Once upon a time, I met a guy in secondary school; right from the first class in J.S.S 1 and for some reasons I’m yet to fully comprehend, I remember him today. Let me begin by telling you that he had quite an impact in my life despite being only a year or two older than I was.
He Was Smart
This guy either placed 1st or 2nd in class. Yes! He was that brilliant. As for me, I knew chasing such positions was never my thing so I just stuck with the usual average performance but never failed 😛
His Hands!
He had two hands just like me but from the first time I shook this guy’s hands, I knew something was wrong. It felt like I was shaking a statue or a tree. His hands were cold and hard; not the kind of hard I’ve normally felt from time to time. This was really hard. I tried again and it was just the same. I eventually discovered that his palms were naturally hard; so hard that he could take a pencil and write clearly on his palms. 😨
No One Ever Bothered Him
Well, no one wanted to get slapped by a guy whose palms felt like the table they placed their books to write on so bullies and friends alike never really bothered him and there was another reason…
He Had Strong Bones
If I didn’t know better, I would have sworn that this guy was related to the Wolverine in some way. His bones were really strong and he was physically strong. Playful games with him sometimes hurt when he accidentally hits you. We usually limited the games to the nonphysical types to cut down the chances of an accident.
He Could Fight
On this fateful day, one of the bullies in school decided to change the narrative by engaging him in a brawl. Well, it wasn’t much of a fight because it ended too fast with the bully rolling in pain on the floor and trying to hold several parts of his body at the same time. It was the first and last time he ever fought or do I say beat anyone.
He Was My Hero
He liked me for some reason and I found myself sitting next to him in class. Let me establish here that the subject I feared most in the world in secondary school was Mathematics. If all subjects were like Mathematics, I would have ended up a dropout but guess what, sitting next to this guy was a blessing. He tried to teach me and would sometimes just open up his answer sheet for me to see whenever we had a snap test or examination that involved Mathematics and the evil calculations that came with it. He rescued me from this subject on countless occasions and I wonder how I would have coped without him.
Finally…
My friend died!
Yes! Sadly, he died. We finished secondary school and moved on to chase our separate dreams and the waves of time sent us in different directions. We lost contact after some time but while I was in the tertiary institution, I ran into his brother and when I asked after him, a visible gloom emerged on his face as he told me my friend died. The cause of his death was a condition he suddenly developed, which eventually claimed his life. It hurt me more than I could have ever imagined. He never even got a chance to graduate or live life as an adult. Today, I ask God to grant my friend eternal peace and protect every single person he ever cared about in his young life. My friend’s name was Timilehin Ogunenika. As I become a year older today, I remember my friend who will never get to celebrate another birthday.
Whatever it is that you’re after or wherever you find yourself today, I want to you to know that you have something my friend will never have and that is hope. There is hope that one day, fortune will eventually smile at you and you will find something that will help you forget your struggles. Let us thank God today for the gift of life for it can be lost when we least expect it.
Wishing you all an amazing day.
Yours Truly,
Samod Biobaku
Simply SAMAD
Simply SAMAD 