Detty or a Dirty December

Detty/Dirty December

They say most of our fears can most times be traced to logical sources like past experiences. Although many people keep a wide range of pets, some are the exotic breeds but most people I know either keep a cat or a dog. Which is why one of my most bitter childhood experience was one involving a dog.

Detty December as some people call it is a kind of slang to show that you were going to have all the fun for the festive period of December which is why I was so much looking forward to spending this particular one away from home. I had a friend who usually comes around to my house from time to time and although our houses were not necessarily very far from each other but it was the first time I would be staying over at someone else's house without my parents.

I arrived my friend Moyor house in the morning brimming with excitement because I met he and some of his neighbors playing football in the compound. Being Lionel Messi myself, I immediately joined in and we were having fun. About five minutes into our fun, I heard a sound that immediately froze me in my tracks, it was a dog barking.

The first few seconds were confusing because I knew from the previous visits that there was no dog in that compound and secondly I didn't want anyone to notice that I was scared of them. Unfortunately it seemed the other kids were hyped and the appearance of the dog meant more fun for them, as they all scattered and ran in different directions with the dog in hot pursuit.

The dog was playing with us but I didn't recognize it as such, my belief was that it was chasing us to bite someone. Unlike my colleagues who were running around the compound, I immediately ran towards my friends apartment but somehow I couldn't open the door (it must've been stuck or something). I was still there trying to open the door when I heard the dog just behind me.

Without even turning to confirm my suspicion, I ran immediately towards the front gate screaming for my mum while the dog chased me. Someone eventually called the dog from chasing me while I looked on from the other side of the gate. My friends were all laughing at me and I didn't have any choice but to join in from my safe spot at the other side of the gate.

It was later Moyor explained to me that they had a new neighbor who owns a dog, hence it's presence in the compound. I was still not in a trusting mood so I followed my mum back home with my bag. It took many other reluctant visits to their house in subsequent months before I got used to the presence of the dog but already my planned detty December turned out to be a dirty one.