This is a story of how my life almost turned sour overnight.
I had just finished watching a football match down the street and heading back to my house when I heard a cry of agony. I stood in shock as I saw a girl with blood gushing down her tummy. She had been stabbed with a knife. The knife was still stuck in her stomach as she shrieked in pure agony. My heart broke as I didn’t know what to do. She reached out to me and begged me to pull out the knife. She handed me her eyeglasses as she tried to say something.
Without thinking, I pulled out the knife. As soon as I did that, she sighed in relief and died in my arms. Just then, some people saw me and alerted others. They thought I had murdered her. If not for the intervention of the police, I would have been burnt to death. The police arrested me and charged me in court. No matter how I tried to explain the situation, the police did not believe me. They called me a ritualist. They vowed to make me spend the rest of my life in jail. I could not afford a lawyer, so I had no choice but to make do with the attorney the government provided for me.
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It didn’t help much because I was sentenced to life in prison. I went through hell in prison. I can not even try to recount my experience. I felt like all hope was lost. Families and friends deserted me. I was alone. But I had a regular visitor who was a lady. She was interested in my situation because she believed me. I was relieved to know that at least one person believed me. In prison, I met many people who were there for crimes they did not commit. We shared a bond as we shared our ordeal whenever we had time to talk. We gave one another support and hope that we would not suffer when we eventually die. Good people go to heaven, don’t they? We also had church fellowships who visited from time to time to encourage us and pray with us.
The lady who always visit me would bring with her delicacies and toiletries whenever she could. She once asked me what the lady who was stabbed told me before dying. I told her that before she could tell me what happened, she had given up the ghost. I also told her that the dead lady gave me her glasses like her life depended on them. The lady, Esther, said that the glasses may hold a clue because the dead lady was a journalist. Esther promised to do something about it and advised me to keep the glasses safe. During her next visit, she came with a lawyer. She had promised to loan money from the bank to pay for the lawyer’s services.
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After a very long process, it was discovered that the dead lady had gone for an investigative report and was stabbed in other to keep the secret she was about to uncover. It turned out that she refused to accept bribes and threatened the perpetrators to uncover their ugly secrets. I was set free from prison while the real murderers were sentenced to life imprisonment with hard labour. The government compensated me with a large sum of money. However, it did not measure up to the ridicule and suffering I faced. However, I used part of it to pay for the loan that Esther took from the bank.
Those who deserted me kept trooping into my life to apologize. I smiled and thanked God for vindicating me from the situation. I am very grateful to Esther for standing by me through it all. When I was arrested, Esther was a total stranger who believed in me. She said her mother died in prison for a crime she didn’t commit and felt the need to stand up for her. After my release from jail, I wrote Jamb and got admission to study law.
To cut a long story short, I am married to Esther with two lovely kids. I own a law firm that deals with human rights. It runs like an NGO; I am determined to help people like me.
The End.
4 replies on “My life almost turned sour overnight”
Nice one
Interesting
Interesting story
This is really touching. So many people are out there suffering for what they do not know. To many in that shoe, I pray they also meet their “Esther”.