The Missed Taxi

The morning was really funny, kicked off by a rush into getting up late, getting dressed in a hurry, running out of the house without having anything to eat shirt barely tucked in who has to dash down the street.

I reach the crossroads, and sure enough, a cab is bearing down. Wildly, I wave at it, willing it to stop, and the driver eases up. Relief floods over me. “Thank God,” I mutter to myself but a man slips in just as I am about to step in and the driver zooms off without looking back.

I stood there feeling astonished. My heart sank, for I had an important meeting and now was stuck on the roadside. Every taxi that had passed by since then was full, or if not full, it just wouldn’t stop. Time was slipping through and I grew frustrated with every tick of it.

It/Chioma? That you?”

I turned. And I saw was Ada my old school friend. Years we hadn’t seen each other rolled by but at least three strides arched that familiar face into a questioning smile.

“What you doing here at this time?”

“My car broke down,” I said resignedly.

“Oh!” Ada’s face showed concern. “You better come with me then. My husband will help you to get your car off this road.”

“Ada! I can’t believe it,” I said.

We stood talking as we waited. At first, my mind stayed on the meeting I was about to miss. But soon, the conversation pulled me in. She shares gist about her family and how work has been so tough for her. I also told about my own.

At one point, she held my hand. “I really needed this,” she said. “Talking to you today makes me feel lighter.”

Her words stayed with me. I realized missing that taxi wasn’t a curse after all. It had given me this reunion.

After a while, another taxi stopped. It was empty, so we both got in. Inside, she leaned closer. “Chioma, I think you’re supposed to help me with something,” she said.

I raised a brow. “Help with what?”

She explained how she had just started a business and needed someone she could trust with the digital side. It was exactly what I was good at.

I stared at her. “You’re serious?”

She smiled. “Yes. I was praying for the right person. Then I meet you here today. That can’t be an accident.”

I was so excited as everything clicked. I told myself if I hadn't missed the first taxi. Then I may not have meet my friend.

We exchanged numbers before getting down. I eventually reached the office late, and the meeting I worried about didn’t even go well. But I didn’t care. Something bigger had just started.

Later that evening, Ada sent me a message: “I wasn’t joking about the business. Let’s talk tomorrow.”

I smiled as I read it. That morning, I was sure my day was ruined. Yet it turned into something beginning.

I thought while lying in bed that night. How often do we complain when things do not go as we want? Term it as being jinxed, but sometimes being stopped a few times is just what the doctor ordered.

Missing that taxi taught me something simple: a closed door doesn’t always mean the end. Sometimes, it’s life pointing you to a better path.

Before I slept, I whispered, “Thank you for letting me miss that taxi.”

cover image generated with AI