The last time I visited my home town, I laughed my lungs out because my uncle's friend, Feyi, seemed to be a man with a great sense of humour.
That morning, he received a call that his wife had just delivered a baby, and so he said he was leaving to see his wife and baby. Due to the excitement, I asked him yet again, "Are you going to the hospital?" He looked at me and smiled, "No, I am going to the cinema for a show." Everybody busted into laughter because that was a sarcastic response.
On several occasions, he had made me laugh through his gestures, and the one that got me rolling on the floor was the day I and my uncle visited him. We saw him sleeping, and then my uncle tapped him and asked, "Are you sleeping?" After trying to clean his eyes, he looked at my uncle and responded, "No, I am practising how to die." The whole room was so filled with laughter that I began to learn how to be humorous through him.
After my stay in my hometown, I headed back to the city, ready to put into practice all I had learned from Feyi. The first time I tried to be so humorous, it didn't end well.
I was so hungry and was hoping to eat as soon as my big sister finished cooking. She opened the door to my room, where I was lying in bed, and asked, "Amie, are you hungry?" I replied immediately, "No, I am fasting." She just left without saying a word.
After a couple of minutes, I began to hear the rattling of plates and wondered why I wasn't called upon to come eat. I managed to get out of bed and go to the kitchen. What I saw broke my heart into pieces.
My sister had already eaten the food, and the pots were empty. She didn't cook a large portion, so she asked to dish them discreetly, but I had already told her I was fasting.
My eyes were almost teary, then I mustered the courage to ask her, "Where's my food, big sister?" She looked at me and began to laugh hysterically. "You said you were fasting, so I ate them all." It felt like I should just fall and faint, so I began to cry. "It's just irony now; brother Feyi taught me to be sarcastic and humorous." Her eyebrow was raised as he replied, "Oh my love, it's too late; maybe you should go make some noodles." She walked out laughing.
Then I realized different strokes work for different folks, and there is time for everything—a time to laugh and a time to be serious.