THE BACKFIRED ATTACK (SHORT STORY)
Chinenye stood motionless before the mirror in her room for a full minute. Then the shaking began. Her legs could hardly carry her weight but she willed herself to remain upright. She peered into the mirror examining the scratches and bruises on her face and arms. She could see nothing that would leave a permanent scar.
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She moved back from the mirror a few inches and gasped as she unstrapped her backpack and pulled her blouse over her head. Blood was seeping from the gash on her right shoulder where she had been stabbed. She needed to see the nurse next door in her off-campus compound to stitch it up and give her something for the pain plus an anti-tetanus shot. She hadn’t cried yet. That would come later, she hoped. It was her cherished release mechanism.
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She had been in lots of fights before, for sure, but never with someone on a lonely path at night and never with one with such sinister intentions. And her reflexes were not what they should have been because she was slightly out of form having relaxed her training routine in the past five months due to pressure of academic work.
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Right now, she was just thankful she was alive. She couldn’t be so sure about the guy who had attacked her, though. He had picked the wrong girl to assault – a Taekwondo Black Belt champion who had been admitted into the university eight months ago. She would have been content to immobilize him but when he brandished a knife and actually drew blood, she decided she would break every single bone in his body that she came in contact with.
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The encounter went from a scuffle in the first two minutes to a one-sided kick-and-smash duel with the seconds when they circled each other and he suddenly flipped out a knife and cut her in between. The man’s estimated 1.83m, 90kg frame to her 1.65m, 57kgs gave him no edge at all due to her fleetness and agility. She was not called “Blitz” in martial arts circles for nothing. The confrontation was over in about six minutes and her back pack was securely attached the whole time. The padded strap was the reason the knife cut she received wasn’t deeper.
She knew she had lost it for a while out there as she often did during her earlier days in the sport. Unfortunately for her attacker, they weren’t having practice where her coach would shout “Enough” or a match which the referee could end. If he survived, he would have some permanent physical impairment to contend with and he definitely won’t be waylaying anyone ever again. She had made certain of that by concentrating her strikes on his limbs and groin but there was the occasional kick to his ribs at first. She didn’t know whether to thank God or not that in the end she had stopped just short of delivering the coup de grâce by bashing in his head as he lay in a crumpled heap on the ground.
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As she stepped out to receive the nurse’s care, she reflected on how she would behave in the future. No more night classes, no question about that! Robbers, rapists and their like were on the loose in the area and much as she could defend herself, she decided she wouldn’t be caught dead outside after 7 p.m. ever again. She had no intention of hurting anyone again for her safety’s sake.
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And she would beg the nurse to hold the matter in confidence. She would also skip school for a few days to heal. No need drawing unnecessary attention to herself. She hoped she would be able to forget the whole thing in a fortnight or so but she didn’t know how the human mind handled incidents like this or how hers in particular would. But once again, she was thankful to be alive and winced as she lifted her right arm to knock on the nurse’s door.
-The end-
Ⓒ Edith Ugochi Ohaja 2016
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It’s a wonderful story and I hope everyone learns from it especially during this exam period.Thank you Aunty.
Thank you too and God’s grace with your exams!
This is so fascinating…I can’t stop laughing over the images I conjured from this short story. Honestly, legitimate violence is excusable. I have always said that my daughters will take courses in martial arts…lol. It helps.
Glad you enjoyed the story, my dear! Have a great day!
Lol:D… The guy is lucky he didnt crawl home. Its a very intresting story.
LOL….Good for the guy…But i wish young ladies learn from this and avoid late nights
Educative!Always move in groups especially at nights to avoid nocturnal ambushes,but night classes are good, I think. Nice story,need some more!
always move in group,not just at night because….you can’t tell whats next.
good enough she is a martial artist but we should be warned not to move around at night.
Similes….. I wonder what d intention of the boy was, eventually getting another package… Let us be careful, ladies especially.. Thanks
nice one…. ladies should be careful to walk in group in the night..
Great story, really captivating, shows the benefit of one’s indulgence in martial arts. considering the fact that she suffered some severe strikes from his brutality she was still able to tussle well enough with him. i’m pretty sure he wouldnt have earned the chance of touching her, if she was in her best form.
