Baskadia

Some people say, “different changes happen in a lifetime” but  I choose to say “ a single day can determine a lifetime”. It was one of those days that has led me to this moment. A day it was, like every other regular day, but little did I know that this day would change my life forever. Thanks be fair this day wasn’t just a regular day, it came once every year, oh yes!!! You are thinking right, it was my birthday, but before we get into that, let’s go back to the beginning.

It was a regular day like every other day where my teenage self would wake up with a bright smile, thankful for a new day. The first thing on morning routine was prayers, as a child who grew up in a Christian home, my parents always made sure to instill good values like this in us, second on the list was going to my parents room and greeting them properly, but today was different, I was done with all that routine, I just turned 18 and I just became and adult ,responsible for her life and her decisions, well so I thought and believed. It didn’t feel like all this routine was necessary anymore, it was bye- bye to teenage hood and welcome to adult hood, how I wish I didn’t reason this way on that day. Oops!! I forgot, My name is Rita and this is my story. It was the first day of my third month in college, yes surprisingly I didn’t  stay in the dorm, stayed at home. My parents did not like the idea of staying in the school dorm, on the other hand was I who liked it but couldn’t  against my parents, it’s against my faith to disobey my parents. But every now and then I will spend a day or two at my friend’s room in the dorm with the excuse of group project assignment which was never mostly true just wanted to hang out with my mates or my friend most especially ( if only I knew that was my first mistake). So back to the birthday, it was my birthday and as a normal family tradition, I’ll spend the day with my parents and my younger sister Elizabeth, that was the actual plan till I got to school that morning.

Before leaving home, my mum had asked if I did my morning prayers and I said I did which was a lie, but that was not enough for my mum and as my parents always do when you turn a year older, you receive 30 minutes of prayers and another 30 minutes with a load of advice, my parents always said this where the two biggest gifts they could offer that will last a lifetime, thinking about it right now they were so right. And even though I didn’t see the need then, right now I am so thankful for their prayers and advice. I was in school already and it was a wrap on lectures when my friend Louisa and her two room mates who were also my girls encouraged me to have fun today, “do something wild and forget the culture of going home for your birthday” so they said, it wasn’t comfortable for me but then the pressure to prove I was now a big girl got to me so I settled in for the idea. A call was made to my parents immediately cancelling our plans with an excuse of a serious school work that had to be submitted the next morning. My parents did not raise a liar for a child so they believed me and postponed our celebration to the following day. It was settled, I was going to have the best birthday of my life so I thought.

The night had come and we got all dressed up, Louisa gave me a skimpy cloth to wear which I didn’t feel comfortable with, so she had to find something a little better. We were off to the club and one of the girls borrowed her brother’s car for the night. If she knew how to drive or had a license was not known to me and no other person bothered asking, we just wanted to have fun. At the club it was so noisy and crowded, it wasn’t my type of crowd but I had to play along. We danced and danced for hours, drank lots of alcohol, this was my first time but I was all in for trying new things plus it was my birthday after all. Different guys way older than me came my way but I had no time for all that, I was even rude to one of them due to my drunken state, he was no gentleman anyways, but that was a wrong move by me, I had become a target unknowing to me. I felt nauseous due to the excess alcohol so I went to the rest room to help myself. While there I heard footsteps, someone had just walked in, it was the same guy I had been rude too, I hurriedly finished and turn to leave, but he dragged me back and wanted to force himself on me, he was stronger than me and I was way too drunk to fight, I kept screaming, I was so scared, he tore most of my clothes, but then before he could do anything a passerby which I still consider an angel till today, because the club was too noisy for anyone to hear me scream, but this stranger after saving me from that monster of a man claimed he heard me scream. All of that didn’t matter at that point, I was in tears and my friends cleaned me up and we were on our way out of the club, the man was arrested. Although still in shock I was thankful nothing happened, I would have been a rape victim. While in the car my girls tried to cheer me up and my mood was lightened for a bit, till I checked my phone and noticed my mum had been calling for a while, I could sense it in me that she knew something was wrong. I planned on calling when I got back to the dorm but that was never going to happen little did I know. 30 minutes from the club on the road with loud music in the car all in a bit to lighten the mood, our lives flashed before our eyes, an incoming truck smashed our car and I was left unconscious looking at my life less friends. How I found myself out of the car is something I still can’t explain but it was a miracle, my parents prayers were at work, God had dragged me out somehow.

We were rushed to the hospital, but that was the last of my friends I will ever get to see, they all lost their lives and I was the only survivor. I was in comma for a month, my mum had cried and prayed all she knew, the doctors had given up on me already but trust my parents who were strong children of God never to give up they believed in a miracle and a miracle it was when I finally woke up after a month on the very day I was suppose to be taken off life support, the doctors were in awe. But then I was awake to the realities of life, my three friends were dead and I was paralyzed and would have to use a wheel chair for the rest of my life. I felt so sorry for my parents whom I had disappointed, but I felt more sorry for myself whose lifetime had been changed because of a day. To be continued….