I watched his eyes as they changed colour as the sun cast its light on them; “Hazel Nut’’ he calls the colour, but I don’t have a stored up colour palate in my head. All I see are varying shades of brown that I can’t differentiate and yes every shade is beautiful.
I watched him laugh loudly as he walked towards his guitar, you know the guitar has a name, TITI and we always talk about it like it is a living human being with a heart and emotion we are all supposed to treat TITI with utmost care.
The first day I really met him 13th of March 2013, yes I love dates and this one is pretty significant to the both of us, it is his birthday and the day I stayed indoors and forced myself to make life changing decisions and in many ways than one it was the start of something new for the both of us, the beginning of a really long friendship.
So feeling liberated and hurt, I walked to church still thinking of all the pain I was sure my eyes showed. I sat at my usually spot for evening service and I responded to everyone’s question with all the right answers. “Yes’’ “No, thank you’’ “I’m alright’’ *hehehe*
We usually don’t have testimonies on Wednesdays except on special occasions and that day was one, he got up to sing a song and thank God for his birthday and I couldn’t help think how selfish I had been spending the day mulling over the pain in my life while I should have being out celebrating life.
After service I had enough of my room and I am sure my pillow was tired of me, I tried to get his attention wish him happy birthday, but he had a crowd around him so I waited I really wasn’t interested in another round of water works.
It took more than 30 minutes for all his well-wishers to clear out, I was lost in my own head and he was already walking away from church so I shouted at him to wait, he turned and waited for me to catch up with him.
“Hey, what is wrong?’’ He asked. One thing about him is he always knows when to dig further and when to accept the comfortable silence, that night was one for the comfortable silence.
“I would be fine’’ I answered; the first person I gave a true answer to that day.
‘”Today isn’t about me, you didn’t tell me it was your birthday’’
“I usually don’t tell anyone’’
I raised my eyebrow at him Why?”
“Would you like to come along, I am on my way to pioneer church’’
We fell into a comfortable walking pace next to each other
“And to answer your question, those that I matter to would remember, no need to advertise myself’’
“Fair enough argument, hope you aren’t an axe murder or something’’
He gave me a funny look, I thought to myself, I need to keep my weird hidden, but one look at him told me my many forms would be accepted.
I giggled
“Blame that last comment on too much criminal minds.’’ He kept looking at me sensing I had more to say
“Why are we going to pioneer church’’ I asked
“Oh I should have told you, I want to write a song, the guitar chords are in my head no words yet, and I don’t have a guitar at the moment, I left TITI at home so we are going to borrow me one’’
‘’Who is TITI?’’
He smiled broadly “that is what we call our guitar’’
It was natural talking to him, we talked about things that mattered to us, I was on a quest to find out about Nigeria starting with the civil war. We talked about that and then he told me what the song he was working on was about and he made me promise to help.
We got the guitar, walked back to church and got to work on the song, I wrote down general lines and gradually as the chords filled my head, the pain I was carrying inside became a forgotten memory. We had the chorus and the first lines of a verse before the zip of my dress popped, he offered me his treasured sweater and it was a really first meeting like no other. His guitar is across his back, he bends to adjust his high tops; I should add that after his guitar his next love is definitely high tops.