Crossing an unknown river from
your domain, observe the surface turbulence and note the clarity of the waters.
Heed the demeanor of the horses. Beware of mashed ambush.
As a familiar ford near home, look
deep into the shadows on the far bank, and watch the movement of the tall
grass. Listen to the breathing of your nearest companion. Beware of the lone assassisin.
Suzume-No-Kumo(1491)
With the above in mind, I will
tell you a love story, my love story .It is not sad one, neither is it a fairy
tale. But I must tell it, at least to give the world my version of events. For
a year and five months ,I have lived with a truth inside, so safely guarded, a
secret so deeply kept. I know I have the words to turn events around, but I
have been biting my lips stuck in silence.
I have fallen in love twice. The
first with a stranger on my flat and the other with a confused childhood
friend. I am straight, and the people in question are both men. Both are with
other people now and we all live in one town.
I fell in love in the oddest of circumstances,
I had a fallout with my landlord in September 2008.I had not been a bad tenant,
but an informed one who was out to get value for my money. I was no part of
those who were okay with okay, settling for crap which was served in large
doses on the apartment building. I would ask questions and hold the management
by their word. This was on matters cleaning, security, repairs ,garbage
collection among others. I know this many of you can relate with. This made our
relations so strained and left with three choices, move out, move out were the
first two, while the last was to await an eviction notice which would come with
a humiliating eviction as those fools didn’t know the law and would evict you
as they handed you the eviction notice, which had no notice period.
It all started on a Friday, the
previous day, I had just travelled from home which was about 400 km from the
Capital city where I was attending school at the time. With the fatigue and
all, I slept in late. The weather was also conducive for that but this was
rudely interrupted by a loud knock on the metallic door. It was one of the
house agents who had come to collect rent. As usual we had a nasty exchange
before he locked me out of my house, leaving me in my pajamas in the September
morning chill. Whoever saved me from that morning chill, happened to be the
first person I fell in love with. He was a neighbor who had listened in on our
exchange of unprintable words. He came downstairs as his house was right above
mine, talked to the silly agent and convinced him to allow me to get into the
house, freshen up, change and pick m bank documents so that I would be able to
pay him his rent. They had their conversation as men, I wasn’t involved , couldn’t
get involved, was too angry to utter a word of sense. I was shaking with rage.
I got in, brushed my teeth, slipped
into a pair of faded jeans and my house chores tee shirt, picked my hand bag
and left. Allow my love…ohhhh still neighbor to remain anonymous. He stood in the middle of my living room, watching over
me till I was done, to ensure the agent did not harass me any further. He also
walked me to the bus park as he told me small time stories to calm me
down.Well,lets just say whatever he did, worked for me. By the time we got to
the boulevard, I walk calm and collected. I thanked him, bid him bye and
boarded a noisy bus to town.
While in town ,I took my time, attended
to many begging of semester errands. Paid my school fees, I was at the bank, why
not pay it anyway, I told myself. I bought house supply and had lunch before
setting of for my house that had been held hostage by an idiot in the name of
an agent. When I got home, the fool was still at my door, several hours later, I
threw the money at him and demanded a receipt. Which he couldn’t give, so I
took my money and asked him to open my door and wait for me in his office on Monday.
As it was fifteen minutes after close of business on Friday.
As I was just walking into my
house, the said neighbor appeared on the staircase and asked me how it all
went. He listen with keenness so rare in the male species. Wearing a face of
great concern he invited me to dinner in his house….he assumed that I had
starved the whole day and was too tired to fix myself a meal. I agreed after a
lot of convincing. The meal was prepared just the way a bachelor would prepare
his food. Be the judge of that sentence…….I do not want to sound ungrateful.
At dinner, we were joined by two
of his male friends, who were all psyched to go out dancing that evening. I was
invited…..of course, and it was a Friday evening, school wouldn’t begin till Monday
why not, I went, danced myself lame and
got high on sugar from drinking so many bottles of Fanta orange. At the end of
the night, I went to my house and slept in till late Saturday afternoon. Every
other weekend, we always went dancing and the dancing ended a year and a half
ago. Every other Friday turned to four years, dinner turned into all the days
meals. However, I stopped dancing and I haven’t danced ever again. I don’t have
a neighbor to dance with anymore. He dances, I know he does, but with someone
else.
so sad.....
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