On a beautiful afternoon, my siblings and I were sitting outside playing ‘tinko, tinko, a very popular game at the time. An hour into the game, mum called me to remind me that it was my turn to empty the garbage and I should do that as soon as possible. The waste was in a basket. Oh! A sack I mean.
Our house had no incinerator nor was there a waste tank nearby, so we had to trek to somewhere a bit far to empty the waste sack. The disposal point used to be very quiet such that you could hear the hissing sound of snakes from a far distance.
Mum already tied the sack well and balanced it on my head after carefully placing a cloth to prevent dirts. And, off I went.
Everything was going well as I moved close to the disposal point where I would empty the waste sack and suddenly, there was a sound. Wait, what was that? A curious and scared me asked no one in particular. Well, I didn’t wait to get an answer. A little flashback of some stories I read some months earlier made me run without looking back.
Mum asked me why I ran that much because I was almost out of breath. She brought me a cup of water, allowed me to catch my breath, rested a bit, and then I narrated what happened to which she replied, Thank God. About two weeks after, it was my turn to empty the trash sack, yet again. 🥺
Since my other siblings especially my big sis had gone and saw nor heard anything, mum expected I shouldn’t. Well, my case was different. My spiritual friends were waiting for me, I guess. I carried the well-tied sack again and off I went. I didn’t hear a thing this time, but I saw!
I saw the movement of a white-dressed being moving close to where I was about to empty the sack! I looked both ways and I found no other person but this white-dressed being. Immediately, I dropped the sack without untying, removed my flip flop as quietly as I could, held them in my hands and I ran as fast as my legs could carry me all the way home.
Again, mum asked me what happened and I narrated. Then, she said, sit down and relax, I’ll be back.
Mum went in for a few mins, returned outside fully dressed and told me to lead the way to the point where the white being stood. At this point, I knew I was in trouble. Reluctantly, I stood up, draggingly led the way while my mum followed from behind.
We got to the point and mum asked a lot of questions that I couldn’t answer at a time. She realized at that moment that the ghost and sounds were all in my head. She instructed me to empty the sack and followed her home.
The journey back home was too quiet and thoughts-filled, for me I mean.
A few minutes after getting home, mum asked that I returned to the playing ground with my peers. I did return, but I wasn’t comfortable playing again. I was awaiting the call for my punishment which never came. Perhaps, she realized how lonely that path was after all.
She didn’t allow me to go there alone ever since. #mission accomplished! Perhaps, she thought ghosts could show up anytime for real or she saw how scared I was.
A few months later, I saw a ghost for real in school…
