12/08/2022
DIARY OF A STUDENT 1
It all started when she gained admission into the university.
That was the greatest thing she wished for. Though it was evident, but her joy was due to the fact that it came at the right time.
It came at that dark period of her life when she needed a new environment. It was at that period when she needed a reason to run away. Not just a reason to flee, also a safe place to seek shelter from the darkness creeping into her cold heart. Running was the only way to prevent that darkness from taking over her.
The good news meant more than studying her dream course in her dream university. The beauty of it was that it brought rays of freedom. Freedom from a boring life, freedom from her strict parents, especially from her nagging mother and vengeful grandmother.
Those set of people she called family were only focused on making her life miserable. They made her felt like a demon and treated her like a stranger.
Her parents were the worst thing in her life. She had even gone tired of their tantrums and endless drama. It was just like those ' seasonal indian movies'
According to her, they were " a couple of psychopathic ignoramus and eccentric idiots". She could even remember when she told one of her teachers in secondary school that her parents are " two confused identities" That wasn't even enough, she went ahead to tag them " Two derained and parallel roads meeting at point"
It didn't make sense to her. Nothing did, not even her life. It all felt like an endless charade, that would continue for eternity.
There were so many things she HATED about her parents, so many questions she wanted to ask and so many confessions she wanted to make.
But she always remained mute like a mannequin. Most times she tried to speak, yet the words get stucked in her throat. They refuse to come out. Maybe that was for the best; to avoid more dramas.
It didn't shock her much on her sixteeth birthday when she found out that she was the little mistake that brought her parents together. The only thing the news did to her was to increase her bitterness and self hate.
That chapter of boredom, angst and darkness had been closed in her life. There was nothing more than to enjoy the sweet moments while it lasted.
Gone are those days when she hid in her room crying, even when it was her mum that received the blows from her father.
It was all in the past. Watching her mum insulting her father and cursing him bitterly. That chapter had been closed.
She had regained freedom from her dark cage and felt like a cuckoo on the loose.
She was either clubbing, reading or hanging out with her friends. It felt good being free and happy. It felt good being cheerful and lively. And that was enough for her.
She couldn't say for sure if things became better or worse when she met Charles. Charles wasn't the most handsome dude in campus, but he had that air of mystery and majesty around him. Within few weeks, she had fallen in love with Charles, who was a pl***oy.
On the other hand was the rich and disciplined Tunde, who disturbed her, day and night; begging for her attention and love.
She couldn't even take forty winks without thinking about Dr Isaiah, who had threatened to make her life miserable If she didn't give in to his demands.
That wasn't the freedom she wanted, she thought, as she stared into darkness and bit her lips hardly...to be continued.
Elijah E. Ebute
Ebute Writers Society Fuwukari magazine
