As I sat on our porch, dressed in my graduation suit. It was a navy blue suit and a black shirt with a navy blue trousers to match. My shoe sparkled In the early morning sun like it was polished by a military man. My arms were rested on my knees and my head rested in-between both palms. There had been a slight rain earlier so the smell of rain against the earth filled my nose. I closed my eyes a bit as I took in that weird but natural smell.
Deep within me I felt a bit of happiness and sadness. It all seemed like it was Interwined to each other in exact same proportion that I couldn't even tell which feeling was bigger than the other. So I could try suppress one and make do with the other. . Was it the sadness or was it the excitement. I was excited because I was about to walk across the stage and receive my high school certificate that proved that I have scaled through the midlife journey of education. And about to push further for the bigger part of education which was college.
But at the same time, I was sad that my eldest sister and closest friend, Aunty Chi, who was one of my biggest motivation and inspiration wouldn't be there to share that moment with me. One part of me didn't blame her though because she lived in another state, thousands of miles away. I had called her to plead but despite my pleas for her to take the day off from work and attend my graduation since it was in a Saturday, she still couldn't make it. I really wanted her there.
I sat there, lost in my thoughts. My Dad was running late, and that was so unlike him, I checked my wristwatch and we were few minutes past the time for the ceremony to start. I didn't want to be late so I called on him to hasten up. I stared at he birds in my mum's garden, as the hopped and chirped. One was feeding on Mum's grains. I stood up and shushed them away with the wave of my hands and stamp of my feet on the floor. Then I watched as the flew into the sky. Taking a deep breath I checked my watch again and sat back down.
Then suddenly, i perceived a familiar fragrance. It was the same cologne that Aunty Chi had worn for the past five years, a scent I was all too familiar with. I had even told her how much I loved the fragrance, and she had gifted me an almost finished bottle of it. Promising to get me a smaller one since it was too costly.
Just as I was trying to figure out who was wearing the same perfume, a hand covered my eyes from behind, but instead of getting scared I breathed in. I could still perceive the cologne in that hand. I smiled and then a voice that was all too familiar asked,
"Guess who?"
I didn't need to guess; I knew it was Aunty Chi. Immediately I broke free from her grasp and turned around to give her a tight hug.
"Aunty Chi, what are you doing here? I thought you couldn't make it!" I exclaimed in surprise.
"Well, I couldn't bear the thought of missing your graduation, so I took a bus home last night and stayed inside my room until this morning, just to surprise you," she replied with a warm smile.
I tried holding back the tears as the gradually filled my eyes as I hugged her even tighter.
"And nobody told me?" I asked looking at my Dad who was already coming out of the house smiling.
"She asked us not to" Dad replied as he walked past us.
To think that she had planned the surprise with everyone at home and nobody told me. Not even dad who I had borrowed his phone to call her. It was the first time I was surprised by someone. My love for her grew even more in that moment.
"Well I'm really surprised. Thank you for being here" I said and hugged her again.
"Can we go now, I'm sure you don't want to be late for your graduation" Aunty Chi said.
My earlier mood of ambivalence ceased as we drove to my school. I finally was able to suppress one emotions and let the other flow.
My graduation ceremony was a success and a happy one for me. As I walked across the stage, to receive my certificate. And as everyone in my family cheered and clapped for me.