When Shadows Turned to Light

The morning air around Best Primary School had the dryness that only December could bring. The start of the Harmattan season was a reminder that Christmas was around the corner, and the children could hardly contain their excitement as the school year came to an end. Classrooms, which had once been filled with echoes of students reading aloud, now buzzed with conversations about the holiday; the gifts they wished for, parties to attend, and of course, the end-of-year party they’d all been looking forward to.

Among the most enthusiastic were Tonye and Bobo. At the ages of eight and five, they were consumed with the joys of Christmas, which their mother Torera had instilled in them; the wrapped presents, the special Christmas cooking with the assistance of Iya Rashidat and Iya Bode, the visits to meet father Christmas, and the endless parties they attended.

Torera cherished this season. She liked seeing her children’s faces light up at every little gift and loved the twinkling lights in their small neighbourhood where families shared meals on the weekends and assisted one another with school pick-ups. And now that the end-of-year party was close, all she wanted to do was plan for it.

Torera had made sure everything was prepared in the days before the party. She had taken Tonye and Bobo shopping and bought them some toys and other gifts. Knowing how important it was for them to look their best at the party, she made sure to get them some new outfits for the celebration. As Bobo tried on his shirt, she watched as he ran around the store, calling his shirt “the best one ever,” while Tonye spun around gracefully in her new dress. 

D-Day! Party, Excitement and Fun!

On the day of the party, Torera wondered if Tonye and Bobo had even closed their eyes for an hour through the night. They burst into her room at precisely six o’clock in the morning, giggling with excitement. “Mummy, it’s D-Day!” Tonye said, throwing her arms around her mother, and kissing her cheek. Bobo squeezed tight, forcing himself into the embrace so that he wouldn’t be left out.

“Did you children sleep at all?” She laughed playfully, tapping their heads lightly with her finger.

“Yes, Mummy, We did!” they echoed, their laughter blending with hers as they rolled on the bed.

As she helped them get ready, packing Tonye’s hair into a ponytail and helping Bobo lace his shoes, she listened to their funny conversation as they argued over who would win the party’s dance competition. “Time to go,” she said. Tonye and Bobo were almost shaking with excitement by the time they climbed into the car.

The party was a frenzy of sugar highs and shrieking laughter. Bobo raced from one game to another while Tonye carefully collected treats for later, stashing lollipops and biscuits in her bag. “For after Christmas,” she whispered in her mother’s ear. Torera watched as they played freely, feeling the contentment a mother has when her children are happy and having the time of their lives.

As they drove home after the party, the sky glowed with orange and soft red undertones, gently fading into the evening. The children chattered about the party throughout the journey, laughing at shared jokes and recounting things that happened there. “Mummy, did you see when Bobo fell during the race?” Tonye giggled. Bobo grinned sheepishly, holding up his party pack as if it were a trophy.

Dark Night and A Cast Shadow

Torera turned into the parking spot at their home. It had a mild slope. She parked and stepped out of the car.  Tonye and Bobo climbed down from the side close to the wall. 

As they stepped out, the car began to roll backwards. Tonye let out a scream “Mummy,” as the car door struck her head, trapping her arm on the wall and dragging it as it slid down before pulling her to the ground. 

She looked up and saw Bobo running towards the back of the car, so she screamed, “Bobo, come back here.” As he turned to go towards her, the door slammed into his head so hard that he fell on the floor. The tyre, missing his head by mere inches. 

The car rolled down, crashing into the gate with a loud bang, flinging it open.  Then it rolled out to the middle of the street and stopped, narrowly missing a vehicle that just drove passed. 

Torera stood there in shock, with her breath caught in her throat. Her mind, trying to process what just happened. ” Tonye,” “Bobo,”  she shouted, her voice rising in desperation. “Mummy,” Tonye cried out squealing in pain.

Torera rushed to Tonye, lifting her into her arms. Then she turned to look at Bobo and saw him lying still, he wasn’t moving. She rushed to him and tapped his back calling out his name. Her heart was pounding so fast that it felt like it was going to explode at any moment. Then she began to scream frantically, ”Somebody help me please,” “Help me.”

