"I can't wait to visit Texas," Tonye repeated this statement twice in her sleep when I realised my friend was talking in her sleep.
"Texas?" I sat up for a moment thinking about why she didn't tell me about her trip to Texas, or is this just a mere wish?
I have heard stories of two friends who parted ways after one of them left the country without hinting at the other, "Wait a minute, does she think I might have bad intentions for her? Why didn't she tell me about this trip? Oh, so I do not mean a lot to her like I thought I did?" I kept overthinking which made it so hard for me to fall back asleep, tick..tock.. my eyes stumbled upon the clock, it was exactly 3 am, "okay then, I need to keep my success to myself as well since Tonye didn't want me to be a part of her success story." I muttered in conclusion as I faced the wall trying to sleep.
Tonye has been my best friend right from when we were in 100Level in college when we both decided to share a room throughout our stay in school, there hasn't been a secret I have kept from Tonye, but why then did she keep this secret from me?
It was about 7 am when I felt a tap on my shoulder, "Good morning Monique, slept well?" Tonye's soft voice whispered in my ears, "Hmmm, I did," I replied with a grumble.
"Are you travelling to Texas?" I couldn't pretend any longer so I summoned to courage to ask her.
"Texas?" Her eyebrow raised like she was confused, "do I even have an international passport?" She added just immediately, "What about Texas?"
At this point, I was quite confused, "you kept talking in your sleep, I can't wait to visit Texas!! So I thought you already made plans behind me to travel abroad without informing me, you had me overthinking throughout the night, Tonye do I mean so much to you?"
"Monique, where's this coming from? Of course, you know you mean so much to me, I am just a sleep talker, you should know me by now." She assured me with an innocent look.
"Hmm, I know, but I just hope it's just a talk in your dream though.." We both hugged each other and prepared for our morning class that day.
"Babe, I'll be visiting my mom over the weekend," A text popped from Tonye that Friday evening, "I have packed just a few things for the mini visitation, you can lock the door when it's night okay? Sorry it's just an emergency visit, I'll be back by Monday."
I felt quite lonely, but then I realised she wouldn't be gone for too long, three days from now she'd be back, I comforted myself as I tried to see a movie as a way of distracting myself from missing her so much.
Monday arrived in a bit and Tonye wasn't back, I got worried and tried my best to reach her, but her number didn't go through, so I kept praying for her to be safe wherever she was.
"Please stay safe," I left a message on her WhatsApp which wasn't even delivering.
Three days later, I saw Tonye's status on WhatsApp and the background didn't look familiar, it was all tushed up and cosy, Lo and behold my dear friend had travelled to Texas!!
It was as though, someone pierced my heart with a sharp pin I felt the pain to the bone, a feeling of betrayal, "What?" I was gobsmacked in disbelief.
A few days later, a foreign number began to call my phone, I was so sure it was Tonye and because of the resentment, I Ignored the calls.
After the persistent calls, I decided to take the calls, "Hey babes, I am so sorry for everything, my mom told me never to share delicate news like that with anyone until it materializes, it's not like you're a bad person or I don't trust you, but this is how I was raised, I know you hate me now, but you mean a lot to me and I am sorry,"
I was quiet all through the conversation, trying to figure out if I was feeling entitled to her private life. Maybe I expected too much or maybe I trusted too much, could it be that we weren't on the same page as me, cause I shared what seemed to be personal with her?
However after a while, I let go of the resentment, and I learned better, that we all need boundaries and there are levels to what information I share with anyone whom I consider my friend and vice versa.
It hurts so deeply, but I healed, afterwards, I do not believe a sleep talker when they try to lie about what has been revealed while they were asleep. "Tonye taught me hard lessons," I reminisce and let out a mutter.
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