THE MORNING CHRONICLES

I woke up first by 5am, I didn’t know what woke me up but I know I didn’t just get up by choice.

‘It must have been the banging of the door,’ I though as I pulled my kimar closer to cover my neck. It was a cold night but I still couldn’t do without turning the fan on. It is a nightly ritual on days when IBEDC feel benevolent enough to let us enjoy uninterrupted electricity. The banging came from outside again and I instinctively sat up; scared of the possibility of walking to the main entrance and checking whoever was banging the door at that time of the morning.

Images of the lynched suspected Baddo cultists came to mind and even though I was hundreds of kilometers far away from Lagos, I couldn’t repress the shiver that whacked throughout my body. I closed my eyes to shove the image back and got up. The tiled floor was cold beneath my feet; I folded my toes beneath my feet immediately. Cold days make me wish I use a rug instead of tiles.

Another image of the burnt MC flashed through my mind, followed by the couple whose skulls were smashed by a grinding stone a few days ago- both in Ikorodu; this time, it brought a deep sadness and irrepressible fear. Those were the last news I read before retiring to bed last night.

Light flooded the room as I turned its switch on. I headed for the door and turned the key one more time, checked the knob to make sure it was locked firmly, then turned off the light; plunging the room into darkness before heading back to bed.

The alarm woke me again by 6:25am, Maleek Berry’s ‘For me’ getting louder and louder by the second.

 ‘So fast,’ I thought. Without opening my eye, I felt for my phone and pressed the volume button which by setting is snoozing the alarm. 

‘Shit!’ I got up frantically. ‘I planned to start jogging this morning to shame my bodyshamers but now, its like theyre doing meeting on this stubborn fat. You have failed this time, my village people,’ I chuckled to myself as  I shot out of bed and pulled my nighty below my knees, the cold not registering until I stepped out through the kitchen door with my phone tightly clutched in my fist. 

The cold slapped me hard in the face and a shiver went through my whole body.”Blood of God.”

The second and third alarm sounded while I was still jogging and by the time I finished my last round of jog around the house, I was winded, my lungs were on fire and I felt like I would drop dead before I managed to make it to my room. I collapsed heavily and breathed short shallow breaths like it was the last thing I needed to survive.

‘Of course it is, silly,’ I thought to myself. I felt the wetness on my body and gave myself a mental high five. Yaaay! I finally broke sweat that isn’t heat-related.

I was meant to take a shower but a glance at the time and I knew I was in some deep deep trouble. It was almost 7 and the kids aren’t out of bed yet. Damn! I hadn’t even prepared their breakfast !!!