In case you haven’t seen, heard or spoken to Worry before,
we will knock at your doorsteps soon;
I will introduce him to you and please get ready to offer a handshake.
Prayer is around the corner too, the procession of welcome is almost underway.
You’ll get a lifetime opportunity to shake hands, give an embrace,
discuss deeply and have dinner with these two folks.
Please, with two hearty cheers, join me to welcome Prayer.
He has been watching and waiting for me to bring him onboard. Let me
quickly share with you how we met each other.
One fateful day, I came strolling into this planet earth through the well
of a gorgeous woman.
She’d been so kind to keep me inside herself--a nourishing and safe place
for 250+ days was after I had qualified by winning the fight against some
billion other sperms.
It was tough but I will feel the thrill of victory even after tomorrow.
Before I finally made it through, my parents had
partnered with Prayer so intimately, they had dined and wined endlessly at his
table, my mum especially usually got drunk many times at his banquet.
So, I think Prayer must have been present to witness the first drop of my blood in
the hospital.
As my teeth tripled and my legs grew stronger, Prayer
decided that it was high time I knew about his history, livelihood and plans
for the future.
Hey, dear reader! Let me give you a seat to enjoy the
crunchy lines of my conversation with Prayer. Give me your hand as we take a
quick walk. Great!
It was one beautiful afternoon in the year 2003. The
dance of sun rays into my eyes was healthy and the tongue of the sunlight
licked my wet armpit.
Suddenly, I got a tap on my shoulder. Immediately I
jumped to my feet like a recruit awakened to the sound of war.
we will knock at your doorsteps soon;
I will introduce him to you and please get ready to offer a handshake.
Prayer is around the corner too, the procession of welcome is almost underway.
You’ll get a lifetime opportunity to shake hands, give an embrace,
discuss deeply and have dinner with these two folks.
Please, with two hearty cheers, join me to welcome Prayer.
He has been watching and waiting for me to bring him onboard. Let me
quickly share with you how we met each other.
One fateful day, I came strolling into this planet earth through the well
of a gorgeous woman.
She’d been so kind to keep me inside herself--a nourishing and safe place
for 250+ days was after I had qualified by winning the fight against some
billion other sperms.
It was tough but I will feel the thrill of victory even after tomorrow.
Before I finally made it through, my parents had
partnered with Prayer so intimately, they had dined and wined endlessly at his
table, my mum especially usually got drunk many times at his banquet.
So, I think Prayer must have been present to witness the first drop of my blood in
the hospital.
As my teeth tripled and my legs grew stronger, Prayer
decided that it was high time I knew about his history, livelihood and plans
for the future.
Hey, dear reader! Let me give you a seat to enjoy the
crunchy lines of my conversation with Prayer. Give me your hand as we take a
quick walk. Great!
It was one beautiful afternoon in the year 2003. The
dance of sun rays into my eyes was healthy and the tongue of the sunlight
licked my wet armpit.
Suddenly, I got a tap on my shoulder. Immediately I
jumped to my feet like a recruit awakened to the sound of war.
Yes, it was Prayer! The opening of his mouth, the
widening of his jaws and the enigmatic depth of his voice were remarkable, I
had to catch my breath.
Prayer had this gentle impression and calm fingers; he
touched my fearful heart and told me to relax.
I summoned courage within, but my chin was shaking.
Prayer told me about his work and gave me a detailed
list of his job description.
He shared with me his kind of clothes selection,
culture, values system, partners, colleagues, hangout preferences and so on.
Prayer continued, “I liked white clothes from the
beginning, but as men increased, my database of friends exploded.
As most men desired to divide my 24-hours between themselves, my white robes daily got
soiled.
So I stopped wearing white clothes. Now, I wear some not-so-sweet-kind-of colour.
For this, many struggle so hard to stay up with me for
an extended time, they activate ‘sleep mode’ at my appearing. I applaud a few
who have not thrown in the towel.”
At a point, Prayer said that his feet had touched
almost every soil and city on earth.
Right there, my legs froze and my eyes continuously blinked for a few minutes.
Prayer can hang out anywhere; you can find Him in
every nook and cranny or in the blue spread of the ocean.
Prayer can conveniently work with top officials such as CEOs, professionals, middle-class
citizens and even the lowest within the low.
No discrimination, no prejudice and no segregation!
“Till infinity, I am incomparable with all big-talking
rivals, against all swaggering big names; against all giant sequoias hugely towering,
and against the expansive chestnut; against Kilimanjaro and Annapurna, against
the ranges of Alps and Andes; against every soaring skyscraper, against all
proud statues; against ocean-going luxury liners, against elegant three-masted
schooners”, Prayer affirmed.
