THE JOURNEY HOME 3

He realized he was dreaming again as he woke up in a fit banging his head against the exhaust pipe of the vehicle he was under. It was a reoccurring dream where his shoulders were being held by a masquerade and while his head was deep in a pool of water and he would struggle not to drown. He woke up and said the Lord’s prayer. The only prayer he could recite from the beginning till the end.

He had started as an apprentice after the ill fated incident that claimed one of the legs of Uncle Korede and often left him in seizures. Time and medication only soothed their physical wounds but Joseph had lost out of the lifetime he dreamt of working as an house boy in a decent environment that had a bed and clean water. His prospective employers had rejected him. They believed his omen was not right and they didn’t want any bad luck. Uncle Koredes wife however pitied the young lad and recommended him to one  ‘Alfa Jimoh’ , a short and robust cleric who immediately took him in as an apprentice in his mechanic workshop.

Joseph resumed his primary place of assignment with much optimism and enthusiasm. He was always willing to learn and fell in love with the engineering trade. His boss Alfa Jimoh was however not particularly a nice man. He sometimes flogged Joseph for no reason and often fed him once in a day. The young lad however did not consider most of the ill treatment but kept on thinking of how he would become successful so that his younger ones would come and join him in the big city of Lagos.

The idea of wealth equating to success started when many of Alfa Jimoh's customers started to notice and make friends with Joseph. Often times they brought gifts and food for Joseph and he began to revere these customers. To him, once you had money to buy anything whenever you wanted to, then you were definitely successful. In all these people, some elderly , some young, Joseph found a particular young man fascinating. His name was Bosco. He was tall and skinny and very funny. He was a frequent customer who patronized the mechanic workshop a lot but what amused Joseph the most was the fact that Bosco not only tipped him but brought various fancy cars to the garage for repairs.

 In a short while they had both become good friends. Joseph was always looking forward to his visits and by a flicker of luck, Bosco  had promised to take Joseph out someday whenever he was free.

Alfa Jimoh  didn’t bug himself much about the way his customers took a liking to Joseph. As a matter of fact he enjoyed the increased patronage he was getting so much that on the evening Bosco had approached him to allow him take Joseph out he didn't hesitate. Alfa Jimoh had been struggling to take care of his family of five children with another coming along the way. He also had a lot of bills to settle and that was why he usually took out his pains and frustrations on the poor boy. Things however began to steadily change for the workshop. Customers would come around bearing gifts and didn’t even bother to bargain when they were being overcharged. The workshop slowly started to become a place of not only where services were being rendered but where the old and young could gather to discuss politics, women and Islam.

And so it certainly came as a shock to him when Alfa Jimoh was called on a bright Thursday morning just after prayers that Joseph had been arrested. “Arrested for what Sir" Alfa Jimoh shouted, sweat dripping from his face to his pot belly as he stood up from the pit laterine where he was defecating . The Police Officer on the other end of the line, Sergent Godwin was getting impatient and without repeating himself he said “if na your pikin be dis, dey come Area G police station. Person don die for him hand “ before he abruptly  hung up the phone.