Boom!! That was the sound that woke the whole neighborhood up at 2am.
Mr Ben rushed out of his apartment with a torch on his left hand and a machete on his right. From the way he came out with so much confidence, he was ready to cut down and man he didn't know who was found in that compound.
Dad had to put on some clothes before he went downstairs, as he doesn't sleep with his clothes on.
Everyone came out of their houses to know where the sound came from. Well, everyone except little Caleb. Caleb was the youngest of Mr Ben's children. He was about 6 years old. Caleb didn't come out. We all thought it was as a result of fear cause he was little, so no one bothered to call him out. But Rita knew Caleb knew a thing or two about this bing bang!
Let me take you back 12 hours before this incident.
It was a warm afternoon like every other afternoons in the summer. Caleb was playing with the other kids in the neighborhood. I love kids so I love watching them play too. I watched them play that afternoon.
They had this game they played that day, it was called "truth or dare". Normally, the game is played by adults only but they had a way of twisting it to fit their age grade and make it work for them. So it was not harmful in anyway.
They had a way of selecting the next person who would either tell the truth if asked any question at all or do whatever he or she was dared to do. Caleb was the ring leader here. The lot never fell on Caleb so Caleb was asking most of the questions and telling them what to do whenever it's a dare.
Ten minutes into the game, the lot fell in Caleb. The other kids jumped up in excitement! You could tell from their reactions that they've all been waiting for this moment. This moment was very precious and special to them. They even had to fight to be the one who would tell Caleb what to do.
Finally they chose Rita. Rita is my younger sister. Rita was a year older than Caleb. From a distance, you could see Caleb sweating and jittering. When the lot fell on Rita once, he dared Rita buy him two bottles of coke. So, he knew he was in for it. Rita had to think deeply before she made any request.
Everyone in the compound knew Mr Ben, Caleb's father was a very strict man and he doesn't take nonsense from his kids. Bad news, Rita knew that too!!
"Caleb, I dare you to make a loud noise that would wake everyone up in the neighborhood at midnight", Rita whispered those words in his ears and warned him not to tell anyone or else she'll expose him. Caleb had his little secrets only Rita knew.
Almost immediately, our parents got back home. Play time is over. We all went in except Caleb. He said he wanted to buy something outside. Note that it was December already.
Fast forward to midnight. Caleb woke up before 2am sweating, thinking of his next move. It was gonna be the most dangerous and stupid move he ever made. But his secrets were too precious and dark to be let out. He summoned courage.
Caleb brought out the " mini bomb" he purchased in the afternoon. I call it mini bomb because when lit, it makes a bomb-like sound but doesn't do any harm. It was always sold during December period.
Caleb lit the mini bomb, opened his window and Immediately threw it out the window.
Boom!!!! That's what we heard next.
Fast forward to the present. Caleb was still indoors and sweating when his father, Mr Ben came in with residue of gun powder he got from Caleb's window frame. As his eyes met his father's, he began to cry and there he explained how it all started without missing a detail.
He and Rita were later punished and they learnt their lessons.
I enjoyed the innocence in the writing voice and the thrilling beginning.