James was that guy everybody loved while in school. The comforter, the warmth on cold days, the life of the party, the caregiver and the best of it all he was a beautiful soul.
"Baba no worry. I go pay" he's always quick to say.
Some people couldn't help but say that the reason he was loved by almost everyone was that he was from a rich home and was always throwing money around.
But I knew there was more to it than just trying to gain validation from people from spending money. I could see it in his eyes: a boy trying to hide a pain that was weighing him down, a boy trying to fill an empty void in him.
Like a rose beautiful on the outside, but on the inside, he was fighting with the thorns piercing deep within his soul.
I didn't want to pry too much, hence the reason I didn't bother to ask. He was a good friend, the kind I haven't had in a long time. So I wanted to appreciate every moment I spent with him till we were done with college.
One Sunday after church service, I was bored out of my mind. Rolling from one side of my bed to the other. I decided to take a stroll. I got out of bed and started wandering like a traveller without a destination. After some hours, I found myself passing by James' apartment; I decided to swing in and surprise him. I knew I wasn't invited and I hate visiting anyone uninvited because I also didn't like people visiting me uninvited.
But It was James, and I'm sure since I was the one stopping by, he wouldn't mind. Maybe we would play some FIFA on our phones and eat whatever he cooked. James was a great cook too.
Getting to his door, I knocked, and without much effort, the door opened. I knew James to be the type that loved locking up his doors.
"Guy, close my door make mosquitoes no enter my house (close the doors to avoid letting mosquitoes in)", he would always say.
So seeing his doors open was a shock to me. I tried to push it open and something held it back from behind. I poked my head inside his room; his fan was on and was swinging lazily. His room smelled of burning stew. I looked around calling
"James?" But there was no reply.
Then I peeked at the back of the door to know what held the door from opening and lying just behind the door was James unconscious.
"James, what sort of play is this? Get up and let me in" I playfully said to him. But he didn't move nor did he react.
"James," I called again. This time in a serious tone, and when he didn't answer again, I quickly squeezed myself in and tapped him, but there was no movement. Realizing he wasn't playing tricks with me, I quickly checked his pulse, and there was still life. Then I called for help, yelling at the top of my voice.
Soon, his neighbours came running into his apartments, and we lifted him into an already waiting cab called by one of his neighbours. Then we drove him to the nearest hospital.
A few minutes later, we were at the hospital waiting for the doctors to do their best.
After hours of waiting, some left to attend to their various business of the day while I stayed back with two other persons. Then the doctor came out and asked.
"Who amongst you is family here?" He asked.
"None, we're just friends. Can you tell us what it is?"I replied. I couldn't hide the fear in my voice.
"Did he tell you about his kidney condition?" The doctor asked.
I looked from one person to another, speechless with no idea of what the doctor was talking about.
We shook our heads
"Well, your friend hasn't been religiously taking his kidney medication. And that caused what happened to him today. Thank God one of you got to him on time," the doctor said, looking at us.
I guess the news was too heavy on us as none of us had what to say for some seconds.
"Can we see him now?" I asked.
"Yes, sure. The nurse will take you there," the doctor said, pointing to a nurse passing by. "Nurse Mary, take them to see their friend", he said to the nurse.
We got to the room to meet James conscious.
Immediately he saw us, he gave a weak smile.
"I thought you'd abandoned me to pay the bills alone", he joked.
We all forced a smile and nobody talked again for a while. Nobody dared to ask. The news was so overwhelming to us
"Are you guys going to ask or keep pretending like you don't know?" he asked, looking from one person to the other.
"Guy, why you notell anybody? (why didn't you tell anybody?)" I asked.
"Because everyone has their cross to carry. I've lived with a kidney for years now, though I pretend to be strong, but it hasn't been easy. I just don't like pity and putting my cross on anyone's shoulders" he explained, his face filled with emotions.
"But you help others with theirs. Why not let others help you, and why haven't you been taking your drugs?" Jeremiah said.
"Alright, I'm sorry, guys. I'll do better next time", he forced a weak smile again. I guess he was uncomfortable with the talk already. “Can you all stop acting like someone died.”
We all gave him a strong, stern look
"Dude you nearly died!" We chorused.
Sometimes I sit back and try to understand how James finds such strength to make jokes on gloomy days like that. Or how he shows kindness around when he has been battling so much within him. And I just keep understanding one thing - being a rose to everyone is his way of coping with his thorns.