GREAT story
Is good to be in company than being alone while walking in the day,more especially at night
Thank God the guy was taught a lesson at least but this also serves as a deterrent to us especially the females not to walk alone in the night…. Nice piece though
I love this
Inspiring
Thanks, Christiana!
this should teach guys some lessons that not all girls are defenseless as they thought…hmmm its a nice story i guess I’ve learnt how to be deal with guys *wink*
Lol! But seriously you can, maybe not become a champion, but take care of yourself.
Bahdt geh! We need more girls like this who can take care of themselves. Pepper sprays don’t take much effects on the attacker anymore… Tae Kwon Do does it.
It did read like an advert for taekwondo at some point. Lol! Preaching self-defense, not taekwondo per se.
Being trained enough for self defence will do the trick so as not to mare a girl’s psych. Lol
Interesting and educative.
A VERY INSPIRING AND INTERESTING STORY.
HOPE STUDENTS WILL LEARN FROM IT
Just because you can defend yourself doesn’t mean that you can walk alone at night at areas or paths that are dangerous. You encounter only one hooligan does not mean you will encounter only one tomorrow. They might be in group tomorrow and with even a more lethal weapon like gun. But las las na to learn Kung Fu and karate be that.
nice post
Hmm.tnk God she could fight..NYC one
hmmmmmmmm…what a terrible experience! ladies should learn on how to parade themselves especially in the night all in the name of night class so as to avoid “stories that touches the heart”. thank you all
lovely, nice place to be in.
Night class is good bu going for it alone in the night is not advisable….Going in group ensures more safety n security
You’re right.
True.
walking at night is dangerous especially for ladies
You’re right. They need to know the dangers out there.
one can make A without going for night class.
Right!
I was into martial arts before and this timely piece has brought the nostalgia part of me that savours the past. Beautiful as usual.
Bless you, Abutu J.
we are faced with misfortune in most cases with our evil intent ,it should be avoided. Nice one; it’s motivating
night is very dangerous and also be mindful of where you go and who you work with
educative piece ma’am
kinda lyk da part of da self defense thing tho………. buh her boyish nature in terms of the fighting skills actually sends a note of fear jez imagining if every woman had da kinda strength am really sure no man will want tew geh married
Lol!
Nice story..emphasizing the importance of self defence
Nice piece of story… but nothing to comment about it
nice write up ma
it teaches us a very good message about keeping late nights
its a nice one Aunty Edith.ladies please be careful.
interesting.. that’s the need for girls to be trained in defending themselves…
What a wonderful story.
Girls should always be courageous but should avoid keeping blate night
what a nice post, guys beware ladies are no longer weaker vessels
Nice story
nice
neither rape nor robbery is sensible nau, which one sef? guys should stop that kind of package, karma awaits guys like that. At a point, the story casts my mind towards the guys that stay awake at night to operate on people. Anyways, hopes are up for those guys to find better work and stop their nonsense activities. Chinenye was lucky sha but lagos park boys neva block am before sha na why she get time for kick and blow..lol
Lol!
*clears throat* Firstly, very brave of her. I should start taking defensive classes to break some guys limb. secondly, wrong to walk alone at night, I would advise not going out late at all. this story is really educative. nice piece Edith.
You caught my drift. Blessings!
I think I will take lessons on how to defend myself
i agree with Eze Benjamin. its better to go in groups to night classes
nice post
Interesting post
A very inspiring story
I enjoyed it!
even the guys should avoid late nights buh ladies we need to b careful nut to work during the night hours
Hmm mm, it looks like i will go and learn how to fight. self defense is the new thing now. Nice post, i am inspired.
MANY THINGS FROM THIS PARTICULAR STORY.. FIRST IS THE ISSUE OF STAYING OUT IN THE NIGHT…
SECONDLY…WE SHOULD NOT UNDER ESTIMATE ANYBODY…
That’s a nice one. the graphics attached to the story tells it all. never unleash your power unneccessarily until duty calls.
chinenye ought to be more careful nd same applies to ladies always make sure u are safe nd dont move out at night unless with a strong machoo guy 4 protection as the case may be.ladies hpe u taking note.
interesting story
inspiring indeed,nice post ma
nice one
Lol. Captivating
Shout out to all night class students,,, I guess after reading this amazing story ,,,, you’ll curtail ur night class journey. Very interesting story, More Grace Ma’am
Chinenye oooo…i want to be like you…lol…very captivating piece…now guys can eat their own share of what they do….self-defence jare…but still prevention is better than cure…avoid late nights…kudos ma’am
wow what a nice story
THANKS FOR THIS EDUCATIVE AND INSPIRING WRITE UP.
