Indeed, she is complete; perfection can't be better than this!
I met her again yesterday after about 3 years of sighting. I remember the day I first met her. It was like yesterday, she was with a friend; my childhood friend, Bayo! Although she was no-go area, I drank in her beauty as I sat with them listening only to her voice. Oh, what a melody it was! She was Bayo's girlfriend and he was ready to die to keep her. So, that settled it for me, but that didn't stop my fascination of her. She was full of life, never a dull moment with her; lovely ambience always. I would fantasize about her often, holding her close... I'd even imagined getting married to her, but would wake up each time I saw Bayo as the Bestman. I could bare look him in his face, even in my imagination. She was his all, how could I even imagine such wickedness; taking away his treasure. So, I jacked myself out of the fantasy and face the reality of life; Bimpe belonged to another man, who happened to be my friend.
Bayo was my brother from another mother. we had grown fond of each other right from our primary school days. Although he was 2 classes behind me, we were almost inseparable. Can't forget his tears the first time I had to go off to the University, it was the first time we were going to be apart. Neither can I forget his joy each time we were back together. After he got admission into the University, although our schools were two states apart, we would visit each other's school ever so often. I was the first to visit his, then he started visiting after my second visit and before long, we hardly stayed 5 weeks apart. He would come to me whenever I was too busy to come. We were no longer friends; we were brothers in spite of the blood that flowed through our veins. Of course, I graduated before he did, so I missed out on his final year in the University because I had to go serve my fatherland. So, when I came back, I met a pleasant surprise. I've never been keen on surprises, but I loved this one. Bayo had a girlfriend or should I say a "sister" he wanted to marry. I would have called her his fiancée, but they weren't engaged yet. It was nice to know that Bayo could have a special place in his heart for a person of the fairer sex. Apart from "classmate" kind of friendship, Bayo had never until then shown any special interest in a lady. So Bimpe was indeed a pleasant surprise.
Another thing makes her coming into Bayo's life pleasant is her person; she was everything a guy could ever ask for. She would light up anywhere she enters, no matter how gloomy. Was that what she really was or it is just me imagining things? If she really was all that, then how does one explain how she dumped my guy? She really loved him, but how do you let go of someone you claimed to love? My head kept reeling with questions; questions only Bimpe could answer. Maybe not only her though, Bayo should answer some. In fact, quite some of them were meant for him to answer, I really didn't want to hurt my friend with whatever memory those questions. Many times while we talked, I've caught myself about to say "how did..." "Why didn't..." "How come..." and then I would change the question or just hang it right there. He had caught me once and said "it's one of those things!" All my attempts to deny failed. As I thought about that moment again, I couldn't but ask myself "is it really one of those things or could thing have been better done?" These new questions joined forces will all the other questions I'd had and tormented me each time my thoughts bordered around Bayo or any dating relationship at all. It has been said that only one out of ten relationships that go into NYSC comes back intact. In fact, even that one must have had to weather terrible storms. I used to take this for a myth, even though I noticed that most of my female friends got married shortly before service or within 3 months of service year. But I'm convinced now of how much distance could change things. (Sigh...) Bimpe...
Well, so I met her on my way home after a hard day's work. I didn't know how tired I was until I got off the bus and started making my way home after I tried getting a bike home but didn't get one ready to take me home; no thanks to the smoothness of the roads on our estates. So I decided to walk home. Oh, thank God I did. She was as beautiful as ever. Did I say as ever? She was even more beautiful; she had gain some more weight, so the curves were even more rightly placed. And was her skin cleaner! She glowed in the setting Sun. I thought she was beautiful until she smiled. I stood taller as her smile melted away the weight on my shoulders; the weight that had me bent over. All of a sudden, I could jump over the troop and scale the walls... I was energized from within. She though my face was familiar but couldn't place it. So, I made her go through the drill, basking in her beauty as she made several attempt to remember who I was. Then she mentioned Bayo and my mood took a nose dive.
Remembering the story from my friend's point of was sad; I said "you and Bayo, sad story right?" She said “no, it's not. It just had to happen." I didn't think so, but then she added "Bayo and I are still good friends," probably to clear my doubts. So I said "that's nice! That's real maturity. So when was the last time you heard from him?" "Yesterday!" It was unbelievable because from the way my friend portrayed the whole deal, it had seemed that he would shoot her if he ever came across her again for all eternity. Bayo! So, I asked "so, why then don't you come around any more?" The answer "he's always busy when I'm free; I'm usually free on weekdays but busy on weekends and he's busy weekdays and free on weekends. so, I visit him in the office, whenever I want to see him." So, it's true! Bayo has deceived me! Well, I'll ask him, but what if it's not true and she's lying, I would be hurting my friend. Thought nagged me as I reluctantly said goodbye to her. I was caught between expressing my excitement at seeing her and not telling so as not to hurt Bayo. How could I let go of this opportunity of having her for ,yself, just when I thought I had lost her for life? But, how can I claim her for myself, knowing how much Bayo loved her. Can I bear the shame of being seen as a traitor of the oldest friendship I've ever had? Can I ever forgive myself if I looked back at this day in 40 years' time, knowing that I missed out on a once-in-a-lifetime love-story ever? How do you manage friendship and not miss out on love? How do you find love and not lose friendship? Who's going to save me from this mess I'm in? Can you help?
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