SISI SEWA: The Memoir of a Single Lady (Episode Two)

...Continued from Episode One

I am still surprised at myself for how far I have gone in this business of love. And one question that will continue to linger in my mind and which I haven’t been able to answer is that ‘how did I gather so much experience judging from my age and background from a Christian family?

My parents instilled the necessary discipline in me and my siblings and more importantly myself being the only female child in the family on how to relate with the opposite sex. They were so particular about me being messed up by guys.

Hmmm! Back to what brought us here jare. I started my love journey from the age of twelve. Surprised? This is how it all went. There was this boy I met at that time. He lived on the same street with a friend of mine. I called him a boy because he himself was fifteen at that time. Ours was a love at first sight thingy. No beating about the bush. Who knows if that was where I developed hatred for guys who travel miles before stating their mission when they approach a girl. The boys name was Temitayo but I prefer calling him Tee.

Tee boy lived with his elder brother at the time and he had all the time in this world to himself and could do as he liked because his brother was the busy type. He worked as a Civil Engineer and you can imagine how busy those in that field can be.

That was how I started with Bobo Tee and I can swear with my life that I loved him and he loved me too or so I thought. Were were about two years into the relationship when his brother got a transfer to his company’s Lagos branch. That was a terrible blow on me and a time of grief because there was no two -way about it. He had to go with his brother to his new station. It was as if all the tears in the world decided to make our eyes their abode on the eve of his departure. I felt like I wasn’t going to see him again. He promised never to forget me and to always get in touch as much as he could as there were no mobile phones then. ‘She I kuku’ trusted him and believed that he loved me enough to come back for me.

All the while, my parents were not aware of my ‘parol’. How would they know when they believed my friend was my purpose of going to that area because they believed my friend’s parents would keep a good eye on me being their friends as well.

Like the proverbial saying which says that “no matter how far a lie travels, the truth will always catch up with it in the twinkle of an eye”. That was the situation I found myself when my parents eventually got to know. It was a near death experience for me and disappointing and painful one for them. It was one of those aunties from popsy’s family that exposed me.

 I went visiting to her place as was my custom and it lasted for days being holiday time. I came across a mouth gaping, romantic card which held me spell bound on the first look at a Super mart where I had gone to on an errand for my aunt. It had the shape of the heart and a rose petal attached to the front page with a light fitting that comes up from time to time when switched on. I quickly grabbed the card as if my life depended on it. The inside was a wow. The wordings of the card ‘na die’. 

“You made me gold and brought me love like I’d never know. You gave life to me. And for me, a reason to go on. You are my food when I’m hungry. You are my shelter from life’s turbulence. You are my anchor on life’s ocean. But most of all, you’re my Bestie. When I need hope and inspiration, you are always strong. I can search this world over, you’ll always be everything I can ever need
MY ALL IN ALL.”

Naso I buy the card comot for the shop with the hope of sending it to my beau through a guy I knew would be travelling to Lagos from my church. How my auntie discovered the card where I kept it still remains a mystery to me .And you know all those ‘spirikoko’ people. They can spoil one’s ‘parol’ to any length with their sermons. I was in her sitting room watching the T.V when she ran downstairs with the card in her hand like someone being pursued by a mad man. 

I became dead within me the moment I saw the card in her hand. She quickly grabbed the house’ telephone and angrily punched in the number of our house’ phone. To say the phone get mouth ni, e for curse am tire that night. Before I forget, she nearly fell on her way down the stairs and I couldn’t help but laugh within me amidst my fear. Her eyes were red and she was shaking all over.