One of my favourite lines from Dr Eghosa Imasuen’s Fine Boys is the part about Karma being an old lady, too lazy to catch up. I remember it made me sad, people do bad things, and they go on to flourish, no repercussion whatsoever. Sometimes this really hurts but what can one do?
Well, I had reason to pat Karma on the back the other day, she came to my aid real quick and boy, was I pleased?
Here is how it happened:
I was standing at the bus stop in Anthony, waiting for a bus. I had waited for more than 30 minutes; no flash of yellow came my way. It rained during the day; you know Lagos and rain means insane traffic. So there was a small crowd waiting tiredly for a bus. A bus finally stopped and you can imagine the rush to get in. I managed to wriggle in and wanted to sit but a woman blocked me with her hand. Ahn? Let me sit down. She said no that she was going with someone- who was still outside and so wouldn’t let me sit. While we were arguing the bus filled up, the person finally got in and she made way for him to go into the bus thereby displacing me.
Arrrgh, I. Was. Hurt.
If stares were daggers, mine would have stabbed the woman to death that evening. The man she kept the seat for looked at me sheepishly and waved his hand in a sorry gesture. I looked away and hissed.
Mtschew, shebi sorry will take me home.
I waited for another 30 minutes before another bus stopped. This one was empty so the struggle wasn’t much. I got a seat just by the door, and the bus sped off. At Obanikoro, just one bus stop away, what did I see? The seat-blocking woman, her man and the other occupants of the bus standing by the roadside.
Hahahaha
The bus was spitting out smoke from the bonnet. I brought out my head, made sure to make eye contact and waved, the smile on my face stretching all the way to my ears. My tiredness lifted from my body. I felt good and giddy. I whistled till I got home.
Nothing could dampen my mood that week, each time I remembered the look on the woman’s face- I mean how many times does something so sweet happen in Lagos?
Thank you sweet Karma. Thank you!
How did your week go?
