Just another excuse we use not to take a second to glance at †ђά̲̣̥† person always sitting quietly, the moody youngman in your office, that sad looking child with a scar of †ђξ face in your class, the child always saying 'i fell down', †ђά̲̣̥† woman looks like she has had †ђξ worst of it, †ђά̲̣̥† pretty lady †ђά̲̣̥† just passes by people without seeing †ђξm.
Just a simple 'Hi, are you alright?' will do.
H☺w many times have we gone through those rough patches in life and all that is at the back of our mind is 'if there was just someone I could talk to'.
A while in †ђξ past, I learned a hard lesson in life. I realized too LATE †ђά̲̣̥† I could have helped save a life if i had just been a bit more warm or asked a few more questions.
In University days, i was a very shy quiet person and I hardly spoke to so many people in a class of about 2000. I told myself †ђξ focus was reading and passing my courses with good grades was all †ђά̲̣̥† there was to it , everything else was secondary. I was proven wrong by my first male friend taking †ђξ same course as me Adedoja Kadejo. He ensured he used my complete course note as a means to chat with me and from then on those who thought I was a Snob cos I dint hang around to chat gradually warmed up to me as †ђξ gate of friendship was opened( I would always thank him for †ђά̲̣̥†).
Our school is an Off-Campus school and like all school environments, after a while 'clicks' are formed as friends move together in groups while †ђξ segregation begins. There were the brainies, back benchers, fair complexioned ladies, wannabees, Razz(local)association, Bad girls and boys, Club boys and girls, Posh society, Cult boys, The Minglers(mixed with everyone) and so much more shh dont ask me where i belonged. People say hi to people in other groups in passing and only a class activity or lab work would ensure you spoke for more than a minute to each other.
Anyway let me cut the long story short abeg.
By our second year in school, everyone was more focused on their business. Those who were there to party met their match and paid for runz(yeah! the term for bribing lecturers in school), those who were there for the studies only realized that it wasnt too encouraging as those who didnt come to school got the best grades. (no offence intended)
It was during this time i met so many different people, but the one who inspired this Post is Eghosa a very beautiful, brilliant fair
Complexioned young lady. She inspired me in many ways
because even though many guys were attracted to her and she was always getting
male attention she wasn’t snobbish or rude to people, always nice and easy
going.
For about a week, or so she began to get close to me much to
the chagrin of the ‘fair complexioned ladies’ group, She gradually was opening
up to me and telling me stuff about herself. By the second week we had spoken about a whole
lot of things and how her long holiday had gone, places she had been and so
much more. I wasn’t someone to open up to people easily but as a very good
listener that I am I began to understand her person more. During the second week she began to enjoy
talking to me as we walked through the University premises but we were constantly
stopped by her various ‘toasters’ (guys interested in her) and I am someone who
likes to head to wherever im going and get out of the sun as my skin is
sensitive to it.
I had another female friend
by the name Jennifer who was a lot more
social than myself so, the next time ‘Eghe’ for short as we called her wanted
to buy something a bit far away I asked
Jennifer to go with her, A Costly
Mistake as I had noticed Eghe had been a bit down over the days but I thought
it was just the regular school stress.
That was the last time I would have been able to speak with
her alone as when they came back we had lectures and then she was dragged off
by one of the ‘Fair ladies group’ so I dint get any more opportunities to talk
in class. After classes about around 5pm or so, we were walking out of school
but had company and I wasn’t entirely attentive and before we got to the school
gates a car with some male and female friends asked her to come into their car
and let them drop her off since she was going further than us and in their
direction. So we bade her goodbye as that was the very last time we saw her
alive.
I dint see her the next day and the Friday, but I just felt
well maybe she just did not want to come for classes as we all did that
sometimes in school but my thoughts drifted to her a lot that weekend but I thought
she must be out grooving somewhere, while I was worrying that I dint see her. So
I tried putting her out of my head for a while and focus on my boring weekend.
On Monday morning, I didn’t see her in class neither did I hear
anything. Asking her friends in the different groups proved abortive. By evening
I was worried as I was only getting blank stares and most of her friends had disappeared
from class.
Tuesday morning, I saw some of our friends trying to stick a
notice on the door of the class and many people weren’t really paying attention
to them but I stood up and went towards them with Jennifer. I had to prevent
myself from screaming as I saw a picture of Eghe on the poster saying she had
passed on over the weekend.
When we enquired as to what happened I heard that she had gotten
pregnant for a playboy and he didn’t even know she had passed on. When I asked how it happened, I was told that
she had gone for a D&C and probably wasn’t properly treated, fell ill and
it developed to cerebral malaria, while she was in coma for a few days before
passing away.
I was dumbfounded, shocked and I cried for the mistakes made
of not being there to talk with her as I could have advised her properly as my
mother is a Nurse not to undergo an abortion and even if she would it would be
a reputable hospital.
I learnt my lessons from that experience and from then on,
not only did I become more open to listen to people. I decided to take it upon
myself to be more open to help others in need.
Thank you for reading!!