Tank God she survived.
Wonderful. Wow! That story blew my mind.
Nice one! if only every girl had such great self-defense!
This story passes a unique message. Even with the fact that Chinenye knows she is a tough black belt taekwondo fighter, she still insists on preventing any form of violence by deciding to avoid night classes.
imagine if chinenye was me, the guy would kill me! one of the reasons i stopped attending night classes.A delightful story,thank you aunty edith.
interesting
Did I enjoy this? Ofcourse I did!
Nice one , i wonder what i would do in her shoes , guess i will just drop dead.
Lol!
Hehehehehehehe!!! like one would say in pidgin English, “the bobo don enter one chance.”
Now, every one should learn how to defend himself in the face of danger. Just waking up in the morning and saying ‘God be with me’ is not enough. Sometimes, God would want us to do something for ourselves and if we do not have what it takes…then we are in real trouble.
The act of self defence is moral and just and it doesn’t matter if we kill at that point or not, what is climax is the fact that we remained alive.
Nice post Aunty Edith.
Self-defence is good but it doesn’t have to get to the point of killing someone.
the saying look before u leap comes into play here
Nice post. Hate injuries and I would do anything to prevent them from coming
hmmmmm! very interesting. keep up the good work.
Thank you!
I hope to have skills like chineye
a student like chineye who had been a strong girl before entering the university should know that things do not always work the same way everywhere. lateness should be avoided by students. some people are wicked; out there looking for victims unfortunately for the man he met a girl who taught him lessons. in all situation glory should always be to God
Correct!!!
we should be careful at night especially we girls no matter how strong we think we are
Nice post my lecturer
people should learn from this story that keeping late night is not good
Lol am sure he would never in his life waylay any body even if it is a little girl of five.
No, Rather I think he would be on pain killers the rest of his life. Lol!
Nice story, i wish i can fight like that at least to defend myself like she did. i also think that her decision to stop night classes shows she learns very fast and so should we especially during exams. thank you ma
Thank you too, my dear, and remain protected under the shadow of the Almighty in Jesus’ name.
Lol. That serves him right. Next time, he won’t undermine the strength of a woman… God pls, I need such strength and power.
It takes a lot of training and discipline oh! Cheers!
Awwww…….In training camp now?
Superb story……..
This is amazing. I love this
Thank God she survived the attack
This is really a backfired attack because in his widest dreams he never expected a retaliation from a female for that matter….Thanks to God though for sparing her life and also helping her make a decision not to go for night classes anymore. ….
OMG . chineyere is very brave O. It take courage to defend herself like she did and am honestly sure that her attacker didn’t see his downfall coming. Lol. It would be awesome to have fighting skills like her. Thank you once again for an inspiring story.
Lol..??this ia hilarious. The moment i saw taekwando,the story got hyper intresting.
This girl is one great character, thats a true meaning of a king. Girls i hope you all be like her.
Wow…a compelling piece. Chinenye exhibited strength uncommon with women and taught one or two lessons especially in the need for self defense on drastic situations.
Interesting story, it’s never advisable to walk alone in the night especially for the ladies. Good enough she was able to fight back. As for the guy……i believe he never expected to meet a martial artist. He saw the opposite of what he expected.
This is the reasom why some girls need to master the art of self defense because its important in cases like this.
Wow!.
I need to register for martial arts lessons.
Rapists are increasing by the day and they need to be thought some lessons.
As a girl you have to be mindful of the time you move around to avoid troubles
Chinyere has been in a lot of fights before but not as hectic as this one , she defended herself the way she could and also decided never to engage in fights again. Its advisable for ladies never to walk alone at nights and thank God in all situations just as chinyere did.
Wow what an inspiring story all thanks to God that chinyere has martial skills which actually saved her from the bad guy. Am so happy she learnt her lessons. i think i learnt something important from the story ; not to walk alone at nights because i dont have martial skills to defend my self. Thank you ma
Thank you ma for this. Bad people are everywhere especially in school environment, me I don’t go for night class becus I hate going out in the night, even though I’m considering going for one this 3rd year, but I most do that in group, becus I can’t even defend my self like Chiyere??
Good lesson to students especially, the females. Apart from not walking at night as one of the lesson, as students, females especially, we should make ourselves fit in one or two skills, to help us defend ourselves if the need arise.
