Must Read: Ade

Episode 7 years ago

Must Read: Ade

Sleeping after a heartbreak has a kind of
healing power that I cannot describe.

Though it had been argued that even
sleeping after a heartbreak could prove
disastrous as you could experience
nightmares which might compound your
heartaches. But it is also said that the latter
occurs mostly if you think much about it
before going to bed.

The former was the case with me. After the
cold hands of death’s brother caught me
under the watchful eyes of Rotimi, I
remembered nothing till my phone’s alarm
woke me up feeling very refreshed and
light headed. But immediately I sighted the
ring on the table, memories of the previous
evening came flooding back but I swept it
off as I sluggishly prepared for work.


Rotimi managed to prepare noodles that
morning but I had no appetite at all. He left
me but made sure I drank enough water to
last a lifetime after which we left for work.


In school, the principal announced on the
assembly that a guidance counselling unit
would soon be established in the school. He
also added that, ”From tomorrow till Friday,
a psychologist will be in school to address
all staff and students on some acts that I
have noticed among you all, staff included.


This expert too will have private counselling
sessions with some selected members of
staff that have been noticed to have the
said acts as well as some students with
questionable traits. Then he will have
private sessions with any other person
who might be having any challenge.


Either academic, professional, marital, domestic,
or psychological challenge, all will be
addressed and tackled by the expert.


He will be around on the assembly first tomorrow,
then the private sessions will take place in
the office that we have created for him. It is
the office behind the canteen. Just go there
to see him. I implore you all to take this
opportunity to solve one or two things that
might be hindering you in any way.


The school time table has been suspended for
the two days, normal academic activities
resume on Monday. Lastly, this was done in
conjunction with two brilliant members of
our staff, Messrs Rotimi and Ade as you
know them. They are instrumental in
getting the renowned doctor of psychology
to pay us a visit without taking a kobo from
the school’s purse. We say thank you to the
two of them.”


With that, the whole hall roared into a big
applause. Our heads swelled twice their
sizes. We had not expected the principal to
talk about our involvement in the planning
of the sessions. I thought in my mind, ‘If
somebody rejects us as theirs, some others
will accept us as theirs.’ That also lifted my
spirit a bit before the students marched to
their classes to receive their lectures for the
day.


Shola saw my countenance at the assembly
ground and immediately we got to the
staffroom she demanded to know what
happened to one of her new found trusted
friends. I told her nothing was wrong with
me and we all left for our classes.

By break time, she came with a full force
firing an all cylinders demanding again to
know why my face wore such a sombre
look. Rotimi was seated at his corner
attending to the three girls who wanted to
know the details of the principal’s
announcement and the level of our
involvement. They had started with me and
when they had got no favourable response
from me and my bad face, they switched to
Rotimi who was patient enough to answer
their questions untiringly. They had poked
and poked him to tell them when they
would ‘see’ me and why I was in such a
mood as I was that day. Rotimi had told
them that things happened for a reason
and all things in life are like pieces of a
jigsaw puzzle that gets fixed after many
trials and errors. He also told them that one
cannot be happy everyday, so my day was
like that because it was time for me to be
sad. I did as if I never heard them. Rotimi is
a friend.


Shola refused me space and peace all
through the break time because I rejected
all her avenues to tell her what was wrong
with me. I still by then had no appetite and
when I saw that I needed peace, I followed
her to the canteen where I told her what
happened. She was short of words at first,
but she later pacified me and told me
almost all what I had heard the previous
night except the parts of Rotimi’s advice
about our stay in school.


Shola promised that I would stay with her
till I recovered from my heartbreak. I tried
to disagree but she would hear none of it.
School closed for the day and Shola
accompanied us home to pack our bags
and things we would need for four days. It
would be the first time that we would be
sleeping outside our house apart from
travelling home.
We went back to Shola’s house with me still
in my sombre mood and Rotimi and Shola
chatting away as Shola prepared what she
said would be a surprise to me since I had
refused to eat since the day’s morning.
As the smell of vegetable soup wafted into
my nose from the kitchen, I could not but
battle the Dara’s sweet and sour memories
from my mind…