Nneka woke up that morning with an uneasy feeling. She had gone to bed early the night before but didn’t feel rested. Her bed was in disarray with the down comforter in a bunch and the pillows on the floor as if she had fought a battle with her linen all night. She turned on her stereo to chase the feeling away and as she sang along “Niger Delta” by her namesake, a smile lit up her face. The song wasn’t a happy song but it was reminding her of home and her family. She started her breakfast as the sun was rising and the glass-covered buildings in the whole area started to sparkle like Christmas ornaments. Nneka loved that part of the day when the business district seamed almost magical before the rush of the working crowd.
When she went outside, she noticed that the sky was yellow which was really unusual. She looked at the huge Sea Grape growing in front of the metro rail station and thought that it would have made an amazing picture, as the ruby red leaves against the yellow sky looked like some vision from a dream or a painting. Chickens were going about their morning round, pecking the soil in search for food. Nneka imagined that Mother Nature wasn’t ready to give up her land yet to the dozen of erected steel towers, which reflected the sky.
When she got to the station, she told the man at the desk: “Amazing sky today, right?” and he replied “Didn’t you hear the news? This is a sign that a storm is coming, nothing pretty about that!” The uneasy feeling came back and she couldn’t stop thinking that something bad was going to happen as she sat down in the train going downtown.
Signs had always governed her life. Since she was very little, her mother had told her, she somehow always knew when something good or bad was going to happen. She never had visions but she had strong feelings and she was seldom wrong. For some, it seemed like a gift had been bestowed on her but for Nneka, it was a curse. She could never look at anything or enjoy any everyday occurrence without having second thoughts or apprehension. She was always on the edge, trying to decipher the signs hidden around her.
By the time she was eating lunch at the cafeteria, Amy, one of her coworkers, approached her. She looked deeply distraught when she told her that a tornado had hit the business district right on her street and that several houses behind her building had been destroyed to rubbles. Her building however, had been left untouched.Fortunately there were no casualties as everybody was at work
A knot in her stomach, Nneka couldn’t work the rest of the day as her mind kept wandering. She was thinking about what had happened and felt like it could be a wake up call, a sign that she needed to reevaluate her priorities. She remembered all these years she had been thinking about Alex and how her life had revolved around him and decided it was time to move on. She drifted in her thoughts, wondering what she should do and decided to write him a letter:
“Dear Alex,
You don’t know how many times I have sat down and wondered how I could tell you. Wouldn’t it be nice and refreshing if people could actually just speak freely and frankly about everything like they do in books and movies? Unfortunately, it is never so clean and polished in real life, it is messy and there is no definite ending. It is never black and white either; it is always grey, just different shades. One of the reasons why I could never face you is because I was so afraid you wouldn’t understand and you would reject me, even as a friend. I didn’t want to take any chance.
We have been tiptoeing around each other for so many years now, my soul is worn out and I can’t play another game. Please read what I have to say and I will go on my way and out of your life.
I remember the day I fell hard for you. It was an ordinary July day for so many people but not for me. So many times I had laughed out loud about the concept of love at first sight. It figured it would happen to me as an irony from fate. How could someone fall in love with somebody they didn’t even know? It had seemed so utterly ridiculous.
I didn’t know you that well but when I looked at you that day, I just knew it was you I had been looking for all these years. I remember where you were standing and the feeling that invaded me at that exact moment. The best way to describe it in one word would be epiphany or fireworks. The feeling that we were a part of something bigger came over me simultaneously and it was overwhelming. Suddenly it was as if a veil had been lifted and I could witness part of the mysteries of the universe. I will never forget that day.
Years have passed and we have become friends, we have laughed together, we have read each other’s favorite books, we even have told each other things we never told others. Yet, even though I have tried many times to let you know, I was never able to. The other reason that stopped me was that you were not available. I never wanted to hurt anyone and my mind and soul fought for years. Finally one has won this combat but it is not a real victory and there is collateral damage.
