Post by Being Ready And Stable (BRAS) (@brashub)

NNEKA'S DIARY I

I met Kunle at a friend’s birthday party. We got talking, and honestly, anyone would think we had known each other for years. The conversation flowed too naturally for two strangers meeting for the first time.

He was calm, intelligent, and had this confidence that wasn’t loud but impossible to ignore. At some point during the party, I caught myself laughing harder than usual at one of his jokes, and he noticed. He smiled and said, “I like seeing you laugh. It makes you look less serious.”
I rolled my eyes and replied, “Who told you I’m serious?”
“Your face did,” he answered immediately.
We both laughed.

Before leaving that night, we exchanged numbers. As I got into the car, I remember looking back once and seeing him standing beside his friend’s car, watching me leave.
I got home that Saturday night expecting a call from Kunle, but Kunle never called.
The next day, I kept checking my phone more than I should have. Every notification made my heart jump a little, only for me to realize it was someone else. By the third day, I told myself to forget about him. After all, we only met once.
But somehow, I couldn’t.

After a month of not hearing from him, curiosity got the better of me. I finally decided to call the number he gave me, but I was told the number didn’t exist.
I stared at my phone for a while, confused.
Why would a man give me a fake number after acting so interested? Or maybe I wrote it wrongly? I checked repeatedly, but it was exactly the same number he had saved in my phone himself that night.

Then I remembered Kunle mentioning that Priscilla’s husband was his friend. Priscilla is my colleague, though we aren’t exactly close. I attended the birthday party because almost everyone from the office was going.
The next day at work, I kept thinking about how to ask about Kunle — and what Priscilla would think of me.
A whole week passed before I finally gathered the courage.

That morning, I saw Priscilla walking through the office corridor. I stopped her and said, “Priscilla, good morning. How are you and your family?”
“Fine,” she replied.
I went further. “Remember Kunle? I met him at your birthday party about a month ago. He said he’s your husband’s friend.”
Priscilla paused for a second.
“Oh, Mr. Kunle…” she said quietly. “Poor guy. He lost his wife in an accident the day after my birthday. The burial is in a week. You can tag along if you wish. I saw you both talking that day. It’s quite a pity.”
She walked past me.
I almost lost my balance.
Thank God Priscilla didn’t notice.
I heard myself whisper, “Nneka… you were busy falling in love with a married man.”
Was I actually falling in love?
I felt stupid. Betrayed. Angry. Embarrassed.
But strangely… I also felt pain for him.
I honestly couldn’t explain what I was feeling.
Right there in that corridor, I decided I would attend the burial.
Why I made that decision, I honestly do not know.

NNEKA’S DAIRY II drops tomorrow..

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