The Ilorin Shock Episode 1
Episode One: The Ilorin Shock
The first day I entered Ilorin, my heart was light.
I was going to school.
A new beginning.
A new life.
As our car slowed down, I noticed strange things people hanging their bathing sponges outside, clothes draped on rusty nails, buckets lined up like soldiers. The compound looked tired, like it had seen too much suffering and had given up complaining.
Still, I wasn’t worried.
I whispered to myself, “We’re just branching.”
My brother and I stayed in the car while my dad went inside to greet a teacher. I watched the gate, counting seconds, waiting for him to come back so we could continue to that nice place I remembered.
Because I had been to Ilorin once before.
That place was beautiful.
Neat rooms.
Calm surroundings.
Hope lived there.
I turned to my brother, smiling.
“Where we’re going is very nice,” I told him.
His eyes brightened. He believed me.
Then everything changed.
My dad came back out not to drive off, but to open the boot.
“Pack your loads,” he said.
I laughed small.
Pack our loads? Here?
Before my brain could understand what was happening, he added the words that broke something inside me:
“This is where you and your brother will be staying.”
The world stopped.
The compound suddenly looked darker.
The air felt heavier.
The noise of people around became louder, mocking.
My hands packed my bag, but my heart refused to cooperate.
I looked at my brother.
He looked at me.
We were both speechless.
No tears came out not because we were strong, but because the shock was too heavy for tears. Crying needed energy, and we had none.
My dad didn’t notice the silence in our eyes. Or maybe he did and chose not to look. After a few instructions, he turned, entered the car, and drove away.
Just like that.
The dust from his tyres settled slowly, like it was also tired of moving.
And there we were.
Two small boys.
In a strange place.
With dreams still in our bags… and fear sitting beside us.
That night, as the sun went down and unfamiliar voices filled the compound, I realized something painful:
Ilorin was not what I remembered.
And this was only the beginning.
continue reading Episode 2
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