I wish I could get rid of this feeling I have for you, I just can’t. It is like a jungle tree, which roots have dug deep into my heart. I try to pull them but more are growing. You are the first person I always think about when something good or bad happens to me, the first I want to talk to, the only one I want to laugh or cry with. I miss you when I am not with you .I miss you so much like I would miss a part of myself. Is there a meaning or a reason? Why would fate torment me so? I need to know but I will never have the chance. This is why I decided to tell you and move on. The limbo I live in is hurting me more than I can say. I want to put this weight down and finally walk freely into the rest of my life.
Alex, I will always love you no matter what happens more than I will ever love anyone but it is time for me to let you go.
Nneka”
Nneka sealed the envelope and went around the corner to mail it. Ibises were walking softly on the manicured grass and the sky was a deep blue without any clouds. A yellow butterfly was fluttering around a Bougainvillea bush and Nneka felt that something new was blossoming in her heart.
When she turned around to get back to work, she almost bumped into a handsome man walking very fast. He was listening to an Ipod and took his head phones off to apologize. She heard a familiar song. “What are you listening to?” she asked him.” Niger Delta”, he said. She smiled at him and he smiled back.
Oct 082010
Hmmm
All these signs of doom just for you or is there a story behind ì’m not getting.
Real nice piece,your character is very colourful.
i always thot you are a guy,hoping you will explain the name someday.
Thanks Paul.My pen name is made of 3 letters of 4 names of people I care very much about.I never realized when I picked it that it would have a male connotation.It was not on purpose. I guess it’s too late now. ;0)
like the story,seems like there’s another thing to it???like the letter much.
Thanks Gretel.The idea of the story is that even though there are events and circumstances in life we have no control about, we always have choices on how to react to them and what to do.
I like the story. And your explanation of the message behind it gives me a new view of the story. Nice.
So you are female. Great. We will soon overthrow all the males on NS. Lol.
lol.. That won’t happen until a ‘Scopewoman’ comes on NS.
Good story Jefsar…
Lol, don’t be too sure of that, scopeman. And again, there might already be a scopewoman hiding in Marya, Gretty, Abby, Remi, Jef etc.
Exactly,there are ”scopewomen” all over NS,they were even there before a scopeman eventually showed up,so?!?
Well, I reckon with the prowess of these ladies that Lade has mentioned, but for them to ascend the title of ‘Scopewomen’, there is a prescribed rite of passage, lol…
Lol, imagine NS being overrun with the likes of the so-called “scopewomen”. It has a nice ring to it though
.
So which one of you ladies is ready to become a ‘scopewoman’ just yet???
THEIF!!!! FINALLY YOU CONFESS…FINALLY YOU COME OUT OF THE CLOSET!!!!
THERE’S HOPE FOR YOU YET!!!!!!!
Thanks Scope.
Thanks Lade.
Ladies’ll surely soon overthrow us. Think me knows why. Hope the males will buckle up soon shah. Jef is your dad. Sara is your mum. Urma is your alex or the guy listening to ‘Niger Delta. X is dmx or xibit or Malcom X.
Really love the story. Kinda reminds of Jude Law and Kate Winslet and Camron Diaz et al in, can anybody guess? No googling oh. Well don’t know if it is a series or if it has ended. But would really love it to continue. Hope it does. Reminds of the romcoms we grew up enjoying. Love at first sight, don’t think it’s real. Imagine Alex had turned out to be to be someone Nneka wasn’t compatible with. Love doesn’t happen as fast as the flash from a still camera, think of it more like making a movie. A movie like Titanic or Shakespeare in Love. A movie you’re sure will take a very long time to make. So camera has to roll a good number of times before love at first sight really turns into real love. Again, what do I know, lol. When’s the next part coming out?
