The first time I wanted to get married, I was eleven years old. We had traveled to my village, Umuago, for the Christmas festivities. That Christmas in 1998 was one of the best Christmases in my entire life.
I was playing with young boys my age in a relative's living room when I saw her. This beautiful 10-year old girl. Ozioma was fine, so fine that we wrestled and jostled for her attention. She had come back from Lagos, was soft-spoken and had this calm mien around her.
We connected. She fancied me as I fancied her and soon, we were inseparable, sitting apart, gisting, smiling, laughing - totally enamored by each other. I believed I have found my one true love and declared to everyone that we will get married. 😂 Soon, everyone started recognizing us as a couple - they will put our meals together in one plate and we will eat together. 🥰
As the New Year beckoned, I was seized by immense sadness. My honeymoon was about to be cut short. The night before we were to leave the village for Onitsha, she gave me her address - which I still have, burnt into my brain. We bade our goodbyes and promised to stay in touch. How, I could not tell. This was way before GSM and before I could even understand a pen-pal relationship.
On our way back from the village, my Dad asked me. "Uzo, did I hear that you are getting married?" I was awash with embarrassment and muttered a half-hearted "Yes" under my breath to his amusement. I could not understand why my marriage would be making him laugh.
I have never set eyes on Ozioma since. The following Christmas, she did not return - the relative she was living with in Lagos said she has gone to be with her parents. All my queries that year and the years that followed, led to a dead end.
My encounter with Ozioma was brief - just a week - but she is one of the highlights of my childhood. May God continue to bless her wherever she may be. 🙏❤️