When Brandon got to the bus terminal, he found out from the receptionist that the bus he was supposed to board has departed. Brandon was gutted by this revelation, he tried to contemplate what he was going to do, he thought long and hard. It took him so much effort to get to know this bus service company and to get their bus ticket but now those efforts are all coming to nothing. Worse still, if he doesn’t embark on the journey immediately, he was in for a long night journey which will mean that he will arrive at his destination late.
Suddenly, it came to him that there should be another way to get to his destination apart from the route he planned. So he searched for a different route using the google earth app on his android phone. He called it his “electronic guardian angel” because it has come to his rescue on many occasions.
One of those occasions was when he got kidnapped by some petty kidnappers who mistook him for the son of a notable politician in the state. However, when his kidnappers found out that they got the wrong person, they beat him up and then carried him to an unknown location and dumped him there. Brandon was able to navigate his way home with the help of this app on his phone.
Once again this app is going to prove useful as it will help him get alternative route to his expected destination. Brandon was able to find an alternative route. But with the time spent so far, he’d need to go to Abuja first and then board another bus for an onward journey to his campsite. That journey will mean more money, energy and time spent on the road than initially anticipated; however, Brandon has to do all he can to get out of town today.
And so he went back into his chartered taxi and asked the driver to take him to a different bus terminal. The driver has been very patient with Brandon all these time and Brandon has been appreciative of it, telling the driver “I am sorry” and “thank you” every now and then.
While they were on their way to the other bus terminal, Brandon and the driver got into a conversion. Brandon told him all about his journey and the middle age driver told him some interesting things too. The driver, Mr. Ejiro is from Koko in Delta state, and is a father of two grown-up children about the same age as Brandon.
“I look at you and I see my son. Now I am beginning to understand what my son went through during his service year, e no easy at all” said the driver to Brandon. He went further to tell Brandon some of the things his son told him about his youth service experience. Brandon was so engrossed in the stories that he didn’t realize when they drove into the bus terminal.
Brandon wished he could go further with this man, he actually wished this man could drive him all the way to Jos. He likes the man; who has a humorous way of telling stories and would be a great company for long distance as the one Brandon is about to embark on. Within the short time they have journeyed together, Mr. Ejiro has successful made Brandon laugh and made him a little more at ease.
The driver took the corner into the bus terminal and Brandon alighted and took his baggage along with him as he paid the driver his fare. Brandon paid the driver a little more than they had originally bargained as a way of appreciation for all his kindness.
Brandon walked to the reception area of the bus terminal to enquire on the available buses. He was told that all the buses for the day have departed and only an eight sitter car was still available. Brandon was delighted by this latter part of the information even though it meant he’d have to pay more than those who travelled in the bus earlier. He quickly bought a ticket. As he got to the car, he found only two passengers there. He and these two passengers as it happened were going to wait for another two hours before the car finally departed.
In the meantime, as they sat waiting for more passengers, Brandon brought out his phone and started reading a few of his Facebook posts and WhatsApp messages. He saw some really interesting stuffs online that kept him preoccupied during the wait. His friend Pascal was online and was asking him if he had already reached his destination. Pascal is one of Brandon’s not so intelligent friends. He did badly in geography during their secondary school days, he couldn’t even answer correctly when asked where is the capital of his state Enugu. Hence, it was understandable for Brandon that Pascal would think that a distance of 700km could be traveled in five hours by road. So Brandon just told him everything about the journey so far.
As they continued to wait for more passengers Brandon started to feel hungry. Left in his stomach was the light breakfast he ate earlier that morning. Now he has to look for where he can eat, but the problem is there were no restaurants within sight. He had to make do with a bottle of coke and two packs of gala which he bought from a nearby aboki shop.
He continued chatting as he munched on his food. He looked at the time on his phone, it is 11 o’clock now and only two more passengers have joined the initial two Brandon met earlier. They have to wait for at least two more to make the car complete. Brandon is beginning to feel really concerned about the time.
This is only the second time he would be going to Abuja and although he has a handful of friends in that place not many of them lived in Abuja city where the termination point of the car he has boarded is. With the way things are going he will almost certainly arrive in Abuja at midnight. If he had so much difficulty finding his way around during the day at his last visit, how much more difficult would it be for him at midnight, he thought.