Chapter 2
Jibola was so shocked he couldn’t respond at first. Then he thanked the voice on the phone and dropped to his knees in the middle of the street, screaming with joy. He had always believed things would work out, but this was beyond anything he imagined. He stood back up, laughing and smiling as he walked home. His luck was finally changing. He thought about everything he would buy, about moving out of his tiny room into a better place.
As he walked, he passed a beggar and dropped ₦500 into the alms bowl.
“Oga, thank you ooo! Your life sweet oo—see as you drop big money for me!” the beggar exclaimed.
“Yes oh, my life is very sweet right now. I wish you could taste it,” Jibola said with a smile.
That night, he slept well. He had emailed the company to say he would resume the following week. All that was left was to write a resignation letter to his old job. He fell asleep smiling.
The next morning, Jibola was rudely awoken by the blaring of car horns and the familiar stench of the gutter. Disoriented, he opened his eyes to find himself sitting by the roadside in smelly clothes. He thought he was still dreaming and slapped himself to wake up, but he was fully conscious. Looking around, he saw a backpack filled with dirty clothes and a beggar bowl in front of him.
Confused, he tried walking to his house but wasn’t allowed in because of his filthy appearance.
He began piecing things together. He vaguely remembered talking to a beggar before entering his house the previous day—but surely, that couldn’t be the reason he now looked like one. After spending the entire day in front of the gate, he finally approached a woman who sold snacks nearby and asked her about the man who used to live there. After describing himself, the woman replied, “He don move commot this morning. Na one small car he take carry him load.”
Jibola was in shock. He had no idea how he ended up in this position.
It felt like a dream. Had he somehow switched places with the beggar? Was this a prank? As he tried to make sense of it all, someone dropped ₦200 into his bowl. Out of sheer politeness, he said, “Thank you.”
