Trapped In The Rainstorm
IT was eight days to the birthday ceremony of young and beautiful Ayo, and her parents had no inkling that something bad and disastrous would happen. That early Saturday morning when Mr. and Mrs. Taiyelolu bade their only child farewell and left for their different destinations, they had no premonition that nature would show them its ugly side.
Mr. Taiyelolu was a beverage marketer with Peterson Foods, while his wife was a trader selling kitchenware in the heart of Lagos. They occupied a mini-flat in Akeredolu town on the outskirts of Lagos. Exactly one hour after Ayo’s parents left in search of their daily bread, the firmament started gathering for a torrential downpour. The sky became cloudy and a powerful breeze kept blowing over the entire area. The breeze started whistling eerily and it looked as if nature was angry. There had been instances all over the world where nature showed its ugly sides, in the form of tsunami, cyclone and earthquakes. Only the Almighty Creator knows the reason why such occurrences happen in certain places on planet earth.
People ran helter-skelter for safety, as no one would like to see the angry sides of Mother Nature. So, they all scurried to safety, lest they be submerged and consumed in the raging whirlwind and expected thunderstorm.
Ayo was the only one at home; she became frightened when the breeze blew away a large portion of their ceiling. The next minute, a tempestuous rain began, coupled with intermittent roars of thunder. The peals of thunder continued unabated for the following 30 minutes and the breeze blew away everything on its path.
Ayo was aghast with fear. A large portion of their fence caved in and a monstrous whirlpool of rainwater rolled into the compound. The young girl couldn’t believe her eyes. She was electrified with morbid fear.
“Help! Help!! Help!!! Somebody help me!” Ayo screamed in obvious anxiety and asphyxiating condition. The violent gush of rainwater was so fierce and gigantic that it broke down the door leading to their living room and occupied the entire space.
Ayo ran inside the kitchen for safety. The violent gush of rainwater pursued the young and beautiful girl inside the kitchen, then pulled down the window of the kitchen. Nature was at its cruel and worse state.
All the while, Ayo was weeping and shedding sorrowful tears as the water submerged her instantly. The tide then swept her away through the window, into the other street.
The 16-year-old girl had never experienced such trouble and turbulence in her entire life. She was rolling along a wide path created by the tidal wave. She was still screaming for help as she rolled with the violent waves of water. The rainstorm was so calamitous and devastating.
It brought down several houses, planks and trees and also carried with it personal belongings of people. It destroyed several cars and household properties worth millions of naira.
For two agonising hours, the downpour continued ceaselessly. It looked like the end of the world had finally come, something akin to Armageddon or apocalypse. Something as bad and of this magnitude had never happened before on this side of our clime.
There was no doubt about it; Ayo was on the verge of dying.
(To be continued next week Saturday)