I'm sure many of you have seen me use her on intervals as my profile picture on FB. She just only reminds me of my weirdest experience as a teacher in a Muslim secondary school, while I was on my NYSC in the North. I later got to know that she was only but a mobile coffin sent to carry my corpse.

Meanwhile, her name is Aisha, but I call her 'Asha', an SS2 student of a school I choose to leave undisclosed for the sake of scandal.

When I was introduced as new English teacher, the students were so excited to have finally seen a fair complexioned English teacher. To them, at least the complexion of the teacher is matching with the subject.

Whenever I entered the class, there was this particular girl I noticed would always bow her head in silence. My SS2 class was always a lively class, but for this singular girl's act of sitting straight up, bowing her head, and of course saying no single word. Even her students don't get to talk to her whenever I'm in the class.

Apart from the fact that I was sternly warned to be careful with the steps I take in the Northern land, I also tolerated her act because I was informed by a classmate of hers that the strange girl's name was Aisha, and that she was possessed by one 'Anjenu', a spirit that manifests itself in some Muslims for reasons I wasn't able to duly ascertain from her. It got to a point that I became obviously fed up with her act, because it not only distracted me whenever I was teaching, but also made me unnecessarily conscious of the environment as a whole.

On further inquiries, I got to know that this particular act was exhibited by her only whenever I was in the class. Moreover, whenever we came across each other on the road, she'd maintain that singular act of bowing her head, and walked past me without uttering a single word.

The whole thing actually started getting too unusual to me. But on a Tuesday of my third week in school, I decided to take an action.

"Aisha why...", were my exact words that immediately choked me as she swiftly raised her head and looked so fixedly at me that I felt her eyes were a double-edged sword that has not only pierced through me, but made me gasp for words to express my thoughts.

However, I had to pretend nothing happened in order not to embarrass myself before my students, but it even started getting vivid that I was losing articulation on what I was teaching them. I then had to suspend the teaching and started copying note for them on the board as a form of defence. Yet, that didn't seem to be the remedy, because even the characters on my note were getting blurry.

When I looked back to ascertain what the atmosphere was like, this same girl still had her eyes so fixed on me like she wants to conjure some spirits. Her palms were still placed on her laps as usual, with no atom of movement on her body, save for the rising and falling of breath. I also observed that the class was quiet in spite of what was happening. I then felt so totally insecured and discontented that I had to excuse myself from the class in a way I thought wasn't suspicious. I didn't go back to the staff room, rather I had to walk straight to the Corper's Lodge that was just a stone's throw within the school compound; where I was all alone in deep contemplation of such a weirdly embarrassing moment of my life.

It was 9:35am that day, and at least four hours to the dismissal time. My room mate and my other four lodge mates were all in school. In my brown study, I slept off. Yet again, this same girl found her way into my dreams. She kept on playing in my thoughts. I saw her for the first time talk in my dreams; we even started getting to gist, play and fumbled upon each other in my dreams; I saw her for the first time smile and even laughed out loud, all in my dreams; but The whole activity ended with a flash of her eyes fixed on me with that same sternly fixed look. Then I woke up.

Staring at the clock that ticked 1:52pm, I only pondered how I slept for almost four hours, and how this strange girl played all through my dreams with weird acts.

"What is this all about?
I have never felt this way before all through my life,
I think I have been ensnared by some higher powers!"
All these went through my mind as I began to pray silently to know if I'd be able to bring back my seemingly lost psychology; but as soon as I closed with the sign of the cross, I heard a calm, slow, but steady knock at my door.

On opening it, it was yet again this same girl! I wanted to scold her for coming to my room at the first place, but once again I got choked up with words as still fixing her eyes on me, she requested she wanted to see me. I said I'd be with her in a jiffy as I closed the door.
In fear, I picked up my both rosaries and my portable bible. I didn't want her to be aware of my armoury, so I fixed the blue rosary into my right pocket, and the white one into my left. I then placed the Bible in my back pocket.

