Chapter Ten

"Jesus!" His mother screamed, as the car moved towards the tree.

Alex gripped his seat belt, which was already fastened to his seat belt, while his mother also did so, and held the dashboard. His father persisted in fending off the steering until it bashed a tree.

Their head twitched forward, as the car slammed into the tree . Their skull would have collided with anything inside the car, if the seat belts had not stopped them. 

Smoke erupted from the car's hood, as it struck the tree. 

"Is everyone all right?" His dad enquired.

"Yes." Both he and his mother responded simultaneously.

"I mean, I hope nobody got hurt." He questioned his wife and Alex, to inspect if they had not sustain an injury from what happened.

"I'm good." Alex's mum replied, while Alex nodded his head in affirmation, since his father's eyes was still gazed at his.

"What about you, honey?"

"I'm good, thanks my love." His father replied his mum.

People had gathered around the car while they were having the conversation.

"Let's get down to examine the car." His father informed them as he unclutched his seat belt.

He winded down and came down from the car. Alex and his mum joined him outside, afterwards.

"Hope nobody got hurt?" A man in his mid-forties asked them, as soon as they exited the car.

"No, thank you, sir." His father smiled, as he responded.

"But I trafficated, in order to let you know that I was going to make a turn." A young man said. 

"I was the one driving the vehicle in front of yours, before the collision." The young man remarked, realising that Alex's father had no idea what he was talking about.

"Oh! My bad. I became distracted. I lost concentration while driving. I hope I didn't hit your car or was it affected?" Alex's father asked out of curiosity. 

"Oh, no. It wasn't affected nor was it hit. Just be careful when driving. Unexpected turn of events happen on this road." He said, as he smiled. 

"Thank you very much for your concern. I really appreciate it." He replied while shaking the young man's hand. 

The young man departed after they shook hands. 

"It appears that the car is no longer fit to make the trip." The man in his mid-fifties said. 

We still have a long voyage ahead of us, so if it does not start working, I'll have no choice but to force it to." His father replied, while smiling.

"Oh! I sincerely pray and hope that it will." The man said.

People moved away from the scene, as the men conversed between each other.

"I bet those people that just left, were talking negative things and blaming us for this accident." Alex told his mother. 

"And are we innocent of their accusation, if they really did?" His mother responded. 

"No, we are not." He replied, grudgingly. 

"I don't know why dad reacted that way, when I told him about the dream I had. It's unlike him to get distracted while driving." He explained. 

"It happens sometimes." His mum replied and rubbed her hand on his head. 

"By the way, who is the owner of this house, so I could apologise to him; about this mess I caused and for destroying this tree due to my carelessness." He inquired. 

"You do not need to seek for the owner. I am the owner's father." The man smiled as he replied. 

"Imagine! I was not even aware of that. Once again, I'm really sorry sir." He apologised and he prostrated as a sign of respect. 

Alex and his mum prostrated and knelt down respectively, in sequel to Alex's father show of respect. 

"Eshey, baba." Alex and his mum thanked the old man, as they did so. 

"Come on, come on. You all should stand up, it's actually nothing. I believe shit happens sometimes." The man said. 

"Thank you, baba." They thanked him again. 

"Check the car if it is in a good condition to continue the journey." He advised them. 

It was when he told them to check the car's condition, Alex father inspected the car. 

He went to check the front of the car and saw that the bumpa had been serverly damaged , due to the collision with the tree. The bonnet's tip was also ruined. 

He then lifted the bonnet up and hung it with its hanger. He inspected some of the parts attached to the engine, and concluded that it was in a good condition to continue the journey. 

"Good! I think it's in a perfect condition to move." Alex's father said. 

"Okay, that's good." The old man replied. 

"Alex, start the car so that we can know if it can work or not." He instructed Alex. 

"Better! That is very crucial." The old man said. 

"Okay sir. What about the key?" Alex asked his father. 

"It is on the dashboard." He told Alex. 

Alex went inside the car and found the key where his father told him it was. 

The car started, the moment he switched the key. 

"Good! I think it's in a good condition to move." Alex's father said. 

"Yes." The old man affirmed. 

"Thank you very much sir, for your concern." Alex's father thanked the old man. 

"You are welcome, my son. The time is not on your side anymore, get in the car and continue your journey since you said that, you still have a long journey ahead of you" He adviced him.

"That's true, thank you sir." He prostrated, as he thanked him. 

"Thank you sir." His wife also thanked him, as she knelt down halfway in the air. 

"You people like to show gratitude a lot." He said, as he giggled. 

"Sir, it's very rare to find someone that attend to someone warmly as you did. We even destroyed something of yours, and you didn't feel annoyed. Thank you sir." Alex's father thanked him. 

"It's okay. You see, it's good to render help  whenever one is in need of a help. I do not know the situation I might be in the future. It might be one of you that would help me then. You see, life is all about give and take." He explained to them. 

"That's very true. We might come here to visit you , when we are coming back from our journey and fully show our gratitude." Alex's father said. 

"It's okay. You are welcome, anytime, any day." He told them. 

For a long time, Alex was in the car wondering what his parents and the mother were talking about.

Alex's father finally closed the car's hood, after several unsuccessful attempts to close it, because of the wreckage.

"Good-bye, sir." Alex's father bid him goodbye, as he walked to get into the car. 

"Good-bye my son. Have a safe journey." He said as he smiled. 

Alex's mum also walked to enter the car. 

Since his father was already sitting in the driver's seat, Alex wanted to exit the vehicle to allow him to take his place and seat on his initial seat. However, he chose to move to the back seat by passing the little space between the driver's seat and the front passenger's seat, to the back seat, to avoid thanking the man and probably striking up a conversation with him. 

His father started the car and honked the car's horn afterwards, which prompted the man to wave his hands at them, to bid them goodbye. 

"O daabo. I wish you a safe journey." He shouted. 

"What a nice man." His mother said, as his father tried to reverse the car, so they could continue their journey. 

"A very nice man indeed." His father complimented.

N. B:

(1) Male and Female prostrates and kneels down respectively as a sign of respect in Yoruba culture, to either greet elderly people or to show gratitude towards them.

(2) "Eshey baba" is a Yoruba phrase simply translated as "Thank you, daddy." However, the word, "daddy" denotes more meaning in Yoruba apart from its dictionary meaning. Hence, the utterance means "Thank you, sir" in this context. 

(3) "My son" also denotes more meaning in Yoruba apart from been used to refer to a person's male offspring. It could be used by an adult to refer to a young person, who is enough to be the adult's son, or used by family members that are older than the referent.