It was on the 18th march, 2013, at Sabongari motor park in the ancient city of Kano. Tired and exhausted, she sat in the bus, waiting for it to fill up so she can start her journey back to Kogi state. From the window, she watched as two touts threw punches at each other. Her attention later shifted to a young girl who could not have been more than ten with a bowl full of chilled soft drinks comfortably seated on her head. The unfriendly Kano sun was blazing hot and seems capable of roasting a live chicken. For a poor innocent kid to hawk on such a hot afternoon reminded her of her own childhood in Kabba. She thought of her brilliant performance at the interview she came to do and the danton task of taking care of her mother immediately she got the job and started earning money. Just at that instance, she saw a Volkswagen Golf car enter through the gate of the motor park and several of the bus conductors running towards it, touting for passengers. Then, in a flash, something happened.

How suddenly disasters overtake humans every time. Being humans, we only love to lay out our beautiful plans for the day. We do not want, or are too afraid to entertain the thought of possible calamities that may befall us, even though they befall people around us every day. We take solace in discarding such thoughts "in the name of Jesus". Yet, they happen. However, some of us are bold enough to reconcile with the unpleasant realization that accidents and disasters that maim and kill are part are of our lives and that they will always be. We were born and we must die. The nature of our conceptions and births are similar but the nature of our deaths are mostly different.
When she was invited for an interview with the very multinational company of her dream, though happy was everyone for her, none was surprised. She was on top of her class throughout her school days. She was the best graduating student of the department of economics and everyone present at the convocation ceremony could see the promise she radiated. Her case was going to be that of another rising star, like every star before her, destined for great heights. Due to her humble and quiet nature, many of her classmates did not know the legendary Esther physically. Many of them got to know her name through gossips. However, they all knew her matriculation number by heart.

Hard work and perseverance they say, are golden virtues that a man should imbibe. These virtues are an investment in the future. They reassure a man of tomorrow. Unfortunately, tomorrow is not for humans to predict because, it is so uncertain. What happens if after so much hard work and perseverance, a man fails to witness tomorrow? Then, the long years of labour and sweat have come to naught. Yet, the uncertainty of tomorrow is not a reason to be lazy because, if a man chooses to laze around based on this, tomorrow might just creep up on him, to his doom.

She watched the Golf drive towards that section of the park where about three large buses including the one she sat in were parked. A number of motor park touts swarmed after it. She was dismayed at the recklessness of the driver, then suddenly, there was a loud bang. A bang so loud that none, present within a kilometer radius of the park that day, had ever heard before. The explosion was so loud that both of her eardrums where ripped open. The window shattered and pieces of broken glass got buried in our face and chest. The explosion gave the huge single-decker luxurious bus a severe jolt that sent her and other passengers colliding against one another and against the body of the vehicle. She was thrown up towards the roof and she landed with the middle of her backbone on top of the backrest of a chair. After the impact, she went numb. She wanted to but couldn't move any part of her body. She was simply too weak now to run to safety.

Though she could only faintly hear the noise and cry of agony, pain and terror that filled the air around her, she could clearly see the commotion. The air wreaked of blood, torn flesh, smoke and death. Still trapped in the bus, all around her were dead bodies, wounded people and destroyed properties. Her head started to ache so badly as she tried to put her thoughts together. She realized she was soaked in her own blood and it was becoming more difficult for her to breathe. She looked around, bewildered, and praying with her heart, "In Jesus name, I will not die here. I will survive this. I plead the blood of Jesus. My future holds too much promises....". She remembered her mother and burst into tears. Then suddenly, the bus caught fire. At first, the fire was a few inches away from her feet, she tried desperately to get away but could not move a single muscle in her body. Then, in her thin, faint voice she started to cry and yell, hoping help would come. Slowly, the fire started to burn her feet and crept up her legs. A number of women standing at a safe distance away, watching the indescribable horror of how some peoples lives were coming to their ultimate end, heard the shrills and cry of the likes of Esther and they burst into uncontrollable tears. The shrills and the screams only lasted for a little while, then they went down one after the other until there was silence. The kind of perfect silence that is meant to be forever. In the case of Esther, she gave up the ghost long before many others in the fire. By the time the fire caught the rest of her body, she was long gone.

In her entire history, she never hurt a fly. Instead, she was the one that was hurt repeatedly by people. She stayed focused and diligent because she believed a good future would help put all her pains behind her. At exactly the moment she screamed and cried for help in that fire, her interviewers were preparing her letter of appointment back in their office which was a few kilometers from the motor park. How could she have known that she, along with many others, were going to be roasted alive that very day? Body count after the incident revealed that over sixty people died, and dozens where severely wounded, not counting the value of properties destroyed. Soon afterwards, Boko Haram claimed responsibility for the attack.

What s touching story. Esther and many others who died happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. My heart goes out to her family and the families of those who lost their lives in the blast. May God continue to protect His children. Pls take heart @ op.

uboma: What s touching story. Esther and many others who died happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. My heart goes out to her family and the families of those who lost their lives in the blast. May God continue to protect His children. Pls take heart @ op.

Thanks bro. It's a fictional story, deliberately woven around the disaster in a bid to reflect what many of the victims might have suffered.

Rogers210: Thanks bro. It's a fictional story, deliberately woven around the disaster in a bid to reflect what many of the victims might have suffered.

is dat where it ends?

and are u based in kano?

Cheriepet:

is dat where it ends?

and are u based in kano?

Meaning?

Rogers210: Meaning?

i mean no offence dear...

i want to know if u d story have ended i.e if it is a short story?

and if u are based in kano cos d description so fit ur story perfectly.

Cheriepet:

i mean no offence dear...

i want to know if u d story have ended i.e if it is a short story?

and if u are based in kano cos d description so fit ur story perfectly.

No offence taken my brother. Thanks for taking time to read the story. It's just a short fictional story. Thanks.