD YET… (X)
I paid Papa a visit at the hospital the following morning. And from the look of things, his condition wasn’t getting any better. I saw a man once bustling with life suddenly declined to a vegetative state, and fighting to stay live. He was all I had at the moment, the only person I could ever trust.
I wished I could have that father/daughter bond we had always shared one last time. I wished I could pour out my heart to him and cry my hearts out.
The weight was just too unbearable, and I needed a true shoulder to lean on.
As I left the hospital and made to return home, my thoughts flashed back to my Papa’s words to me a long time ago. I had just concluded my waec examinations and Papa had introduced me to this bosom friend of his. According to Papa, in the event of any misfortune befalling him or mama, I could always reach out to this friend of his. Papa’s words that day were emphatic. He trusted him wholly, and I believed I could too.
Early the following day, Ken and I had set out for the home of this man. It was an uphill task trying to locate him since I couldn’t vividly remember his house address. We spent all day trekking and asking questions, and when we finally did find him, he was already ripe with age and couldn’t recognize me.
It took me a whole lot of explanations and narrations before he could have a glimpse of whom Papa was. He was elated to have me around and promised to pay a visit to Papa in the coming days. I seized the opportunity to reveal my true reason for paying him a visit.
Unknown to us, this man was not as ordinary as he appeared. He was a retired army general and had kids who were all grown and doing well in their respective endeavors. He was rich but lived a very modest life.
Shortly after my narration, he made a couple of calls in our presence before finally handing me the phone number to the commissioner of police to further communicate with. He revealed that the commissioner was his cousin.
When Ken and I finally left his home, we were still stuck in disbelief. It felt like a dream of some sort. What money couldn’t do, connection did without hassle.
We made the much needed call later that day and the commissioner listened with rapt attention. He invited us to his place of residence few days later and more revelations were made. He was very interested in the case.
The corrupt DPO was immediately apprehended at the commissioner’s order, together with some top ranking officials who were also accomplice to the notorious syndicate.
They were immediately subjected to intense drilling and torture where they confessed to several heinous crimes. The IGP was also tagged to the case and special forces were mobilized to storm the forest, rescue survivors and apprehend the syndicate.
The quest to apprehend the syndicate was no walk in the park. While the DPO provided the troops with their exact location in the forest, a fierce gun battle ensued between both parties. The gunmen fought defiantly, throwing everything to repel the troop’s attack, but couldn’t record much success. They however fell a handful of the troops even though they ultimately lost in the end. The special forces recorded an outstanding kill while a good number of the men were apprehended alive.
It was said that several tons of harvested human parts were recovered, as well as sophisticated ammunitions, hard drugs and cash that amounted to millions of dollars.
Amongst the captured men was Irene. She tried to escape in the heat of the gun battle but was gunned down in the process. She didn’t die but sustained several bullet wounds.
The captives after several drillings were charged to court where the judge passed that they were to die by a firing squad.
I was present on the day of their execution. And I couldn’t stop glaring at Irene with so much hate. I couldn’t comprehend how she could appear so innocent, yet carried the very heart of the devil. I wished I could do the shooting. I wished I could just k!ll her myself.
There was literally no atom of remorse on Irene’s face when our eyes finally met. The best I beheld was a smirk. Mama’s memory soon returned and I began to sob.
I returned home shortly after the execution in mixed emotions. The overwhelming horrors of the past returned but at least justice was served in the end.
I soon wrote and published a book on my near death experiences and it sold over half a million copies in about six months. I hosted several talk shows at the same time and inspired millions of young people from all over the world with my story.
Ken and I eventually ended up as man and wife, the perfect icing on the cake. And our union was blessed with beautiful twin girls.
I lost Papa days after the birth of my girls. He fought gallantly but couldn’t hold on for too long. I still misses him.
I knew Mama would be watching proudly from somewhere in the sky. Her ever guilding spirit hovering around me every now and then.
I am a survivor – A diehard warrior. Life has shown me all of it’s darkest sides, and there’s nothing left to fear.
THE END.
Úncle Nnamdi wrote it ✍️
