What is the secret about the name that the man walking by just called you?
Mr Foley asked as he selected the fried pork meat, which exuded fat and looked sumptuous, that he was purchasing.
“TIIJAYY,” I answered, and smirked, knowing that that name held a heavy significance then.
“ That was my nickname as a wild teen and the embodiment of that name is an item I left behind” I concluded.
The butcher wrapped the products we bought and gave them to us but as we were about to move towards our actual position which was just a few steps away.
“ TIIJAYY!” We heard again from a distance, a moving car as it passed, and to our surprise, the car stopped, reversed, and wound down.
“ Is it really you?”
The voice from the car pulled me back and I took an excuse from Mr Foley that I would meet him at the spot then I moved closer to the car.
I looked slowly, “ Yes, I think so, this is Samson” I ruminated.
Samson sat there, staring at me like he had seen a ghost from a life he no longer believed existed but still lived in it.
“ It’s been …. what? Ten years?” He said opening his bulging eyes which never changed to look at me from head to toe.
“ Something like that,” I replied looking back to confirm that Mr Foley was not out of reach as he concentrated on unwrapping what was on his table carefully.
Samson laughed awkwardly, “You sound like you have forgotten the number in counting” he uttered.
“ I have,” I replied simply.
A silence stretched between us and as I wanted to turn back, he said, “ I didn't think I would ever see you again”
“ I didn't think about it either” I replied and I noticed that wasn't what he was expecting and it made him pause.
He muttered, “Wow you really moved on”
I nodded and replied, “ a long time ago”
He looked at me carefully like he was searching for something familiar but couldn't see it. “ Do you ever think about knowing the truth of what had happened then,
Do you ever think about Jane and her decisions back then?” he uttered.
I shook my head, “knowing won't change anything and the truth is not mine anymore, it belongs to the past,
And for Jane, I still remember her but it no longer stays with me in the same way you mean. I said firmly.
“ You really don't feel anything deeply like before” he asked almost in disbelief.
I thought for a moment and answered,“ You are right but I am still a feeler,
It is just that that was a long time ago and the wind moved between us and so many things had happened” I uttered.
Samson nodded slowly like he was finally understanding something he didn't want to accept.
“ So what now?” He asked.
I smiled lightly, “Wish you the best, friend” I replied leaving him and my past that he was still trying to carry.
Getting to the spot, Mr Foley said as his eyes were stuck on the television he was watching, “You are pretty famous around,
Some people here knew you as a teen” he concluded in amazement.
I smiled and muttered, “That is a reality check for them because if growing is important ;
Then what used to matter won't anymore,
As people change likewise I have” I took a bite from the fried pork meat and continued,
“For instance, Samson, the man who called me from the car earlier was a friend who wanted to tell me a past truth but who cares“ I concluded.
“ Are you sure you don't want to know deep down” Mr Foley said after a sip from a cup he held.
I answered, “Living better is now, and the best is just a step ahead,
My past was no longer mine to carry as I had outgrown what once was,
So I placed it down gently, thanking it for what it once meant,
Though, I left it there not because I forgot but because I accepted it had ended,
And what I carried forward matters more than what I left behind” I concluded.
“ Well said” Mr Foley replied with a smile and “ don't let us forget why we are here” he concluded and we laughed at the dribbling skill that was displayed in the football match we were watching on the television screen which later resulted in a goal and " goal oo !!" We shouted.
