Ahmed sat bleeding at the emergency room of the hospital he was brought to. He held the small towel he had been given by a passerby to his head. He could feel the start of a slight headache. He was lucky to be alive.
Earlier that day…
Bbggrrrring bbggrrrring
“Give your life to Jesus today! Without Him, you are nothing”
Bbggrrrring bbggrrrring
“Tomorrow may be too late! What if you die today? Are you sure of eternity?”
Bbggrrrring bbggrrrring
“Only Jesus can save you”
Bbggrrrring bbggrrrring the bell rang annoyingly.
Ahmed stirred from sleep. He was really annoyed as he put the pillow over his head. He hated when these early morning preachers came screaming and ringing their bells every morning. He was not interested in their message, and as far as he was concerned, they were constituting a nuisance to the community. He made a mental note to raise this at the landlords association meeting later that day. Enough was enough!
He got up sluggishly and hissed. The sound of the bell felt like someone was drilling a hole into his brain. He sat down by his bedside table and rubbed his temple slowly. He got up and leaned his head against the door to his room. He lived in a block of flats, and was one of the three occupants of the one bedroom section of the building. He walked into the living area and unplugged his laptop from the socket at the corner of the room. It was just 5.35am, and he could no longer sleep.
Ten minutes later, Ahmed was dressed and ready to go jogging. He tied the lace of his second sneakers, picked up his headphones and made to open the door. Suddenly, he heard a loud ‘pop’ coming from the kitchen. He rushed there wondering what was wrong. He looked around the kitchen and couldn’t find anything. He concluded that it must have been his mind playing tricks on him. He went back to the sitting area, unlocked the door and stepped out.
The morning dew made the atmosphere look foggy. It was quite cold, and a light drizzle showered gently. He pulled the hood over his head as he started jogging. He had just passed the Green’s house, which was a good 5 minutes jog from his house, when he suddenly realized that he had forgotten to lock his front door. He became very furious with himself. This was Lagos. How stupid could he have been to forget to do something that important? he thought to himself. He turned swiftly and ran all the way back to his apartment to do the needful. He muttered prayers all the way as he imagined the worst. He sighed in relief when he opened the door and found out that everything seemed intact. He went round his small apartment again just to be sure before stepping out and locking up. He pulled his hood over his head once again and jogged away.
Oshodi! Oshodi! Oshodi Oke! screamed a bus conductor as people rushed towards the bus. Ahmed jogged by and looked at his watch. It was already 6.15am. He was feeling very irritated and on edge. Since the incidence earlier, all sorts of things had happened to him. He had almost fallen into a ditch, and a car had sped by splashing a puddle of water on him. He was beginning to have weird thoughts about death as well. Worst still, the morning message by the preacher about eternity kept creeping into his mind. He had tried severally to refocus, but he found himself constantly thinking about her words What if you die today? Are you sure of eternity? He shook his head as he continued jogging.
Not up to two minutes later, he heard a loud noise and felt a sudden commotion behind him as he saw two people speed past him. He turned around swiftly to see what had happened. The sight before him made his blood run cold. He felt the rush of adrenaline and found himself running as well. The pedestrian bridge he had just passed under had given way crushing some cars and people. A particular huge billboard seemed to be slowly coming down, and people were running helter-skelter in panic. His heart pumped in fear as he ran. He could hear the creaking sound as the billboard fell. The shouts and screams were horrifying. He slowed down gradually as a thought slipped into his mind what if you were one of the victims, where would you have ended up today? He stopped abruptly at the thought. His heart continued to beat frantically as the fear of losing his life enveloped him. He had never really given thought to eternity, but suddenly, the thought of it seemed to engulf him.
He looked around him and realized he was totally out of his usual path. He was in a daze as he made his way back on track. Traffic had built up terribly. He watched as the Lagos State Emergency Service ambulance made its way towards the bridge. At the same time, his mind was in a turmoil as it dawned on him that he was a coward. You could have helped you know? he thought You didn’t have to. What if you had gotten injured? a voice countered. You could have, if you had no fear of death he heard another voice say. He became so disturbed that he didn’t know when he stepped into traffic, facing an on-coming vehicle.
In what seemed like a split second, he heard the crunching of metal and plastic as two vehicles collided. Ahmed found himself thrown to the curb, flat on his face. The car had hit him on the side, and from a passersby point of view, it could have been fatal. He felt the slight trickle of blood down his face. His ears were ringing and he couldn’t really make out what was going on around him. Few seconds later, a crowd had gathered round him. Some with pure water, but one in particular gave him a small towel to stop the bleeding. He was lifted off the floor and sat up. He could hear an intense argument going on between the affected drivers. While he was still trying to catch his breath, the owner of the vehicle that had hit him stormed towards him looking very angry.
“Oga, you no dey look road?” He said angrily. “I could have killed you! What’s wrong with you?”
Ahmed watched in silence as the man went on and on in anger. The crowd who were idly watching the spectacle before them suddenly turned against the man and started raining curses on him. They couldn’t fathom how a man who had just hit someone would be more concerned about the reason he had stepped into his path and not even try to get him medical help. The crowd eventually prevailed over him to take Ahmed to a nearby hospital.
Present Time
Ahmed was still shaken as he watched the scene before him. He could see the injured bodies from the collapsed bridge before him. They had been brought to the same hospital as he. The screams of pain mingled with the smell of blood made his head ache badly. His heart was heavy, and he was filled with fear and sorrow. He had lost his headphones at the scene of the accident. He felt a sharp pain on his left side and winced. No one had attended to him yet. The man who had hit him was all grumpy and impatient. Some passersby had followed them to ensure he was given the proper treatment he needed. He moved gently as the pain subsided. All he could hear in his head were her words What if you die today? Are you sure of eternity? He began to shiver. What do I do? He thought to himself as he watched in horror as the woman who lay on the stretcher to his right breathed her last.
Because if you acknowledge and confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and in your heart believe (adhere to, trust in, and rely on the truth) that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
Romans 10:9 AMPC