LifeSightsSound

I can tell you for free that I had a very wondering mind when I was growing up, still wonders sometimes but I can now control it, I have conversations and dialogues with myself that could be equated for someone that might be losing their mind (kolo) but now I am more concious about it.

My teenage years just before I got into the university was a routine at 74 Akanro street Ilasamaja. wake up early to draw water from the well (Ifa omi) sometimes I wake up by 3am just to Ifami (shortened) as we didnt have a borehole or running tap, I have to fill up every basin in the house before my neighbours wake up and finish the well water (mostly the Adokis).. hahahhaha..

Then we have our morning devotion at 5am on the dot, “Make una wake up come pray” (my mother’s loud voice will shout) and if you are singing and drifting into lalaland, you get the devotion tossed at you to jolt you back to the land of the awake. after that, I go and sweep the compound in preparation for getting the stall ready, by 7am the gate should be open for business.

In the 90s there were more see through gates and low fences than the houses you would find now so you can see what your neighbour is doing without necessarily peeping to do gbegborun or Amebo (more like a gossip who wants to know everything going on and talking about it).

There are two identical houses opposite my house, one was where my Evelyn stayed and the 2nd house was where my first main CRUSH stayed.

This guy will wait till 7am, when I open the gate for business to start washing the car, (not his car but his brothers, he drives it though), he washes it topless with a particular bum hugging tight shorts, He was beautifully built, with muscles and 6 packs that could put any young man of today in his place, he was yellow and handsome. He would flash a smile at me first then start wash and waxing giving me several glances along the way. After he is done, in about 30 to 40 minutes I see him , all dressed, with his satin long sleeve shirt and matching trousers, he will flash me a smile and then drive off.

To be honest, I anticipate the show  every morning, to say I was crushed was the least of it, I was mersmerised, I built a fantasy in my head like those in my James Hardley chase novels and all those pacesetters novels.

This our show continued for months, I think it was a tease phase, I would pass him on the street but I won’t say a word to him, but wait till the morning when the tease show will begin, I started to take extra care with my looks so I do not look scruffy.

Chacha!!!! Evelyn called me with her high pitched voice, “Innocent dey die for you oh”, I frowned (I actually was dancing in my heart), yes his name is Innocent and he lived next door to Evelyn. I told her I wasnt interested in him, and told her about our morning show and she laughed..

Then one night, I told my family I was going to see Evelyn, I went to her compound true to what I told family, what they didnt know is the broken fence that leads to the next compound (Innocent’s house). At 7pm, my heart pounding out of my chest, I am finally coming face to face with my crush..

Then He opened his mouth…. Charity how are you? I want to be your boyfriend, in the thickest Igbo accent ever…. I literally died, my goodness, such a beautiful package with an accent like that, and he continued, “baby not just your boyfriend but to marry you are train you to the schools I never went to” oh my goodness, who says that? and with a thick accent…

He gave me a perfume and I went home quite dissappointed, ofcos my mother told me to return the perfume with automatic alacrity and I didnt hesistate, I gave it to Evelyn to give it back to him, after that the crush died, infact died an instant death.

I guess sometimes in life we are quick to make decisions from what we see on the outside, the packaging , the physical, as we grow we need to look more on the inside, the fancy wrapping paper might be beautiful but is what is inside equally beautiful?

Have you ever bought a fancy perfume cos the bottle looked so nice only to find out the fragrance was crap?

That is how things in life work, I was so smitten by the bare chested, muscle chiselled and light skinned handsome man that I didnt look beyond that. it is so easy to just get stuck in the physical and nothing else but that.

This story always reminds me to always look beyond the physical in everything I do, look beyond face value at every situation I face, be it at work, with a person, with things or with places, I would take my time to get to know a person beyond the first impression, or the physical attribute before putting or placing a tag on that person, situation or things.

I hope you come on this journey with me to see beyond the physical every single day.
Worthy to note that I love my Ibo brothers, the accent and all.. that was me growing up….

Yours Sincerely

CIA