The Road To Umuadike: The Bicycle - by Divine Miracle Christian

Chapter 2 The Bicycle 🚲Three weeks after the strangers marked the earth for the new road, another sight disturbed Umuadike.It happened in the afternoon, when the sun sat high and most farmers had returned briefly from their fields. A young messenger from the district office arrived riding a bicycle.At first, the children screamed and ran.The machine moved like an animal with spinning legs, its iron frame shining under sunlight. Dust rose behind it as the rider struggled to balance on the narrow path.Women dropped their baskets.One old man stepped aside so suddenly that his walking stick fell.“It has no legs,” someone said.“And yet it runs,” another replied.The bicycle finally stopped near the square, and the messenger climbed down with visible pride, wiping sweat from his forehead.Papa Ugo, already seated beneath the udala tree, stared for a long time before speaking.“If that thing enters my compound at night,” he said, “I will kill it before asking whose child it is.”A few young men laughed.But Chijioke did not laugh. He stepped closer, eyes fixed on the machine.He touched the handle carefully.The messenger allowed him to hold it.“This is common where I come from,” the man said. “Soon, many roads will carry them.”The word soon unsettled Elder Ikenna, who had just arrived.He stood quietly, observing how easily the village’s attention had shifted.Only weeks earlier, the strangers measuring land had caused fear.Now the same people leaned forward with curiosity.“Can it carry yam?” Mama Ifeoma asked.The messenger smiled.“It can carry messages faster than yam.”That evening, the bicycle became the only subject in every compound.Children used sticks to imitate its wheels.Women argued whether machines made men lazy.Men debated whether speed itself could change the way people thought.Later that night, Elder Ikenna sat outside his hut while crickets filled the silence.Across the compound, Chijioke spoke excitedly to younger boys about roads, markets, and towns where such machines were ordinary.The elder listened without interruption.Then he said:“When a thing arrives before understanding, people admire it before asking what it demands.”No one answered.Because even those who feared change had already imagined themselves touching it. Next part out on the 5th of April 2026. Enjoy.

Other insights from Divine Miracle Christian

Referral Earning

Points-to-Coupons