Once upon a time

I felt good seeing my little friend Pelumi today.
Yesterday evening...

I had just highlighted from the BRT bus that brought a halt to my day dreaming. Like many Nigerians, I have not been too happy with the economic situation of the country especially the fact that I was feeling the pinch as well.

No power, no fuel, ridiculous bus fare (danfo), ludicrous long BRT queue... and then it gets to your turn and the bus doesn't have a card machine!
Really!?!!
Then you watch people go into the bus and you wait for another - standing!
Whewww!
All of that and the only way I could get over the stress temporarily, especially in a bus was to switch my mind to 'Fantasy or Wonderland' - a land where everything seem perfect, more like an Idyll...
Walking down the path way to take a bike, this little girl in her school uniform approached me. She looked worried and confused. She wasn't sure if I was going to stop to listen to her as I could see her lips part slightly and then closed suddenly.
I wasn't going to say anything either, then she summoned courage and said, "Good afternoon ma, please I need your help."
I looked at her then moved away from the road, she followed me and continued, "I misplaced my transport fare and I don't have money to go home. Please help me."
I looked at her, trying to see if she was telling the truth or not. But then, really this guys recently have become very professional that you can hardly know if the story or ordeal narrated is true or blatant lies.
I opened my bag and gave her a 100 naira.  Honestly, that day I had just 300 naira left on me and I had planned on buying puff puff, a bottle of coke and then the last 100 naira for my okada fare.
Now, I didn't just give her the money like that without doing some investigations  you know...
I asked her "what is your name? How old are you? What is the name of your school? What class are you? Where do you live? Your surname?"
The girl answered all my questions with fear and confusion on her face. She knew this wasn't going to be easy as I asked her a final question that broke my heart.
"How long have you been standing here?" "2 hours" she said.
I felt bad for the little girl who apparently looked tired and hungry, still in her school uniform and her sandals worn out.
I know there were a lot of kids who would spend their money on something else and then stand in the middle of the road, begging for alms from passers by.
She took the money from me and said a glad but tiring thank you.
I looked at her once again and gave her an extra 100 naira when I realised she was going to a farther place than I had expected.
She thanked me, smiled  and went away.
I watched her walk away and wondered why nobody had offered to help her or even stop to listen to her.
I wasn't initially going to stop too and that got me thinking about our society and how fast it's losing its rich value and culture.
I thought about how easy trust had quietly slipped off our hands. Back in the those days, when people could correct or scold any child on the street or anywhere for doing something wrong- with the believe that  one person's child belonged everyone.
Now, you can barely scold a child - not even your neighbours'. How then can it be easy to help one?
I walked down to the okada park thinking of how we have lost the beauty of trust and fraternity in our society.
This evening,
I was about crossing the road to board a bus when I heard, "Aunty! Aunty!!". I turned to look at the person screaming from the window of 'danfo' bus behind me.
It was the little girl I had helped yesterday. She had another girl who was pointing  towards  me while Pelumi mentioned something to her which made her smile and then tilt her head in greetings.
The look in their eyes melt my heart as I smiled and waved back. They continued waving until the bus manoeuvred the traffic and drove off.
The look in their eyes was priceless and worth more than the puff puff and coca cola I had forgone yesterday.
It felt good to have helped the girl. The truth is, sometimes we ignore these people because of experiences we've had with the liars amongst them.
But honestly, it wasn't like I was entirely sure she was truthful despite my questions and supposed investigations.
I just felt really sad that a little girl in school uniform had been roaming and begging for 2 hours and nobody could help! I would have felt terrible also, if I had seen the same girl doing the same thing and tellig the same story to another innocent and trusting person today.

Well...The bottom line is, help when you need to and I think we should all work towards making our society a better and trusting one by being truthful, honest and diligent in whatever we do.

Once again...thank God it's Friday!!!
Enjoy the rest of the weekend....