I had a crush on this girl, about 30 years ago. Her mother sells puff puff that tasted deliciously; it takes about an hour to trek to her mother’s shop and you needed like N20 to hike a bike. I had just N10 that mama spared for me to pay for my Arabic class, to have a taste of puff puff and a glance of my crush, I trekked to her abode.
All sweaty and gummy body, I would reach her place, order puff puff and sit by the fireside to eat my relish. Munching my oily puff puff as I stared in stolen gazes at my crush. She fine die, she dark like Igbo pears and wear the face of the moon- if you have ever seen the moon in the middle of its circle , you will understand how my crush stood in beautiful frame! Done eating my puff puff, I rose in full gait , dipped my hand in my pocket only to be greeted with an empty pocket- my money had disappeared. My money gone, I was left stranded unable to pay for my relish, this is even worse after realising that the money was meant for God’s work and adventurously diverted for libidinal voyage. The mother of my crush held me captive all day, the night came to my rescue and I was let to go.
Tired, hungry and shamed, I marched home in forlorn stride- in between my lonely walk home, a good Samaritan driver gave me a ride. In my exhaustion, sleep enveloped me and drove passed my destination and thus begun another trek home- that day was a day set aside to punish me with trekking. The owner our house, my father was fully armed and in full colour reception for me. He did welcome me with showers of his oily whip as they danced in wasping waves on my body. He didn’t see my sore look, he didn’t pity my plight, he flogged me silly for wandering away from home -forgetting that a child is never taught how to love a woman by a teacher but by sheer adventure. For my crush, I trekked, got stranded and got flogged.
She was a huge crush; truly unrequited crush that slowly turned into a grudge. She turned me into a figure of venom and despised me. Nothing I did melt her heart. Overwhelmed by her constricted hate for me , I withdrew into my shell and avoided her like plaque. My offence was my inability to ask her out. All I did was to milled around her, loving her from a distance and she hated me for that cowardice.
30 years after, I saw my crush this time in my house as my wife…
NB: When a girl scorn at you, be rest assured that she likes you.
Nostalgically musing
