Standing over my window, over looking the wet mist fumes of the early morning dew evaporate into the morning light, I wished for a great day. It was february 13th valentine’s eve, I was hoping that for once this val will be better. For years now my valentine’s day have all ended on a solemn note, a sober mood, with nothing to celebrate except a fulfilled heart.
I was returning from the well, 3 houses away where I went to fetch water when a little voice greeted me.”Good morning sir”, I turned and replied, good morning boy.”You are always in a hurry to the lecture room, this is the first time you are replying my greeting in over a year now, it means the end is near”. I was stunned, what do u mean?I asked him. Will you be my val? he said. I smiled but, just then the father of the boy came out of the house- He turned out to be my “MCB” Lecturer! What a co-incidence! He was surprised to see me too, we greeted and he told me a little about his son, TIMI–“He is an SS (Sickle Cell anaemia patient), his mother my wife died from the same illness some years Ago”: he said sadly. I stood there in bewilderment, at how such an intelligent boy will soon die at such a young age.
I came back early from lectures that day, the thought of the dying boy did not make me concentrate, my memory was clouded. In school, my friends reminded me of the faculty party coming up the next day february 14th, my girlfriend had also been planning big for our most romantic date ever, also on Valentine, for me I was not sure anymore. I went straight to Timi’s house, there I found the doctor battling to save his life, his condition had worsened. I held his hands, he opened his eyes and smiled. It was 1pm, we talked about his late mum, his school, his ambitions and my family till 10pm that night. When I rose to leave, he gave me a book titled “Flying with the Angels” and asked me to read it soonest. I was tired when I reached my hostel so I went straight To bed..At exactly 5am a loud voice resonated in my room, I jolted from Sleep but saw no one except the book Timi gave me. I opened the first chapter, it read; “My own valentine ended on february 13th”. I turned to the back page: “Thanks for the love,GOODBYE”. When I checked the Author, it was him! The 7yr old Timi wrote it! Like someone deranged, I bolted out of the room, running carelessly towards his house, hoping I will salvage whatever is left , but I halted in my tracks midway through, there I could see Timi’s father my lecturer sitted outside, crying profusely, weeping uncontrollably, I did not bother to go closer Or ask, it was crystal clear, obvious. The worst had happened, at exactly [11:58pm February 13th] 2mins to valentine’s day; Timi had died.
Now mentally imbalanced, I wandered into the woods that valentine, wondering If timi is truly flying with the angels as he had written in his book, maybe if I knew him earlier and showed him love he would have lived a little longer, his brilliance, his dreams, his hopes all gone, his father was always too busy to have time for him, I thought of others like him that needed love on their death bed but had none, tears flowed freely from my eyes. My girlfriend and my friends called me 43times that valentine, all to no avail.
The next day I apologised to my friends but I refused to tell them what happend the previous day. My girlfriend was in tears, the best thing to do was break up, I remember she told me I just can’t love a girl, it didn’t matter, I was getting used to these kind of unstable relationships -comittment is a big Issue I thought .I was at fault so I pleaded with her to forgive me, she said nothing. Late Timi was still on my mind, so I left. I determined there and then, that my next valentine’s day must be a happy one, away from sadness, to more fun, but I was wrong. The next two valentine saw me and others sharing The Holy Bible to prison inmates, donating to an orphanage and trying to give hope to the hopeless. It wasn’t all fun but it was fulfilling.
*PS :- Valentine is NOT only a time to show love to those closest to you because you will always have Them. It is also a period to show love to those who need love the most but have no one to love them, for you may not have them for long. Finally, It’s a time to sacrifice, to love those who can never love you back. For me, everyday is a valentine. The circle continues.
NOTE: Pic a mild depiction of original character for the sake of this real story.
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