"Guy, how far na? Are you not
eating too?" One of Demi's friends asked, oblivious of his friend's subconsciousness.
"Demi!," the other yelled when Demi remained mute, obviously still lost in thought.
"Huh!" Demi said all of a
sudden, like he just jerked awake from a bad dream. "Are you guys talking to me?" His
friends stared at him in amazement and it wasn't until he looked around, that
he realized they were still seated under the bamboo shed outside ofada kitchen
and had been deliberating on what to eat before he sunk in his pool of thoughts.
"Oh! food, ehn let's go in na" Demi could now guess what his friends
had been asking him about.
Demi's friends shook their heads,
laughing out loud at him as they all sauntered in. Demi was not
bothered by their jest of him. He couldn't blame them. They were yet to have
their thoughts consumed just by one person. Demi now gave his gaze to the
sightless floor as he stepped into the canteen. Anytime he stepped into Ofada
kitchen now, something always struck his heart. He raised his head to glance
over the counter as usual to behold the recently reoccurring feat of finding it
void of Sewa. But on glancing at the counter, his heart missed a beat. The
antidote to his unsettled thoughts was
right there.
Sewa, engrossed in attending to the
lined up customers, had no idea she was being watched by a dazed Demi who
couldn't quantify the plethora of bliss and affection that coursed through him as he stood watching
her. Sewa was casually taking in her surroundings when she thought she saw Demi.
She narrowed her head this time, towards the canteen's entrance just to be sure
she wasn’t giving in to imaginations, only for her eyes and Demi's to interlock. It was surely her Demi.
Demi and Sewa were seated under a tree
at the famous Balewa park in the University College Hospital which was known to
be a place where lovers rendezvoused. They had planned to meet there by seven
in the evening during their ephemeral dialogue upon their unexpected reunion.
The moon had taken over from the retired sun and it beautifully carved out Sewa's
flawless face. Demi was simply mesmerized while Sewa relished the warmth she
felt in his presence.
She had thought she would never see
the doc-to- be who occasionally dominated her thoughts again. But now, he was
seated with her, right by her side. And God, his fragrance was like a neonate,
who had just been palmed with baby
powder. It required of her extra efforts, to caution the urge of
loosing herself into his arms.
Demi's eyes radiated with
affection as he stared at Sewa's face. "So, you were sick?"
"Hmmm," Sewa replied,
finding it difficult to swallow.
"Tell me, was it malaria,
typhoid,....."
Sewa cut him short.
"Malaria."
"Hope you're better
now?"
"I've never been better.
Let's talk about you. How have you been?" Sewa just wanted him to let her
be so she could be given time to adore his studly face.
Demi let out a dry chuckle.
She could never understand how miserable he had been in her absence. "I've
never been better," They best described his current feelings too. He
blocked any route to further questioning by going back to his own questioning.
He still had a lot to ask anyway. "You didn't come to Ofada for more than
two weeks. Don't tell me you were sick for two weeks," Sewa just stared at
him and said nothing. "Christ, were you really sick for two weeks?"
His facial expression was incredulous.
Sewa let out her bottled up
laughter now. "Of course not, look at you! I had to spend a week in Lagos
to attend my cousin's wedding which I couldn't miss for anything in the world
and also had to attend a naming ceremony. My aunt had a set of twins."
Demi nodded slowly as he
started to get a clearer picture. "It was even after I got back that I
fell ill. Understand now?" Sewa added, flashing him a cute smile.
Demi couldn't help but adore her
heavenly smile. "Okay, I understand now... It figures, the parties and
all."
Sewa laughed, now aware of his
sacarsm. "So what are you implying? That I ate too much meat and came back
to Ibadan to receive my punishment?"
Demi shrugged, suddenly looking
serious. "No... I missed you."
Sewa's breath almost failed her on hearing
those last words. She absolutely didn't expect him to utter anything like that.
She wasn't sure how to reply him.
Demi
still looked assertively serious with his eyes now intense and darker. Sewa was
scared. She had no idea what was racing through his mind. "Do you like
me?" Demi asked out of the blue.
Sewa was caught unawares again.
She hadn't also seen that one coming, not even in the least. Why would he ask
me that? What was he up to? Sewa was confused. She had no idea how to react to
his question.
"I like you, Adesewa. I
like you a lot, whether you like me or not." Demi unapologetically uttered
straight from his heart.
Sewa's jaw dropped bereft of it
dropping. That was it. The last straw. Her brain temporarily stopped processing
anything that moment. She was clueless. But amidst the quandary, something in
her heart muttered, that something new, something special, something that was
going to last a life time, was about to begin.
Biography
Biography
Yetunde Oyelude, an indigene of Ogbomoso, Oyo
State, loves watching movies, singing and reading novels. She studies in the
department of Communication and Language Arts, University of Ibadan.
No comments:
Post a Comment