[source]
(https://unsplash.com/photos/man-in-black-crew-neck-shirt-wearing-black-framed-eyeglasses-and-black-hat-nizUHtSIrKM)
My brother was a commercial bus driver then. That's where he earns money to cater for himself and the family he has now.
One afternoon, he was getting ready for work, and since I was visiting and didn't know anyone in the neighborhood, I asked if I could go with him, he agreed.While at work driving the bus, we picked up a female passenger. She got upset with the driver, who happens to be my brother, because he missed her stop. The fault wasn't from my brother as she was sleeping during the journey, and we went past her destination without her realizing. This led to an argument as she became angry and started causing a disturbance on the bus by insulting my brother. My brother ignored her behavior, I intervened to put an end to the insults. We exchanged words,told her she's ill mannered and as she approached her stop, she warned me in a confrontational manner that I would face the consequences for standing up to her. What I just did was a normal thing as I couldn't withstand the insults and abuse on my older brother by a stranger in my presence not known that truly I would see the consequences of my actions (lol)
That night when we got home, my older brother advised me to avoid arguments, especially with strangers. He's used to meeting different passengers with different attitudes. I apologized to him, and then we went to bed.
The Next Day (Strange occurrence)
The next morning, I woke up feeling strange sensations all over my body. My brother was the first to notice how I slept the night before. He said one of my eyes was open while the other was closed, but he thought it was normal. However, I soon realized that something unusual had happened to me. One of my eye sockets was larger than the other, and it felt like one eye was going to pop out. It was a strange experience I had never encountered before.
Not only that, i felt thirsty and had to drink water. I noticed that my mouth had changed shape, becoming curved in a way that made it difficult to hold water without it spilling out, similar to how it might be for someone with a disability (Imbecile). It wasn't funny that year at all. I began to cry, telling myself what's all this, where did I go wrong. My mind couldn't go to the young lady we met in the bus a day before as I never believed in everything she said (me facing consequences). My brother and I were both left in a confusion state. We visited a nearby pharmacist and made a complain. I remembered the pharmacist said it was rheumatism.
(I was relieved a bit)
We Bought drugs and follow every prescription given. Yet no changes. Then my brother put a call through to mum and narrated everything to her. You know how Africans mothers are (very caring). Her mind wasn't at rest, she told me to come down straight to ibadan the next day.
On getting to ibadan, the elders at home adviced my mum not to take me to any hospital, I said to myself this is pure wickedness na as I was naive then.
I was taken to an uncle of mine who happens to be a cleric. He then prepared water. He instructed my mom to complete the healing process by using prayer water to wash my head while praying for me at midnight for seven days. My mom followed the instructions diligently.
Thankfully, after seven days of following the cleric's guidance, I was healed. All thanks to God.
I cannot explain what happened to me that night. Was it something more a glimpse into a realm beyond our understanding, a world of mystery and magic? Whatever the truth may be, the memory of that strange encounter will stay with me forever, a testament to the inexplicable wonders that lie hidden in the shadows.