If this were an Instagram reel, it’ll have an intro of me running barefoot and the voice in the background would be the one that says, “Yup! That’s me. You’re probably wondering how I ended up in this situation…”
It all just kinda happened. One minute, I was admiring my wig in the mirror, the next, I’m running without a care in the world.
I had a wedding to attend in Ibadan. I had booked my train ticket, and I was scheduled to leave by 7:42 a.m. on that Saturday morning. I woke up early and by 7 a.m., I was ready. Google maps said it would take me 12 minutes to get to the train station — so I had some time to kill. Or did I?
I was going to the wedding with a friend. At about 7:15, we started trying to book a ride. Please tell me why the ride-hailing app was giving us a rider that was 10 minutes away. Oh Chim! We finally found one that was 5 minutes away and I relaxed a bit. We checked again about a minute later and the ETA had jumped to about 10 minutes. Excuse me?
We decided to step out to hail a tricycle and “book” it to take us to the train station. Getting one took about 5-6 minutes. This should have been the first option, I thought. The time was about 7:30 at this time, so we had 12 minutes until time for departure. The driver of the tricycle seemed to understand our predicament ‘cause he drove with a sense of urgency. I like!
We finally got to a spot and he said that was the farthest he could go. Ha! You say? He said we’d have to walk and he pointed the train station out to us. He had dropped us at the back of the station but luckily, that was where the trains departed from. We got down and started walking. For context, I was wearing a long dress and comfortable heels. It was already 7:42. However, I could see the train from a distance. Okay. I’m close. What’s the worst that could happen? I’m sure my angels laughed and pitied me when I said that; because a few seconds later, a man ran past me, heading towards the train. Lmao. The train was already making “sounds of departure”. That was when it got real.
I couldn’t run cause the road was stony and I was wearing heels. I walked as fast I could. I was seconds away when I saw the last passenger board. Luckily, I had gotten to a smooth pavement and that was when the heels came off! I ran. I didn’t think. I just ran. Steeze where? No steeze, my dears. Just vibes and velocity.
The first door had closed. I ran to the second. As God and my angels would have it, a staff member of the station was coming out of the second door. He kept it open and asked me for my ticket. I showed him both tickets and he let us in — to the glory of God and to the shame of the devil. I got in, dropped my shoe on the ground, wore it and walked to look for my seat. The train had started moving. After sitting down and cleaning off my sweat, we actually burst out laughing. I wanted to be angry, but angry at who? Angry at what? At least I was on the train.
I laughed as we recounted the details. Did I learn anything from this? Maybe. Don’t procrastinate. Carry slippers when wearing heels, especially if you’re going to be using public transportation. Don’t let one chaotic event ruin your day.
PS: I was supposed to wear Osato’s shoes to this wedding. She changed my mind last minute for reasons best known to her. I gave her this gist and only thing she could say was, “Thank God I wasn’t wearing her shoe”.
Tell me. What’s the craziest ‘almost missed it’ moment you’ve had?
With that smile, no one will tell you just ran a 400 meter race. 😂😭