Childhood Shocking Experience

Sometimes I look back at my childhood days and just shake my head with this smile lying at the corners of my lips. I really did a lot of crazy things. Things that don't really alighn to the kind of person I am now.

Things I'm not proud of, some, I'm not willing to tell. But there are really little crazy, dirty foolish stuffs I could afford to spill out. Rather funny ones. And one, of which I just remembered, was the day I was nearly electrocuted to death.

Those who grew up in public compounds can attest to the careless and hopeless state the change-over for electricity can be. Usually open, with no protective covering for the mother switch. It was either some persons have refused to pay to change them, or the person to which the money was payed to would not return to the compound for weeks, and will keep telling stories till everyone will just forget about it. Ours wasn't different. 

Our compound enjoyed three faces. We were almost never in darkness, cos we switched from one face to the other, and the three faces could almost never be without light.

Due to the condition of the change-over, our light-teleporting business was only carried out by the elderly men and boys in the compound.

So it happened that we were all in Mr ola's house, watching 'Toy story' when NEPA( Nigeria Electricity Power Authority) decided to cut short our joy just when an interesting scene was in play. 

There was no elderly person around, so we had the choice of either waiting or taking the forbidden risk. The sermon to stay clear from the change over room was like a national anthem in our compound. There was this additional pledge of never getting close to our landlords new jeep, my story with that jeep is for another day.

I was the eldest of the small children's association. Held responsible for any misdoings in the absence of any elderly person. Receiving punishments for any crime where a perpetrator isn't caught. Charged with the responsibility to be responsible but always caught doing wrong. Expert in leading the Young naive boys and girls astray. And a whole lot of other latent titles I was conferred with.

It wasn't actually my suggestion on that day, Ahmad volunteered to change the switch. But true to type, I hadn't resisted. It was in my interest that someone does it so why will I protest against him. I was only 9, and 'Toy story' was such a Blockbuster.

Ahmad lifted an iron stool, and headed for the switch, just like jesus had lifted his cross.Who on earth would have enlightened us, that even if you must dine with the devil, that you should at least use a long spoon. Jesus said carry your cross and follow me, that was what Ahmad did. He carried his cross, but here, it was a cross for two.

We positioned ourselves to transfered the information to Ahmad when the light comes. It was a lot of benda to the switch, so four of us positioned at each bend, and I was the last person close to Ahmad.

When Ahmad got to the switch, he hesitated before he pulled off his sleepers and climbed the iron stool. I saw as his hands trembeled, but I wasn't the one to discourage him from doing something I earnestly wanted him to do. It was pure stupidity. Toy story over a persons life. But I wasn't wise enough to know this far.

We knew the gravity of our sin, so we did all we did stealthily. So quietly that the ground wouldn't detect out feet on them.

It was in my ever funny proficiency that I had tried to deliver a joke at the very moment Ahmad held the switch

It wasn't the spark that scared me, it was the shout of Ahmad. It pierced the hot afternoon sun, ravaging the peace of the birds that nested close to the switch. He began to vibrate fervently. First it felt like a prank, then a movie, then reality struck when white fumes began to drop from his mouth. 

Tension immediately completed a duplex in my body. Fear, sweat, anger, tears, naivety and a shaky legs, were the recipe for the action I took next. I ran energetically towards ahmad. 

With a blank brain and a caring heart, I pushed him, hoping to take him off the switch.

Everything happened in a split seconds. I got stuck and connected. Not like Bluetooth or WiFi, it was a physical contact connection. Shaking and convulsing. Its funny now, but was hell on that day. I must have a bitter blood, cos it wasn't long I got connected that the electricity threw us so high in the sky, and with a heavy thrud, we hit the ground. 

It was God that it left us when it did, because the second person was already on his way to the connection. We would have formed a long chain reaction of convulsing little fools.

The switch tear injury on Ahmad's hand gave us away. We had wanted to hide it. We drank milk and malt. A lot of them, but ended up paying back in kinds. And when I say say 'kind', I mean the negative one.