As my ears caught the tempo of each word, I continuously jerked and kicked like
a foetus wrapped up in the womb.
Those words caused ripples in my head. The lines pushed me out of my shoes and peeled
off my socks.
‘Do you have any colleague and where do you stay?’ I asked Prayer.
Quickly, He said, ‘I live in every heart and in every home,
though many don’t realize my presence, they speak to me when they make a wish
and use me when they are out of the way and need something to get them back on
track.’
My special colleagues are majorly thoughts, words and
sacrifice. All other friends take instructions from these three folks.
Ah, Hi Prayer!
…
I came face to face with Worry when I was 11 years
old. It was the year I was prepping to enter high school.
Everything I did that year had a link to my examinations.
It was a Friday evening; the gentle breeze was good
music for my skin. I lay thoughtfully on my bed, with my legs gently placed
across the wall.
Suddenly, my eyes got into trouble with a fly.
As my hands and eyes exchanged pleasantries to remove this stubborn fly out of my
eyes, I began to hear a chorus of joyous steps through the walkway that leads
into our living room.
It was Worry!
Worry made it through the scanty living room, straight
ahead, he knocked the door of my room like the loud sound of ants’ feet on a
terrazzo floor;
I jumped out of my bed, motioned to the door, there I saw Worry
in a white blouse and shiny trouser.
The robe had a mix of short silver linings on its hem
and a long belt. His face was welcoming, with an unmistakable broken nose.
“Was it difficult for you to get my location?” I didn’t wait to ask.
Worry smiled and said, “Your house is one of the easiest to
locate among all the houses I have visited in the country.”
I walked Worry to a chair in my room; he crossed his
legs and quickly fed his eyes, going through the length and breadth of my room.
I tiptoed to the other side of my room, took out 2 glass cups and we sipped
chilled orange juice out of it.
Like the dice in a ludo game, Worry began and tossed a
question with six faces to me in split seconds. For 5 minutes, my erratic mind
paced to and fro for answers.
‘Ah, this guy must be so intelligent’, I mused. I was
so engrossed in this first-time conversation with Worry that I dished out all
of my concentration.
I like making new friends anyway, so I decided to give it a shot.
Worry showed me a beautiful map of how our
relationship could blossom. The map was strategic, strange and enigmatic; I was
curious to lean in and learn more.
So, we had a nice tour for a few minutes
that day. It was eventful and worth the time to nourish a new relationship.
I gladly welcomed Worry after that day. He became a
dear friend and my door was opened to him 24 hours daily and 7 days weekly.
In fact, he was so committed to me that he never skipped a visit, not even on
February 29 of a leap year.
After 1 month, I got introduced to his colleagues (you
will find out more about them as we progress).
Finding the path to his street was a pushover, but leaving Worry’s street and return
to my residence wasn’t rosy.
The journey uphill was steep and tedious. The easy ride to Worry’s house
was good, I started visiting too because the cost of not seeing and gisting
with my new friend was a breach on our comradeship.
Perhaps you aren’t aware, Worry has more than 2 ears,
more hands, numerous mouths, legs and a very gentle heart.
A gentle heart? Relax, Worry will speak for himself.
We became so close that we showered together
sometimes; we had several planned and unplanned dates.
I introduced him to some of my friends too; we went on stage
for public presentations together;
we flew in planes and alighted from buses together.
Worry mastered my footprints so well, that he could
find out who I spoke to, who ruined my day, what thoughts I was about to act
upon, where I lay and the best way to knock.
For big events, Worry became my right-hand man.
Fortunately, I have never seen Worry get tired or lazy, though usually hungry.
For the next 2 years of our friendship, I daily heard
people saying “don’t worry”.
It rang in my ears like people saying, “Worry, stop!”
So, why is everyone speaking ill of Worry? After all,
Worry told me that they all secretly dine with him in their homes, at work, in
parties and in the train.
I was even more curious because I seldom hear any
good news about Worry from people.
Does Worry have a different appearance when visiting others?
Who gave birth to Worry and where is his grandfather’s house? I wanted
to know his reach, depth, width and height.
My curiosity grabbed me from behind, it gave me speed in the right direction;
Worry jumped in and put in my bare hands the nuts and bolts that control his attitude.
Friends, I will share as many of these nuts and bolts
as I can in this piece.
See, Worry doesn’t sleep! He had slept his whole life
years ago, now he will be wide awake for generations to come.
Today, he has access to every home; he has worked with princes and lived with paupers.
He has walked the alley of kingdoms, palaces and dynasty.
He has thrived far and wide.
Ah, Hello Worry!