Borrowed Time

Borrowed Time

It all remained theory until push came came to shove
His mother was always weary of his penchant for travelling in the night
What if the driver sleeps off?
What about highway robbers?
What if the vehicle develops a fault?
Night travelling is for the irresponsible
Travel by day!
That way you cut down the risks drastically and you give me peace of mind
He heard his mother
But he couldn't explain why night travelling was so much his thing
Perhaps it was the usual cool weather or the reduction in the number of vehicles on the road
He found night journey very convenient
He loved it when he hadn't gotten to know the Lord and he loved it even more after he had gotten to know the the Lord
He recognized that something was iffy the moment he stepped into that bus on his trip home from school
There was something, a gnawing nuisance of a feeling that wouldn't pass
He tried very hard to ignore it
There were seven passengers in the bus
The driver was speeding straight ahead and ignoring other passengers on the road
He wondered why they refused to pick more passengers
After about fifteen minutes of driving, the driver parked and picked a passenger
The eighth passenger
The man's only luggage was a machete wrapped with a brown paper
As the driver drove on, he began to hear a strange sound
Someone at the back seat of the vehicle whistled
The driver whistled
The driver drove on
He started praying in his spirit
The bus conductor looked at him!
"Sir, you must be very strong, every other passenger had slept off except you"
He didn't say a word, he just prayed on
He heard the driver mouthing some words
He listened intently, it was an incantation
He could feel himself sinking into fear
His head kept adding the things he was seeing
A bus with eight passengers
Two seated in front with the driver
Two seated in the seat directly behind the driver
Two seated on the second row including him
And two seated at the back row
Apart from him, the man with the machete, the driver and his conductor
Every other passenger was asleep!
He was sure they were still on course towards his destination
Suddenly there was a strange noise followed by a screech!
The front tyre on the driver's side suddenly deflated in motion!
The driver was sound, he slowed down and gradually parked the vehicle
The conductor jumped down to get the extra-tyre
The driver also jumped down
He noticed that none of the other passengers moved
It was as if they were half-dead
He could hear them sleeping and snoring, even the one seated right beside the driver
He didn't give himself the room to reconsider his thought
He jumped down from the bus and ran
They chased him
He didn't know what he was expecting
Perhaps that he was wrong and they would assume he had gotten to his destination
It was not to be
As soon as he was about 200 meters away, he looked back and he saw the three of them coming for him
He turned around and ran as fast as his legs could carry him
He didn't know how he got the strength to cover the distance he did
But he ran for almost thirty minutes non stop!
By the time he paused for breath, they were nowhere in sight
He checked his watch
It was 12:24 AM
He was right in the middle of an highway surrounded by forests
He didn't want to flag down any vehicle
He was sure he would sooner or later get to a small town or village
He walked on and on
Until he saw a light ahead
It was a brothel
One of those types with stale tobacco smell, alcohol and prostitutes
He didn't think twice about entering the establishment
The barman was already closing for the night
He was told he cannot stay in the bar, he should go upstairs and get a room
He went upstairs, the man behind the counter told him all the rooms came with a prostitute
He could see the prostitutes standing or seating in front of the rooms
If he decided to sleep in any room, he would pay a certain amount for lodging and he would also pay the prostitute a certain amount

He asked the man when the first bus would get to the motor park in the morning

The man said 6AM
He thought about it
The time was 1 AM
He had at least five hours more before he could get a vehicle and continue his journey
He had no other option at that moment
He paid for the room and the prostitute entered the room with him
When they got inside, the prostitute asked him what he wanted
He told her he just wanted to sleep, no sex!
The prostitute insisted on her full compensation for a full night work
He didn't argue, he paid
He got on one end of the bed and promptly slept off!
He woke up at 6 AM
As he was about to leave, the prostitute pounced on him
"You cannot go anywhere! You have stolen my money!"
What!
He didn't believe what he heard
He had slept off like a log of wood! Which money?
The prostitute meant business! The more he denied, the more she screamed
He had planned to duck out of the establishment and resume his journey by 6AM
He couldn't do so anymore!
The madam of the prostitutes came
She listened to the prostitute carefully
She asked him to tell her how much he had on him
He told the madam the total amount he had on him
The prostitute also mentioned the amount of money she made the previous day
The madam searched him
She then searched the prostitute and the prostitute's room
She found the money inside the prostitute's make up bag
By that time it was already 7AM
The prostitute and the madam apologised
He left!
He boarded a bus from the only motor park in that village
The first bus had left at 6:45AM
By the time he got on the bus at 7:15AM
He was the last passenger
The bus took off
After about fifteen minutes drive
There was an holdup
The vehicle creeped on until it got to the very spot where he
jumped out of the kidnapper's vehicle earlier that morning
Everybody in car started screaming
There had been an accident
The vehicle that left the village at 5AM had collided with the
kidnapper's vehicle right where it was parked beside the road 
Nobody knew if the driver slept off or the brake system failed
Some people had died and many others injured!
Their driver parked! They had to help the victims in any way they could
Other vehicles had also parked
He got down from the vehicle!
Somehow he felt eerie about the whole thing
Why that spot? Why that day? Why that time?
People were running up and down trying to assist the injured and extract the dead from the vehicle
He looked behind him and saw a man, standing right by his side
The man said "You died here today! I hope you know that?"
He nodded
The man "Now you live the rest of your life for Jesus! I hope you got that?"
He nodded again!
He looked at his side again, the man was gone!
He didn't know why he started crying afterwards!
He cried and cried until he got home
He never travelled at night again unless he had no option
He marked that day in his mind for a remembrance!
It would be unwise to forget such a day!

PS: This event happened on the 5th of February 2009
He celebrated his birthday on that date from that year onwards
preaching the gospel and spreading the fragrance of Christ
He has since gotten married with children
He tells whoever cares to listen how God moved heaven and earth to preserve his life from certain death