Category: True Stories

The Scar

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When I was younger, a lot younger, I had to get minor surgery on my toe.

I had apparently worn shoes that were too tight, and my nail cut into the skin, and the toe got infected, and long story short, they needed to cut out a chunk of my toe (literally), so it could grow back normally. I got a local anesthesia, a nurse sat on the bed and lay across me so I couldn’t see what the surgeon was doing, and the entire procedure lasted about 15 minutes. So I went home with my foot wrapped up as thick as could be, and I was told to come back in about a week for them to clean it and re-dress it.

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My Hero

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Baptism

a few days old, at baptism

One of my earliest memories of you is sitting at that small dining table in that small flat we used to live in. I was in elementary school, and they had just taught us division. I was doing my homework at the table, and you were reading the newspaper or something (this was back when you used to buy the paper every day, before you switched to only buying on Saturdays & Sundays, and now you just read online lol). So there I was, working on my homework, following the long process of division they had taught us at school, and I stopped and asked you the answer to one of my questions, and you answered it immediately. It took me at least 3-5 minutes to solve one, and you called out the answer instantaneously. So I asked you another, you said the answer, I worked it out for myself, and you were right. So I asked you another. And another. And another. And I remember you smiling as you called out each correct answer. So finally I gave up & asked how you knew all the answers so quickly, and you said “when you grow up, you will too.” I remember it so clearly.

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Prof’s Place

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Back in my days at uni in Nigeria, I knew this guy we all called Prof (of course that wasn’t his real name), and he owned one of those game centers where you’d go, pay what I think was ₦25 per game, and play soccer on a PlayStation 2 at the time. Now this was so long ago, the soccer game we all preferred playing was PES (Pro Evolution Soccer), not FIFA. And every once in a while (maybe not once in a while), me and my friends would go to his place and spend time that should have been used studying & money we didn’t have and we’d just play for hours on end. You know me, always seeking an escape. Some of the fondest, funnest memories I have of my time at Nsukka came from Prof’s place, and I developed many good, lasting friendships (some of which I still have today) in that small room just after Odim Gate.

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Memories Lost

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I’m not exactly sure how I met you. I wish I could remember, but I can’t. It had to be at TAWG though. The Abiding Word Gathering. Your fellowship in uni back then. A fellowship I visited from time to time, but never actually became a full fledged member of. As much as I wanted to, God wouldn’t let me. Which is weird, because off the top of my head, I can think of six of my closest friends who happened to be TAWG members in school. But I digress…

You were never one of my closest friends. We weren’t strangers by any means, but we didn’t get to see each other that often. Whenever we did though… We’d just talk. We never had to force a conversation. It just flowed easily. I didn’t feel special though. You were that way with every one. People just met you and instantly liked you. It must have been your smile or something. Or maybe it was your honesty. I don’t say this about too many people, but you had a pure soul. Everyone could see that. And I admired it. I loved it.

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