The Thing I Never Told You

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The Thing I Never Told You I have kept this secret for eleven years. Eleven years of laughing with you at parties, of being the first person you called when things went wrong, of sitting across from you at that small suya spot on Allen Avenue where we always ordered the same thing. Eleven years of knowing that the version of me you loved was built, in part, on a lie. Let me start from the beginning. Chidi and I met in 2009 at a cramped cybercafé in Surulere. We were both second-year students at UNILAG, both broke, both pretending we weren't. He was printing an assignment he hadn't started yet, and I was watching him spiral into quiet panic, and something about that made me laugh. Not at him — just at the whole situation. The absurdity of it. He looked at me, and then he laughed too, and that was it. That fast. That simple. By our final year, Chidi was the person I trusted most in the world. More than my brothers. More, honestly, than myself. In 2013, we both applied ...
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If Only She Was Given a Listening Ear

She was lonely and needed someone to talk to and keep her company. The only option that was available to her that cold evening was to visit her neighbour's house upstairs to see if she could be of help. Yes, she needed a shoulder to hang on to and someone with whom she can share her feelings.

But on knocking the door, the neighbor from inside asked who she was. She identified herself and opened up her heart to the neighbor, telling her what her plight was.

"I am feeling lonely as there's nobody in my house to keep me company. Could you please let me in so I can feel warmth with you? " she begged.

"I'm sorry old woman, I'm busy." The neighbor responded with a degree of politeness in her tone.
She apologized for disturbing her peace and left feeling distraught.

The next evening, a call from a friend was put through to the inconsiderate neighbour, asking whether she's aware of the old woman who committed suicide in the same building she's living in.

Startled, she hurried outside to confirm and was shocked to discover that it was the same woman who had come to seek solace from her the previous evening which she wrote off in the name of busyness.

Just then, it became a case of "had I known, I would have let her in. I would have saved her from dying."
A feeling of remorse grabbed her and refused to let go for a long time.

Now, to you who is reading this story, I have few questions for you.
How do you treat those around you who look lonely and who sometimes struggle to seek your audience and attention. Do you give them a listening ear? Or do you rebuff them? Does your attitude repel them? Are you considerate enough to notice when someone is not in his or her best elements and seek ways to reach out to that one to see if you could render any help?

As much as it is important for us to mind our businesses, we should also look for the interest of others around us. —Philippians 2:3-4.

You never can tell how many lives you can save by being considerate of others. Again, by not only appearing approachable and accommodating, but by actually going out of your way to accommodate others, especially the lonely ones instead of rebuffing them, you'll experience true happiness.

Jesus assures you of such a satisfying experience by stating that there's more happiness in giving than there is in receiving.—Acts 20:35.

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The Thing I Never Told You

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The Thing I Never Told You I have kept this secret for eleven years. Eleven years of laughing with you at parties, of being the first person you called when things went wrong, of sitting across from you at that small suya spot on Allen Avenue where we always ordered the same thing. Eleven years of knowing that the version of me you loved was built, in part, on a lie. Let me start from the beginning. Chidi and I met in 2009 at a cramped cybercafé in Surulere. We were both second-year students at UNILAG, both broke, both pretending we weren't. He was printing an assignment he hadn't started yet, and I was watching him spiral into quiet panic, and something about that made me laugh. Not at him — just at the whole situation. The absurdity of it. He looked at me, and then he laughed too, and that was it. That fast. That simple. By our final year, Chidi was the person I trusted most in the world. More than my brothers. More, honestly, than myself. In 2013, we both applied ...
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