Sometimes, the most important things in life are the connections we make with others. I always believe that as humans we are connected in some ways and even when you come in across someone that is a stranger to you, a little act of love can go a long way.
I could remember there was a time when I was still in secondary school, there was this friend of my cousin that stayed with us, his name is Fidel but we all call him "Brother Fidel", you'd wonder with the prefix attached to his name if he were a clergyman of some sort? No that is not the case.
In my country, especially among the Yoruba tribe which I belong to, when a person is older than you say with about 2 years above, you accord them with respect, starting with their name among other things. For a male, you add brother in front of their name though the correct pronunciation is "Broda" while for a female you add Aunty or sister and that doesn't mean they have to be related to you before you can call them that.
Brother Fidel had a fallout with his parents, I don't know all the details but I learned his mother was late and he isn't on good terms with his stepmom and his half-siblings, I don't know if he was abused but I knew it was a relief for him that he left the house for them. He and my cousin were friends so I guess when he explained his plight to my cousin, he offered to tell my dad on his behalf for him to come stay with us for some time which my father agreed, he was a like 25 years or so at the time he was like a brother to me and my siblings.
When he started staying with us, the connection we all felt with him, I meant the connection with the whole family was way out of this world. This guy is fun to be with, easygoing, and just free as a bird. He helps out a lot, he does things with a smile on his face, he will follow my mom to the market sometimes and carry the load on his head that sometimes even our neighbors are in awe of what an amazing person he is. Whenever we are having a party no matter how big or small, he will take the organization so seriously that you'd wonder if he is an event planner. Did I mention this guy cooks? Oh, he had a special way of preparing food that you would lick the plate and ask for more.
Whenever I come back from school, my siblings and I are always eager to see him, there was a time he went for a project then and wasn't around for a week, my siblings and I were just disturbing my parents as to his whereabouts. I once cried and refused to eat because I thought my dad had also chased him out because I once heard my dad talking to him one night and was saying that it's not that his presence is a bother to him or any of us but he wants to know his stance with his family if he was ever going back to them which Brother Fidel replied that he isn't but he is working on how to stand on his feet and my dad replied that whenever he is ready he would support him with whatever he could.
Since I overheard their conversation, I thought he had left but my dad assured me he went for some project and that he will be back. People around were just asking us, where is Fidel? His he no longer staying with u? We assured them that he will be back. He did come back and he said he wants to move on as he had gotten a job in another state. I felt a stab of pain in my heart as the thought of him no longer staying with us was just unbearable. The day he left, I cried uncontrollably as if somebody had died. My parents consoled me all to no avail and when he promised he would visit from time to time, I was a bit happy that I would get to see him again. He thanked us all and we all escorted him to the park where he boarded a bus and left.
He gave my parents his contact and we do call him from time to time on my dad's phone as neither I nor my siblings has a phone at the time. It went on for about some months or so then my cousin came back one day with a sad face, his eyes were red, a sign that he had been crying. I heard my parents whispering to themselves about whether they should tell us or not and they later decided on the former and told us Brother Fidel was involved in a ghastly accident on his way to work that morning and he died instantly. I guess the company he works were able to reach his family who in turn told my cousin.
When I heard the news, I couldn't breathe, it was as if a part of my soul is gone. I cried for days, I felt so down. Everyone was mourning. Our neighbors too felt it so deep because this person was so amazing that he'd capture the heart of everyone around. After about two weeks, on a weekend, my cousin came with a guy and told us he is Brother Fidel's half-brother, I didn't even bother to listen to what he had to say, I just went inside. I don't know what he discussed with my family and I didn't bother to ask. After a while, he left and we never heard from him again.
When I saw this week's prompt, my mind went directly to Brother Fidel and I debated within myself whether to share this story or not because I was still shedding tears while writing this and even though it's been years now, I could never forget that amazing person and his impact in our lives.
Thank you all for reading.