My stomach rumbled noisily, I knew I wasn’t hungry. “Amerlia” had been exceptionally good to me today. Two more thunderous rumblings and the embarrassment was written all over my face. Nature was calling but at a wrong time and at the worst ever location.
GBC bus stop was quite a distance away from campus and home was one hour fifteen minutes away. Globules of sweat formed on my forehead and wet my nose. I knew too well from countless experiences, than to try going back to campus to settle the score with nature, the way the whole thing will rush down the closer you came to a proper place of convenience.
I jumped into the next available bus to Circle where I hoped to catch a quick bus to Lapaz where I again hoped to catch a moving bus to Sowutuom, home.
In no time I was at Circle, doing my possible best to move as quickly as I can and making sure at the same time not to miss a step, otherwise…
A trotro zoomed past me just as I was making my way through the Circle- Kasoa station, lifting my eyes I saw the inscription written on the back of a van “eyes right”, I was puzzled but for no apparent reason I decided to look right and “halleluyah” guess what I saw, public toilet. That is when I came to the full realization of the saying “God works in mysterious ways.”
It took me a split second to enter the haven. I dropped 1 Cedi instead of 60 pesewas to enter (a matter of urgency). I entered the haven only to be met with a long winding queue that snaked its way out of the lavatory. You can imagine my woes that very day.
Nature, with its highly sophisticated inbuilt sensory system had sensed how close I had come within proximity to a place of convenience and was pushing so hard to exit, “man I begin dey sweat, masa gyae”. After a long disturbing wait it finally reached my turn, beaming with smiles I entered the small room. I pulled down my shorts with a single pull and sat on the white pot without hesitation. The whole thing descended gracefully with style. The story of what happened within that short moment is better left untold.
Feeling satisfied, I rose from the pot, gazed into the pot, about four matured-long winding ones. Giant blue over fed houseflies sang praises for me acknowledging the content in the pot…”masa gyae”.
I realized for the first time how the whole floor was wet, I gagged on the stale stench of urine coupled with the choking smell of cigarette that filled the chamber. When I stepped out I was greeted with the sight of a lanky looking old man with tobacco stained teeth standing next to the entrance, probably waiting for his turn to respond to the “divine calling”.
After having responded to my personal call, several thoughts raced through my coconut shaped head, most of which were advices. “I will honour nature at least twice before setting off from home each day”, I said to myself.
I looked back at the grotesque building that had saved my day. People poured in and out of the building, and I wondered silently how many of them were experiencing what I had just experienced.
As I secured my seat in the next available bus to Lapaz, I recapped the whole escapade and laughed my heart out, after all gentility has its limits … “masa gyae”… lol.