“Coupe de Grace” we all need to be prepared. Beautiful Piece.
Takwando class can come in Ann as these marauders are everywhere plying their trade not just for the girl-child but male alike. Thank God she could defend her self and escaped with her life intact, and the need to beef up security in our country.. Bless you Ma
Chinenye, the wrestler like no other! While reading, I felt as if I was watching a Chinese martial arts movie. It is very rare to see girls that beat men. And that was what made the story interesting.????
Wow! The story is interesting and a lesson to all, students should stop attending night class is not safe out there at night, if you want to read in the night you should read at home. If chinenye is at her lodge that night she wouldn’t be stabled.
Interesting! Not everyone knows the art of self-defense, even those that knows it are few and are priceless.
I wish I had this power like she did. I wish I could just master the art of self-defense. Nevertheless, I wouldn’t risk my life for a chance. Lols. Nobody wants to be a victim. Safety first.
An interesting story, hilarious also. But as the saying goes-prevention is better than cure, lets try to stay out of danger instead of walking right into it, irrespective of the self defense skills we possess…lol
It is not really advisable to wander in the night especially as a lady. But Chinenye is a different lady altogether; a man in woman form?
Hm. At least she could fight him off. There are thousands of girls who are victims of these people and who couldn’t defend themselves. It’s sad what happens in the society today, where no one is safe at all. We must all be careful and not keep late nights at all because we don’t know when and who or even the where.
Just imagine. Can’t someone go out and come back with peace of mind? All these layabouts that don’t have anything better doing than to attack innocent people. Am so glad with what she did to him. If he lives through this, am sure he would never attack anyone ever again. She taught him a good lesson he won’t forget in a hurry
A little knowledge of defence skills wont be a bad idea for my future children, especially the girls (but no violence) they just have to be ready for anything, they cant be taken unawares in any situation at all.
The backfired attack…. Lol, the guy never expected it, martial arts is something I would love to learn someday but for now, I’ll just stick to the 7pm rule.
It’s good for one to be able to defend themselves whenever they’re in danger. Due to her bravery and taekwando skills, she has saved herself from the unknown. However her decision to keep it a secret may be wrong.
I think the womenfolk should be more care ful in the school environment .Is better safe than sorry,we should avoid keeping late nights to avoid molestation,rape and theft.I think most times we should put pepper spray in our bag for protection or train ourselves in martial arts,is quite important.
Chinenye shouldnt have been walking at night alone in a university community. She was lucky anyway that she survived and nothing was taken from her. My friend had encountered something like this once. He was going home alone at night. The funny thing is that that was his first time of walking at night alone. Some guys came and asked for his phone, he tried to fight back but as they brought our a matchet he surrendered the phone. Unlike chinenye he was helpless and couldnt defend himself. People like chinenye should stick around and teach some attackers the lesson of their lives.
Ha! I wish I could fight back like that Thank God I don’t attend night class, once it’s getting dark I start making sure I have everything I need so I won’t have to step outside People that like night classes should be careful
Funny story but very educative too. It all boils down to late nights, ladies beware of (dogs) when out so late ask a group of friends to see you off. Nice story.
Nice!
A fighter.
Late nights walks are not safe. It’s a good thing she put a time limit.
I love that she was able to defend herself,but we girls even the guys should be carefull the way we move about at night especially during night classes in school here.RAPE and THEFT is real especially in school environment like this.
It’s highly important that we learn these self defense strategies/techniques.
See the way my namesake fought her way out and I can’t even fight to save a life.
I can only imagine her pains after the confrontation. I don’t wish to experience such at all.
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It’s not advisable to walk alone at night because predators might just be lurking around.
The beating she gave the man was small compared to what I would have done. I will even make sure I kill him there. Nevertheless we should try not to go out late so as to avoid attacks. God was seriously with this girl.
Self defence helps a great deal. We should be careful where we go at night especially as girls to avoid bad experiences
serves the attacker right!! i wonder why people would want to steal from students struggling to feed and survive in school. what wickedness! this issue is becoming really serious. one cannot peacefully for a night class to study and return home in peace. we all should be very careful while moving about at night. not everyone is that fortunate to have had a taekwondo training!
Firstly, I thank God she survived it. She sure have learnt her lesson that it’s never safe to walk alone in the night. It’s dangerous. Very creative story, and one that creates a good image. Let me come and go learn taekwondo before it’s too late. Lol.
Kudos!
