Boulevard of pain

2

Ella felt someone pour water on her body as she began to regain consciousness.

She tried to stand up but they won't let her. Moreover, her head was spinning. She laid back down but she could hear voices,

"Eda omi si lara.''

"Don't let her stand up o."

"She don wake o."

Ella decided it was time to voice her thoughts, "Where am I? Why am I lying on the floor? Why are there so many people around and why are they crying? Please allow me to leave I need to go home, my parents are waiting for me."

Ella became more confused as the people remained silent, pity clouding their faces.

"But wait, this place... this is my house. Where is my home? Where are my parents? When did I get here?"

She could hear one of the sympathizers say "Ahhh God , why you come do this small pikin like this? How we go take tell am now?"

"Tell her what?" Ella shouted.

Silence.

She asked again, "What do I need to know?
What's going on here?"

Another sympathizer who witnessed the scene decided to speak.

"Fine girl, you would have to take heart o. As we were passing by, we saw fire burning and we heard people screaming. We came close to see if we could help them or even try to stop the fire but it was to no avail."

"Do you have anybody we can call to come and pick you up maybe your uncle or aunty?" Another sympathizer asked.

"We can't stay here for long and we can't just leave her here." One woman said.

"Yes, no, yes ma, maybe. Did you just say my parents are gone?"

They nodded.

"I reject it in Jesus name. We would not die but live to declare the glory of the Lord in the land of the living. My parents must be inside, allow me go in." She said and as she made to stand up, her memory hugged her as she recalled the recent incident that got her here. She started murmuring,

"I was coming from school then I saw smoke and when I came closer I saw that.. that...."

Ella's voice became audible, "No! No! No! Where are my parents?"

People already gathered Ella trying to console her and hold her down. Every effort to prevent her from going near the burnt house was abortive.

"Mummy!!! Daddy!!! Maybe I am dreaming. This can't be real. What happened? I demand an explanation!"

"I left them both inside this morning and I told them I was going to come back early. I even brought my gift home, I need to show them
I collected another gift, best student of the year. I made them proud again".

Ella's voice was already shaking, her uniform was soaked with tears.

Some sympathizers who had been holding back their tears could not hold it back anymore.
People who could not stand to watch the young girl cry began to leave.

Another sympathizer finally said
"Maybe we should call the police o. Someone will come and pick her up from the police station and if there is nobody to come pick her, they will put her in the motherless babies home. It's not safe to leave her alone.

As soon as Ella heard this, her heart skipped. "Motherless babies home! NO NO!"
She had heard about it but never imagined she will be there.

"Or you get person wey you fit call?"

"Yes, I do, my uncle was on his way. He supposed to be here by now. He will take me home." Ella lied.

"It's getting late and I need to leave now." One of the last of the few sympathizers left said.

The woman amongst them said, "It will soon rain my children are waiting for me."

"Find a place to stay until your uncle comes around."

Everyone started giving one excuse or the other until Ella was left alone.

Ella voice began to grow faint, she had cried her eyes out.

She attempted to stand up from where she had been lying down but her legs were too week to support her.

She didn't know when she slept off, when she woke up, time had gone and everyone who came to sympathize with her were already gone.

Ella could feel a sharp pain in her chest, her heart was very heavy.

"So, it's not a dream, I will no longer see my parents, my family."

"Where do I start from? Where do I go? How do I cope?"

Mr Desmond was the only child of his mother, he had no other family that Ella knew of. Mrs Desmond had a sister but she lives in Abuja.
How would she reach her?

The weather was becoming cloudy, it was about to rain and Ella needed a place to run to for safety.

As she stood thinking of where to go, she remembered her best friend Bella.

"What if Bella has not travelled yet? Let me quickly run to her place."

By the time she got to her best friend's house, it was already drizzling.

She presses the door bell but no response, she pressed again before the gatekeeper came out to answer her.

"Good afternoon, how can I help you?"

"Good afternoon sir, I am looking for Bella."

"Who are you and why are you looking for her?"

"I am her friend from school. I really need to talk to her".

"Well, Bella just left for the airport with her family some minutes ago. If you had passed through the right turning you would have met her."

The gate man shut the gate before she could ask any other question.

'This Bella's new gatekeeper was very rude', she thought to herself but what can she do!

The rain started to pour heavily beating Ella mercilessly and making her to shiver.

She could hardly see what was in front of her.

She remembered last night when it rained heavily, her mum had entered the room and covered her with her wrapper. But now, she had no one to do that for her.

The thought that she was now an orphan made her sick while the thought that she will never see her loved ones again made her very sick.

Ella didn't notice she was already on the road she didn't hear the car horn.

And in no time, she was already on the ground.

She had been hit by an over speeding vehicle.

***********

We have come to the end of this chapter, thanks for reading.

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