Thanks Jay.Love at first sight is different from Infatuation.Only few people get to experience it and as with faith, only the ones that have felt it can really understand it. I think of it as two halves of a whole that have been separated and get to be whole again when together.Or as two twin souls. Nneka has experienced this with Alex and they have become friends.They are highly compatible and have had the same life experience, just like twins. However Alex is already in a relationship and Nneka, even though she believes that they are meant to be together, does not want to interfere and hurt anyone.For this reason, she turns her back and move on.Her mind wins over her soul.I agree with you that love that is built is definitely the best alternative as it trying to reach the same harmony.
I am not sure I would know what to write next but I appreciate the credit you are giving me. ;0)
Loved this Jef.That you were able to incorporate the signs in the initial part of the story into the storyline itself is no mean feat.
Well done!!!
Thanks Lawal.
This was really enjoyable to read, @Jefsaraurmax (lol, what a user name! I also always thought you were a guy). I enjoyed how you wrapped it up so neatly. It’s like a “perfect” little story, complete in itself and leaving us satisfied. But if there’s more, I wouldn’t mind!
Thanks Marya.
Hey Jef, nice story indeed. Counting help singign Whitney’s “I’m writing you a dear john letter…” when Nneka started the letter. I don’t think I would have gotten what you were trying to say had you not explained in your response to someone.
I also found that the almost indistinguishable paragraphing didn’t also help the structure. An additional spacing would have set that right and the letter part could have been written in italics. These add to the beauty of a post and so took away from yours’.
I meant “couldn’t help singing…”
Thanks Abby.I really appreciate the advice.
No worries girl, I hope, in the midst of my too-much-talking, I managed to get in that its a really good one?
NO YOU DID NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
NICE ONE.
I’M ALSO…EHNM…(clears throat)…impressed THAT YOU’RE A WOMAN…
SHE YOU KNOW I’M THE PRESIDENT SHA…??
NICE ONE!!!
Thanks Seun.Why are you impressed?
IT JUST SO HAPPENS THAT THE SEAT OF THE FIRST LADY IS VACANT…
Em>>.EHM….
LMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!
Did i notice a lil hint of romance at the end? with the ipod guy? If it is, then Nneka just has this thing for ‘first time falling!’
Nice going Jef.
So you’re pink blooded huh? never would have guessed.
I love this story. So it turns out that the sign was telling of a good thing after all. And I like how it ends, leaving the rest to the reader’s imagination.
Very good work. Well done.
i still dont blieve in the love at first sight thing
but like at first sight sure exist.
its also nice to learn that u are female.
keep it rolling.
Nice story but it feels like fairy tale ’cause i dont believe in love at first sight. I used to, but when i applied it….well let’s just say am wiser. I like to call myself a practical romantic….
So you’re a lady, i just thought you were a really sensitive guy who could write from a woman’s perspective.
Good read sha…
@Remi,Uche,Ibkinx,AnnaBella: thank you very much.
@Remi,in the case of the ipod guy,Nneka doesn’t fall for him,she just likes the idea that he is interested in the same music and therefore maybe something could develop between them.
@AnnaBella: love at first sight can not be explained to someone who has not experienced it the same way than faith can not be explained to a non believer. It is not the same than having a sudden crush on someone.It is like finding the missing part of you, like you knew this person all along. There is a love at first sight though that most of us will be able to experience in our lifetime.It is the love of our child.You will not know this person but you will love him/her right away….;0)
Don’t think it works oh. But if jef is talking from a personal experience, then I’ll have to believe her. And will also believe ‘love at first comment’ works too. So has any lady fallen in love with me yet after reading my first comment? Seriously, one thing I never argue too much about is someone’s personal experience. Think we might liken love at first sight to love itself. The truth is some people never find true love all their life even in marriage. While some people enjoy a wonderful love life with their spouse. Most of us also see love in different ways. For people who think there must be compatibility before love can come, how do you confirm this at first sight? Think this issue’s a little broad. It works in the story and that oughtu to be the most important issue here.