You always see those surreal moments in the news and movies, where people survive near-death experiences.
But it doesn't cross your mind that it could happen to you one day. I went for a cooking competition in which my sister was participating.
It was held on the rooftop of a well-known mall in Nairobi. All the participants were supposed to report to the mall by a certain time.
But we left home after the reporting time, reaching the mall quite late. Before leaving home, I thought about going later with my cousin and other sister.
But then I just had a gut feeling that I should go now. We reached the mall, and I had to return a shirt that I had bought earlier.
I told my mother to come along with me, but she said that we'd go after the competition finished.
We were lucky that we didn't enter the mall, because about 10 minutes later, we heard gunshots and saw hundreds of people storming out of the mall.
It was a moment of confusion, assuming that it was probably a robbery. Then the intensity of the gunshots and explosions increased.
And we realised that it was something bigger and we had to run. Being at the top of the building meant that it was a long way out.
The car-park was filled with cars, and we had no idea where to run. There were about 300 odd people and the majority were children.
The gas cookers were on, but everyone just ran for their lives. As soon as we started running, I took my mom's phone and called my cousin and sister, who were on their way to the mall.
I told them not to come in, as something was wrong. It was the perfect timing, as they were just about to enter the gate, and so they drove somewhere else.
The next phone call I made was to my friend, who was coming to meet me, with the same message, not to come.
We moved into a corner where cars couldn't park because of the angle and ducked down, trying to hide ourselves.
I was with my mum, sister and her friend. There were people trampling on top of anyone, trying to jump over the wall, assuming there was greater safety on the other side.
We were all cramped and sitting on top of each other, with the effort of hiding ourselves, as best as possible.
There was gunshot after gunshot and explosion after explosion, and in that moment, I thought that the mall was going to collapse and we were all gone.
During that time, I just kept remembering Guruji, and prayed to Him to protect us. The only word in my head and on my lips was 'JAI GURU DEV'.
Because there were so many people (especially children) there was a lot of shouting and crying.
Initially I was quite uneasy, but once I thought of Gurudev, I got this deep strength and faith, that He would protect us. My father then called and asked if everything was fine.
And I think it may have been one of the most difficult calls of my life, because I told him that I didn't know what was going on and asked him to pray for us.
We then figured that the mall had been attacked by terrorists. We all got extremely frightened on learning this. The terrorists then came onto the roof and were randomly shooting and throwing grenades.
I think a bullet must have hit the gas cylinder, and the tent caught fire. I saw someone rolling out with his body on fire and asking for help, but no one could do anything.
The terrorists threw grenades in our direction. As soon as it went off, we started running again to find a place with more safety, but there was actually nowhere to go, with cars all over.
In the chaos, I got separated from my mum, sister and her friend. I was unsure if anything happened to them in the process of the grenade going off.
I was really worried, as there was a man right in front of me who lost his leg, and a woman sitting beside me who had lost her hand due to the shrapnel.
There was a grenade about 5 metres from us, which hadn't gone off. The terrorist saw us but did not approach us, he had one of the biggest guns I have ever seen.
After spending 2 hours in the blazing heat, in a very uncomfortable position, someone came and told us the way out. We were unsure if he was a terrorist or not.
But eventually we started running until we saw someone with a gun and decided to run back. The man told us that he was there for our security and that we shouldn't worry.
So we started running out. Because we had been in the same position for two hours, everyone's legs were pretty stiff.
My mom really struggled with her feet and couldn't walk further. But there was no way we could leave her in that danger zone.
So I held her hand and pulled her with me. She got some strength, but still found it difficult to run.
So I told my sister to run ahead with her friend, and my mother and I ran right behind them. And in the end, we managed to get out of the mall, safe and sound.
Truly, all's well that ends well. Now when I look back, the day was truly a miracle. A lot of people lost their lives, and I'm still sitting here, writing this.
We managed to get out without an injury, when we could have been shot or hit by shrapnel, as it was the case for many people. The grenade didn’t go off.
The terrorist had seen us and had been shooting randomly before that, but he didn't do anything to us after that.
My gut feeling to go to the mall with my sister and mum was a blessing in disguise, because I managed to pull my mum out, or else she would have fallen weak.
I have no idea where I got the presence of mind to make the calls that I did, but that prevented a dangerous situation from occurring.
I could have gone inside the mall to return the shirt, but it was strangely postponed. When I was there, I did not shed a single tear because I got this strong faith and strength from something that I couldn't figure out then
But I was assured that everything would be okay. The powerful force behind that miracle and protection was Gurudev.
He made us do things which we had thought about, but then changed our mind. He gave us strength. I had done my Kriya that day after about a month.
Honestly, I can't describe what He did for us that day. And even after that, I was quite traumatised because of the events of the day.
I saw many dead and injured people who were brutally hurt. I could hear all the crying, shouting, gunshots, and explosions.
I could see the terrorist who came in front of me, and wondered why he didn't turn around and shoot us or throw more grenades at us.
My mind was all over the place with the 'ifs' and 'buts'. Then I did my Kriya and meditated every day, and I can say that after a month.
I felt like I was my old self again, but much stronger. The support from Guruji, my family and friends was incredible.
And I want to thank them every day for it. What I learnt that day was nothing but a reflection of Gurudev's teachings.
Life is too short. We need to live in the moment, because it truly is a present from God. We need to forgive and forget.
But most importantly, I feel, we need to spread love and happiness, because that is what life is about. Jai Guru Dev.
- Nikasha
