Was he a ghost that I saw?

This is part 3 in my series of some inexplicable experiences I have had. If you are new to the series, I would recommend you read the previous series before continuing on this   baffling experience. I had a junior brother who died at a young age; but I still remember the day he died like it was just yesterday. A vivid memory of this inexplicable occurrence I am about to share with you,  is etched in my memory as if it was yesterday. Though it has been a long time in the past, I still hear the hooting of a strange Owl that followed me on a ghostly lonely road.  He had been sick, down with a severe case of measles, but on that day, he was getting better. In fact, we assumed, he was fully recovered and that the worst was over. Being that he was very fair in complexion, we concluded all that was needed  was to find a way to deal with the scars that covered his entire body.

However, at around 2:00 pm, his conditions turned for the worse. Back then, there were no cellphones to call for help and the nearest hospital was many many miles away.In the absence of Medical Doctors, we relied on  Native Doctors  to fill  the gap. The native Doctor that we used, that was  taking care of him lived about ten miles away, depending on the road taken to get to his house. The shortest of the two roads that led to his house, was the one that passed through a heavily wooded forest.This road is a narrow, lonely and abandoned road; about three miles long. It connects two motorable roads, with no houses on both sides. You could walk the entire length of the road without seeing a living soul; but people still used it because it offered a shortcut to the next big city for those on foot and bicycles.

The other road to his house was about fifteen miles long for those with cars and motorcycles. In Igbo lands, legend has it that, once a road is abandoned by humans, it is then taken over and used by Spirits and Ghosts. In fact, in most Igbo villages, we have these roads commonly known as “Uzo Muo” (Road for the Dead). The belief is that one’s chances of seeing a Spirit is very high if that person takes these roads alone.

As, my brother’s condition worsened, it was decided that I run to this man’s house to summon him to come urgently. I came up with a plan which was that; I would run as fast as I could through the old lonely and deserted road. I was not going to look left or right to avoid seeing Spirits\Ghosts lurking in the forests; After all, It was broad daylight and Spirits, as I understood it, came out mostly at night.

Something strange happened soon as I was two blocks from where this lonely, deserted road started. An OWL appeared out of nowhere and seemed to be following me. The Owl, which I never saw, kept hooting and no matter how fast I ran, it seemed to keep pace with me. I never saw it because I never looked. As I came to a straight stretch of this lonely road, I was relieved to see a man and woman heading in the opposite direction. The woman had a baby strapped to her back and the man was dragging a bicycle. They were walking side by side.

Relieved to see them, I slowed down to catch my breath. Soon as they got closer, the hooting Owl that had followed me all along seemed to disappear! As we passed each other, I was reassured they were humans, because they were holding a conversation in Igbo, my native language. I zoomed past them and continued my journey. As soon as they were out of sight, the mysterious Owl returned and started hooting again! The faster I ran, the closer and louder the Owl seemed to get again.

Finally, I got to the linking junction road that led to the man’s house and walked the remaining distance to his house, only to be told, he had already left for our house 30 minutes earlier. I turned around to head back home because the sun was beginning to set, but it was still broad daylight.

But this time, instead of taking the road alone, I waited at the junction to see if anyone else would be heading same way so I could go with them. I did this because, my encounter with this mysterious Owl, scared the heck out me. It was not long, perhaps,  about 30 minutes before a man on a bicycle came along heading in same direction that I was headed.

As he pedaled past me, I was relieved, and without wasting time, I ran behind him. He was not paddling fast so it was easy to keep him in sight. It was not long before this mysterious Owl, came again and started hooting as it did before! I ignored the Owl and kept my eyes on the man on the bicycle who was in front of me. He pedaled  slowly as if he knew I was pacing and following him. As we got closer to end of the, where this lonely road rejoined the main road on the other side, he seemed to pedal a little faster, making it harder for me to keep pace.

I was not bothered because we were less than a block away from the market square where the road ended, and people were moving around. It was about 6.30 PM when I got to this junction. There, I saw three villagers known to me. I asked them if they had seen the man on the bicycle. They all said no such person came out of that road in the past 30 minutes. But, I was right behind “the man”, less than five minutes ago, I protested! They all insisted no such person came out of the road, had there been such a person, they would have seen him, they insisted, quickly dismissing me.

My whole purpose was to see if they had seen and knew who he is so I could thank him, but they all said they had seen no such person.  I did everything to describe the man and all that, but they insisted I was wrong as no such person came out of  that road. From where they were standing, there’s no way anyone could have could out of that road without being seen by them.

Quietly, but very sure of what happened, I headed home. When I got home, the man I had gone to summon was already in our house and my junior brother was already dead.

The next story is even more bizarre, but till then, take care