the race against death
The Notice
“Come on in” Adisa groaned as the knock on his door persisted.
Meanwhile, it had roused him earlier. Levitating between sleep and wakefulness he assumed he was dreaming.
The young boy handed him an envelope wordlessly and slipped out the door. Adisa saw his name scribbled on the envelope and opened it.
“No way” he screamed as the sleep raced out of his eyes.
Gingerly, he turned the envelope over to confirm the name again. Then started to read again with a sinking feeling.
“Dear Adisa, I will visit you on the 20th of this month” yours truly, Death.
Nonetheless, scared out of his skin, he refused to share such news with anyone. Neither his best friend nor his wife heard anything about it.
“I will be going to Ibadan tomorrow” Adisa informed his wife that night as they lay in bed.
“Ibadan? What came up?” she enquired gently while rubbing his head
“An urgent business. I will tell you about it when I get back the day after” he responded curtly, brushing her hands away from his head
“Alright, a short visit then” she reasoned and drifted to sleep
Keeping the Appointment
Then, on the 20th morning, Adisa left home and set out for Ibadan. “let the stupid death come, so long as it is within my powers he would not meet me at home or in town” he huffed angrily as he boarded his car and drove off.
Further along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway, he noticed an elderly man on the roadside frantically waving him down.
He was dressed regally in Agbada robes and looked out of place standing there. Out of pity for him, Adisa stopped and rolled down his windows;
“where are you going to sir?”
“which way are you going to?” the old man was soft spoken
“Ibadan” Adisa replied
“Yes, same here” the old man responded
“come in then sir, I will drop you of”
Meeting Death
Eventually, as they drove off, he introduced himself
“my name is Adisa, I live in Lagos”
“I know” the old man remarked calmly
“You know me sir?” Adisa cast a surprised glance at him
“yes, very well” he smiled sardonically
“what is your name sir?”
“Ikuree”
Adisa almost lost control of the steering wheel as he gripped it tightly.
The irony was not lost on him. Ikuree = This is death.
“I mean what is your name sir? He blurted out now sweating in the air-conditioned car
“Did you think that tearing up my letter and running away from home would stall the appointment we have? If you paid closer attention you would have noticed I said; I would visit you but there was no venue given” the old man smiled wryly again as he brandished a sickle from the folds of his dress
The last thing Adisa remembered was the screech of his tyres as he skidded off the road.
This was one of the earliest stories about the inevitability of death that I got told as a child growing up. It left an indelible print that each time I hear about any funny death, I recall Adisa running away to go meet death
During the #Wigwetributes; I listened to Sola Faleye, Herbert’s PA. He recounted how he tried to dissuade Bamofin from joining them on that trip. All I could think of was Adisa and how he left the comfort of his home and ran towards death in his bid to escape the appointment.