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'Fear', this word strikes a chord in people heart. How could a four letter word do that?
A definition says 'dread', another 'awareness of something dangerous which causes 'pain'.
There are other definitions but I call it a feeling that makes a person heart beat faster than a rolling fan and makes the nerves to tingle in a very bad, way.
People fear a lot of things like heights, crowds, animals, large amount of water, people with authority and a lot more. The one thing even with the slight mention of the name which makes you feel dread instantly is what you really fear.
When I was little, I really didn't fear anything except for the belt which my father used on me anytime I did something wrong. Before the belt descended on my skin, I already was sweating and my heart beating fast. Growing older, I found out that the fear was reducing because I was learning to do thing right. Even the mere mention of the word didn't make my heart to race.
Then one day something happened. I had gone to visit a friend who had a dog which was always chained but it seemed on that day, it wasn't. To cut the long story short, I went home with my eyes red and an injury on my leg from the claw of the dog. It actually wanted to use its teeth but I don't think it calculated the bearing and distance well.
Since that day, I began to fear dogs. Anytime I saw one, I moved away fast and made sure I wasn't within distance of any.
Few years later, I got a job as a bookshop attendant and guess what, a dog was in the compound. I asked around and got to know that it was always in its cage and it was quite harmless, that didn't still my heart . I had no encounters with the dog though I sometimes helped in feeding it through the cage, I was told it could help.
Weeks later, I had a pleasant encounter with the dog. Mind my pot of sarcasm on the floor, would you? I had resumed to work and found out that the gate I always passed through was locked so I had to pass through the back gate. I didn't think much on it because I was hoping I wouldn't be late and quickly left.
I walked through the back gate and proceeded to the bookshop where I met a surprise. A furry animal ran towards me and this time, I didn't wait for my heart to race before I skipped to my heels and started screaming. Before any harm could come to me, the dog had been taken back to its cage but it had ended in tears for me already. I was later told it recognised me and only wanted to play which I didn't believe.
Till now, hearing that word 'dog' still makes my heart to skip.
Written By: Esther Eiyegbeni
Little Bee
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