He fell in love once.
He told me.
It was the girl who not only made him restless in his sleep but also stole his heart.
If you ask me ‘are they still together?’ At first, I will tell you ‘No’ but the truth is, he let her go.
‘Why?’ You ask again.
At first, I will say ‘I do not know’ but then again, he told me that it was for personal reasons.
He certainly loved the girl. You could see it in his eyes. The way he spoke and his forehead cringed as if he saw something he remembered.
He still has memories of her I bet he would never share. The secret between them.
He never speaks her name. That was another secret.
I was there with him that was how I knew.
I came to the lake to relax and to feed the fish. The sun seemed to be getting hot but the weather was humid. It rained three hours ago. I was dressed to be warm and now I regret it. Underneath my sweater was just my bra so I cannot take it off even if I wanted to.
‘I hope you don’t mind’ the man spoke as he lit his cigar. I thought he was never going to speak while he sat there alone.
I didn’t mind. In fact, I was a smoker, and now, just a passive smoker.
From the corner of my eye, I watched him inhale his stick deeply, his head backward on the blue chair he sat on. He exhaled with relief. I could tell you that he has been smoking for years.
We were quiet for twenty minutes then he brought out another stick.
‘Do you smoke?’ he looked at me.
In his hand, I saw the stick and it wasn’t a cigar. It was a nicely rolled joint.
‘No sir, thank you’. Why would this elderly man smoke weed in the open? As if he read my thought, he continued.
‘I came here, this particular spot for privacy. How about you? Do you live here?’
I looked at him with a smile of kindness. I didn’t want to have a conversation but since it had begun, we could talk some more.
‘No sir, I just come out to the lake to look at the fish. I enjoy the beauty of the view and feeding the fish’
‘Oh, I see’. Then the silence again. A speed boat revved past us and it was beautiful.
‘What do you do?’ he asked with a look of sincerity.
‘I am a final year student studying mass communication. I also sell pure water’
‘Oh, that’s nice. Do you have a boyfriend?’ he continued.
‘Well not really…’ I don’t like to talk to strangers about my personal life.
He told me he loved a girl once but his pride did not let him have her. He doesn’t keep in touch with her because he is no home wrecker.
Now it is my turn to ask. ‘Did she ever love you?’
He looked me in the eye and gave me a knowing smile.
Written by Theodora Ekah