The last thing I said about ify was" People Change When Money Starts Coming".
I didn't say it to her, I said it to myself.
By then I had already convinced myself that our friendship had quietly come to an end. The funny thing is that she didn't tell me or behaved in a way that showed she didn't want me in her life again. We never had an argument whatsoever, I was just wondering what went wrong.
She simply disappeared. At once i wasn't even bothered.
I called once, no answer. Called again no answer. Called several times yet nothing.
She's probably busy, I told myself.
But as days became weeks and weeks turned into months I eventually stopped calling.
Gradually, my concern gave way to disappointment and disappointment slowly became resentment.
Around that same people ify had gotten a job. Infact I prayed for her too, when she was job hunting, I was genuinely happy for her when she broke the news of her employment to me. Meanwhile I was still struggling to find my own footing. Money was tight and I often wondered when things would get better for me too.
Without realizing it, I started comparing our lives.
"Maybe she thinks I will start begging her for money"
"This world don't trust people until they become rich"
"People easily forgets who stood by them once life begins to smile at them".
Many endless thoughts were just running through my mind. Everything I believed came from my own imagination. Yet I accepted them as though they were facts.
I vowed never to call or text her again.
" If she still wants us to be friends, let her call me, I'm done". I dropped my phone on the bed.
Life went on, but every now and then something reminded me of her. I went straight and deleted all the pictures and videos that reminded me of her but I didn't delete her number.
Then one Saturday afternoon I was washing clothes in the veranda when my phone rang.
I glanced at it.
Ify calling..
I stared at it until it stopped ringing.
She called again. I stared at it until it almost stopped ringing.
" So you finally remembered me" I murmured before picking.
"Hello?"
There was silence , then I heard a voice I barely recognized. It was weak and tired.
"I'm so sorry," Ify said softly . " Please don't be angry with me, I was hospitalized."
Every speech I had prepared disappeared instantly. The wet clothe I was holding slipped back into the bucket.
She explained that she had undergone a major surgery. What the doctors thought would be a quick recovery became months of treatment. Some days she couldn't even sit up without help. Her phone mostly stayed with her sister while she focused on getting better.
"I wanted to call you several times but ," she managed to say.
"But the pains were so unbearable that I didn't even know where my phone was," she completely.
All the anger I had carried for months suddenly disappeared.
"Ify, why didn't you ask someone to tell me?" I finally found my voice.
She gave a faint laugh, "I honestly thought I'd be home after few days," she replied. "Then days became weeks and weeks turned into months, I kept saying I will call you."
"I thought.." I paused embarrassed by my own words. "I thought you have forgotten about me nah, as per level don change" I finally uttered.
"Forget you? Why would i do that?" She gently asked.
"I don't know o, I forced a laugh. " I just kept telling myself maybe you thought I'd ask you for money now you have a better job, that's why you were avoiding me."
"So that's what you've been carrying in your heart all this time?"
"Yes " I replied.
Then she went quiet for a moment.
"But you should have known me better than that."
I felt little remorseful when she said that. And she was right.
After many years of friendship, I had allowed only few months of silence to erase everything i knew about her.
"Ify I'm so sorry for judging you immediately. I didn't even give you the chance to tell your own story."
"It's okay," she replied gently. "We're together again and that all that matters."
I shook my head in agreement even though she couldn't see me.
"Ify, I wish I had used those months of judging you to pray for you." I remorsefully said.
She responded immediately, "Well.. now you know."
I smiled through the phone, "Yes" I whispered.
"But before today," i took a deep breath. "I didn't know."
Image is Ai generated.
