Trapped In The Rainstorm (2)

Continued from last week Saturday)

AYohad swallowed large amounts of water and was gasping for breath.

She had no strength to scream for help again.

Suddenly, as the violent waves of water submerged and carried her along, she felt herself entwined and clustered among strong branches of a tree. She held tightly on to the tree branches and heaved a sigh of relief.

“Even if death comes,’ she thought, “it would meet me here…” as she clung tenaciously to the branches, knowing her life depended on it.

Exactly two hours later, the rain stopped abruptly. The terrific tide had disappeared, leaving behind tales of woes.

A lot of people who had taken refuge on top of their houses started coming down when the streams of water had reduced. Ayo realised that she was trapped on top of a tall tree and she hung tightly to the V-shaped branch of the tree. She looked down from the great height and felt dizzy and giddy at the sight of the distance to the ground.

A painful tear dropped from the corner of her eyes. She hiccupped four consecutive times and vomited the next minute. The thought of dying through a great fall to the ground enveloped her faculties. She started crying sorrowfully. “Woe betide thee, death…” was a classic quote in such a melancholic and tragic situation. The fact was that Ayo had been ferried to a private farm by the torrents of the rainstorm and got stuck among the tree branches.

The weather was now serene and calm when Ayo’s parents arrived home from their business outing. The time was 5.pm. They were both shocked to see the ruins caused by the rainstorm to their house. Ayo’s mum became anxious to see her daughter. She moved towards the bungalow and screamed, “Ayo! Ayo!! Ayo!!! Where are you?”

Her husband hurriedly joined her in the search of their precious daughter. There was palpable fear and horrifying silence. Her mum’s heartbeat increased at an alarming rate when she couldn’t get an answer. This kind of silence could be likened to the silence of the graveyard. They could only see the ruins and devastation of their house.

In a split second, the thought of tragedy and death flashed through the mind of the couple. Now, they were not so mindful about the loss of their properties to the rainstorm, but were more concerned to see their missing daughter. In such a situation, the thought about life and living was better than thinking about damages or loss of properties.

“Somebody help me! Where’s my daughter?” Mrs. Taiyelolu screamed in desperation. She was shedding painful tears and really worried. Her whole mind wasn’t at rest at this very moment. Disaster, death, confusion, bitterness and sadness enveloped Mrs. Taiyelolu’s mind as she wondered where her daughter could be.

Instantly, a search party was set up to look for Ayo. About 10 sympathisers who came to console Ayo’s parents went in search of the missing girl. Mrs. Taiyelolu had vowed to commit suicide if her beautiful daughter wasn’t seen. Her husband was greatly disturbed and deeply agitated. He begged her not to kill herself, as this would not solve the present problem, but further worsen it.

Really, taking one’s life was not the best solution to the present problem.

(To be concluded next week Saturday)