by Nwachukwu Olusegun Nwachukwu

Gray day. The sky and the earth had kissed once more, for the sky seemed to miss the earth—and it expressed this as it poured rain incessantly.

‘Chai! Look at this man! Very wicked. Just because he has a jeep,’ Mama Bisi screamed, ‘they are all alike; this is the fourth one splashing water on us with no regards.’

The airport was another world. Like the embassy they obtained the visa from a week earlier, the airport was crawling with oyinbo’s—white people, British and American alike. Bukky forgot that she was still within the confines of Nigeria, and already acquired a foreign accent.

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Bukky stared out the window pane for the very last time: she would miss the view. Rio was beautiful to view from her apartment; the juxtaposition of rooftops—some of which she jumped upon during her escapades—and the fairly visible Leblon beach, always softened her heart each time she viewed it. The evening breeze blew yet once more.

‘Repent! The kingdom of God is at hand’ read the flier that lay on the floor close to the desk that caressed the wall with peeling paints coloured gray in her meagre room. She picked it up, glanced through it. . . .

The banging on her door grew more violent. The chairs that she used to support the door relented. She whispered a prayer and ran out through the back door. All that flooded her mind was the look on Mama Bisi’s face as she boarded the airplane six years earlier.

‘They say that Riot, abi Rio, is the motherland of drug dealers. Please O, go there and face your studies. Leave drugs for the pharmacists. God has given you a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,’ Mama Bisi reiterated tirelessly.

‘Father, forgive me,’ Bukky shed a tear as she began jumping rooftops.

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This entry was submitted as part of the Nigerian Voices competition organized by YNaija.com.

We publish, un-edited, Nigerians telling the stories of their everyday lives. Read all the narratives daily on the Nigerian Voices vertical. You can also contribute your own story titled ‘Nigerian Voices’ to [email protected].

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Nwachukwu Olusegun Nwachukwu is a young Nigerian writer, whose writings are on God and morality. He is a nominee for the Nigerian Writer’s Award, Teenage Category; and a 300 Level MBBS Student of Babcock University.