I had just finished watching a football match down the street and was heading back to my house when I heard a strange noise. Curiousity got the better of me as I traced the sound to my right. As I saw what it was, I stood in shock. A young lady was in a state that made me helpless. A kiss of cold metal left her almost breathless. The shadows danced, and pain followed. As she extended her hand and whispered for help, my heart broke. Reaching out her hand, she handed me her eyeglasses and tried to say something.
Without thinking, I removed the object. As soon as I did, her breathing slowed… and in my arms, she slipped away like a whisper in the wind. Just then, some people saw me and alerted others. They thought I was responsible for her passing. If not for the timely arrival of the authorities, the mob would’ve taken justice into their own hands. They arrested me and took me to court. I tried to explain everything that had happened, but people would not believe me. I was plastered with one terrible accusation which carried great odium. They wanted me punished, and they went for the maximum punishment just to set an example. Broken and without the means to hire my own defense, I had to rely on the state counsel.
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It didn’t change much — I was given a life sentence. My time behind bars was filled with unimaginable hardship. 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. Out of all the people interested in my situation, she had faith in me. That was the best part about it; at least one person believed in me. There were so many others like me in prison who were victims of false accusations. Most of our conversations turned out to be deep openings into each other’s painful rarities. We gave one another support and hope that we would not suffer when we eventually passed on. 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 visited me would bring with her delicacies and toiletries whenever she could. She once asked me what the woman said before her final breath. I told her the truth — that she passed before she could say a word. But just before that, she pressed her glasses into my hands, as if they held a secret too important to die with her. 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 lady who passed had gone for an investigative report and was silenced in order 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 true culprits were eventually brought to justice and sentenced accordingly, with the full weight of the law. 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.
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The ones who left me have continuously multiplied and come into my life to apologize. I smile and give God thanks for saving me from that. A big thank you goes out to Esther for standing by me throughout all this. When I got arrested, Esther was a stranger who had faith in me. She told me that her mother was imprisoned for a crime she never committed and passed there, and since then, she has been where she is, fighting for justice. After my release, 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.
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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”.