She screamed until her neighbour Remi ran out.  He grabbed Tonye from her and rushed to his car, which was parked outside on their street. Torera, at this point, lifted Bobo from the ground. He blinked as she screamed his name and rushed to Remi’s car. But he neither cried nor uttered a word, he just kept staring at his mother as she ran to meet up with Remi and Tonye. 

As Remi drove them to the hospital, Tonye held onto Torera’s hand, crying and saying, “Mummy, I don’t want to die, please. I don’t want to die.” The blood flowing from her hand formed a pool on the car seat, her bone fractured from the accident. “You will not die, my baby, you will not die,” Torera responded.

Tonye was quickly wheeled into one of the emergency rooms at the hospital, and the doctors got to work, stopping the bleeding and running some checks on her. They also checked Bobo’s head injury before dressing it. Remi was with them for some time and left after ensuring they were in good hands. 

A glimmer of Light

 ” Zee,” she cried out immediately after her sister answered her call. Her voice was trembling as she spoke. 

“What’s up? Are you okay?”

“Tonye and Bobo… there was an accident… we are in the hospital. Her voice was a blur, and Zee couldn’t fully make out what she was saying. 

“What!” Zee exclaimed. “Did you say accident…?  Hospital…? Where are you? I’m on my way.”

The drive was laced with anxiety. Zee was panic-stricken, with every red light seeming like a delay sent to torture her.  Ahead of her, a car with a church sticker read, “I Am Already There.” The words calmed her down a little as she saw it as a message from God. She drove the rest of the way in silence, her heart pounding until she reached the hospital and saw her sister’s tear-streaked face.

A Listening Ear and Support

Torera rushed to her, trembling as she held her tight, glad that a family member was finally there to support her.  

“Zee, I almost lost them, I almost killed my children.” Her voice was broken, her words a mix of panic and guilt. “I don’t know what I would have done. Ah! Zee, what would have become of me,” she cried, weighed down by a fear she had never known. 

“Thank God for saving them, all will be well Torera.”

Tonye, now awake, saw Zee and stretched her hand toward her. “Aunty Zee,” she whispered, her voice faint.

Zee held her. ”I’m here now, dear, you will be fine.”

Meanwhile, Bobo sat quietly in the corner. His stare was vacant, his mind numb. They had run checks on him and found nothing extra except the head injury, which had been treated. He hadn’t shed a tear and hadn’t spoken a word since the accident. He simply stared ahead as if unable to process what had happened.

That night, Tonye underwent surgery on her hand, her body tucked under the warm hospital sheets. Zee and Torera were by her side. It was past midnight when she finally slept, her cast-covered arm a sombre reminder of the day.

An After Party Horror Movie

The next morning, Zee went to get some change of clothes from their house. Some of the neighbours had helped push the car back into the compound. As she looked into the car, she saw blood splattered all over the seats with party packs scattered all around the car. it reminded her of a horror movie.

“But what really happened,” she asked Torera when she got back to the hospital. They hadn’t talked about the cause of the accident since it happened. “I think it was the hand brake,” Torera responded.

“Honestly, that car is useless and has to be changed because I pulled the brake right, but somehow it didn’t work.” Then she looked up at Zee with sad and guilt-filled eyes, “ I should never have allowed them to climb down from the side near the wall.”

Zee patted her shoulder, nodding as she listened to her. “You need to get the car checked.”

“Definitely.”

Hope, Love and Gratitude

Life was back to normal. They celebrated Christmas, and on New Year’s Eve, the family gathered around to celebrate the end of the year that had nearly broken them.

At midnight, Tonye’s cast was covered in messages of hope and love, with friends and family signing “Happy New Year” on it. Torera was full of gratitude, holding her children close, feeling their warmth and knowing how close she’d come to losing them.

Then she walked to the balcony, taking a deep breath of the cool, fresh air. She looked up, her eyes softening as she whispered, “Thank you, Lord.” The new year stretched out before her, full of new hopes and promises. She held the image of her children close, their laughter, their stubborn debates, even their fear-gripped faces on that night. “This will be a good year,” she said quietly to herself, a gentle smile breaking through.

And somehow, in that moment, she believed it.