A lady who could defeat a man.
Thank God she was able to escape death…..
I love the fact that she learned her lessons; not to go about late at night and with no companion.
It’s a good story layout for us students especially those who stays off campus.
It’s so scary how people leave their houses with the intent of harming innocent people for no reason at all. It has become increasingly dangerous nowadays to walk around at night especially alone, as you never can tell what’s lurking in the dark. Thank God she was able to defend herself even after suffering a mortal wound, not many people will be able to do that. Finally, I thank God for the grace of keeping us alive admist all this evil happening around us.
My dear, a mortal wound will kill someone. It was a cut but not that deep because of the strap of her backpack. Cheers!
I wish the thief’s report from the doctor was written here …but then night classes are a no for me when I have a room to read in . It’s not so safe especially for women. I love the fact that she could defend herself and teach him a lesson.
Thank God for her skill in martial arts if not it might have been another story altogether. This situation is very ramphant in university campuses; student are afraid of going about their daily lives in peace due to robberies,rape incident and theft. There is also the need of more security in campuses and areas that are known to be at high risk of this kind of incidents. May God deliver us form the hands of the evil ones and expose them.Amen.
I think I’ll have to take a lesson or two on self defense oh. It’s not right for people to move around at night especially for girls. A lot of evil things lurk in the dark. Chinenye is officially my hero.
It’s advisable to walk with a companion
Nice one, super flick of laughter, what I learnt is that we should be careful at night especially girls not to walk on a lonely place at night, so not to meet an unguarded danger. And we should always thank God for his love and protection in our life.
Thank God for her and she’s a brave girl and this story sounds a note of warning to us especially girls, we should learn how to stop moving around in the night because of our safety. Thank you ma
Thank God Chinenye pulled through, though taken unawares and I like the fact that she dealt with the attacker severely. Please, we all should take precautions as regards our safety, especially during late hours.
Hahahaha. I am just picturing in my mind how that girl dwelt with that guy, it would fun hitting him with so much leg kicks. night journey is definitely very risky especially for us the ladies. Thank God she was a match for that guy. As for the guy next time he won’t try such act. Nice piece Ma, God bless you
What an interesting story. It’s not advisable to move around at night because most time is not safe. I didn’t I should go and learn some basic defense rountines.
I was taught against keeping late nights, and this is exactly the reason. We are in an unsafe world. It’s a good thing Chinenye knew the basic techniques of defense
I go for night classed a lot. I hope i never get into this ugly situation. It would be awesome to have some martial art skills for defence like in situations like this.
Fighting is a no no for me with an attacker oooo, life lost can not be regained. I’m usually always conscious not to walk at night. But I still admire her confidence though.. I also love her release mechanism of crying, do that too.. It was a nice read
What if she had killed him,would she be able to bear the thought? Even that is far worse than a physical scar.
What if she died? She would be blamed for keeping late night. Moral ethics are essential in everyday living therefore While taekwondo may be a good technique for self defence wisdom is far better. This is a wonderful educational literature.
We ladies should take extra caution as going out late at night is really risky, anything can happen
Prevention is better than cure.
I don’t pray for anyone to be raped. In fact that is my worst and unforgivable sin to commit. But we all need to learn how to fight back. We lack skills so we easily become victims to such sad circumstances.
A lesson to everyone. The decisions she took after the experience were ok just that it came late. When we get admitted into the higher institution, we take decisions back there at home so as to avoid falling prey in hands of evil people on campus.
Though this serves the guy better. Yes! Self defense is really good but we girls should try to avoid keeping late at night if at all we should let’s walk in group.
How I wish every lady out there have such strength and skill, these guys who attack innocent persons most especially ladies will definitely go into extinction
Funny..serves the guy right. Its advisable to always move in group at night or rather avoid late night outings because of the dangers. Interesting!!!
The most important thing is that,she had learnt and will put it in practice, night outing is not advisable especially to girls because anything can happen z thanks to God she wasn’t killed.
I enjoyed the story so much that I can’t stop laughing. For those of us that attend night classes, we should be careful.
Wow.. Such a brave girl.. At least she stood and defended herself.. I feel her pains tho.. Nevertheless, it’s always dangerous to go out at night alone.. I hope we learn this..
Serves him right. He would never think of waylaying anyone again in his lifetime. Chinenye has really taught some girls a lesson, that they should always be courageous and defend themselves when being attacked instead of forming weaker vessels