When I opened the door, I peeped around to know if I'd see her, but I saw no one. Then I came out of the room to check outside the gate. I saw other students on their school bags going home, and I also sighted my lodge mates from afar coming home; but I couldn't find the girl. I checked my phone and saw it was 2:04pm, and confirmed that school had already dismissed. I then decided to go back into the compound, but on entering the compound, I saw her standing fixed there. She didn't wait to see or hear anything from me before she quickly asked "Uncle, why did you call my name?", and instantly left.

Why me?
I was so scared that If only she hadn't left almost immediately after she asked that question, I wouldn't mind asking her to forgive me of any wrong asking her name might have done her. I was just so unsteady with myself that I couldn't enter my room. I then had to lock up the room and immediately left for a 'necessary' Church.

Since that day, trust me, things fell apart. The girl kept on frequenting my house in the name of 'extramural lessons'. Initially, I tried avoiding her, but it looked not effective; hence, I played along. During one of our discussions, she told me she was 16, and that she wasn't possessed of any spirit as her classmate claimed. This then made me more comfortable with her, even as our 'togetherness' started becoming glaring. My lodge mates, teachers, students and even the 'street boys' observed it. It got to the extent that I started losing myself; I no longer teach my students, but lecture them; I no longer copy note for them on the blackboard, but give it to them to copy.

This continued until one midnight, of course a night I wouldn't forget: the first of March, 2017. I woke up to ease myself, and getting off my bed, I noticed I was stepping on one silky, but mildly thorny substance. The feeling was strange, so I had to quickly put on the torchlight of my phone to see a black and yellow spotted gigantic 'rope', majestically taking its steps like a landlord as it crept out through a rather tiny opening at my door post. The sight was horrific enough to cease my vision, but I acted by impulse as I immediately ran to the door to ensure it fled off. Meanwhile, I noticed that while running, I almost got slipped down; so I shone my light on the floor and saw stamps of blood obviously got from my footsteps. I was so shocked that I shone the light all over the dark room, only to discover that where I stepped my foot when I got off my bed was a pool of blood. I immediately made the sign of the cross and ran out of the room in thoughts of how the blood came about; especially as I knew I had no wound, and even my room mate who told me he'd be going for a new month crusade wasn't around.

I was already out of the room, and closing my door, I turned around. Lo and behold, I saw this girl seated on the ground of the compound with her legs folded into each other like she was listening to a Mallam in an Islamia class. As she saw me, she stood up and gave me that usual stern look with a fixed gaze. This time around, accompanied with a mild smile. I looked at her feet and saw blood dripping from her long orange coloured hijab. I knew I made a sharp shout of agony that might not have been enough to wake my room mates up, but I didn't know when I fell to my knees asking for forgiveness for all I've done, and all I've failed to do; including my grievous and even the most grievous of faults. I was kneeling helplessly in front of her, but she didn't move an inch, as she only said the word "OK", and walked swiftly away.

I wasn't able to sleep for the rest of that night, but I chose not to disturb my room mates deep in the night. So I stayed up till early in the morning at 5:30am, when I decided to go for my usual morning Mass, and this time around, possibly see a priest I'd be able to confide in.

Pulling the gate, I was met with a group of 'street boys' already gathered at the gate. I was caught unawares with fright, but of course, I've done no wrong to anyone; so I greeted them "Sannu uku", (una welldone) and continued going. I heard a wave of something coming towards me from behind, and as I turned to know what that was, I was suddenly hit just beneath my eyes, and briefly above my nose, by a sharp object that pulled me to the floor.

Some of them brought me up and kept me on my knees. As I saw them bringing forth and brandishing their various brands of weapon, I couldn't help pondering;
"Is this how traumatic a service year could be?
Is this how I ended up obeying a clarion call?
Could it be that I've attended my last morning mass?"

As I was still pondering, I saw a big, thorny and disfigured wood advancing with fiercely unidentifiable velocity towards my face; and far beyond the almost visible wood, I spotted Aisha as she walked by, looked at me, and laughed out loud.

When it was just so clear that the pressure was getting so much to bear, I shook myself and woke up from a dream I was having in my...
#ComelyReasoning

Meanwhile,
#StillAnticipating
#The_Diary_of_an_Arewa_Corper
(A must read for serving and prospective corps members).

hahaha,

Interesting