UI DIARIES (EPISODE 6)

EPISODE 6

Like a lulling sound, the zooming of cars passing by sounded rhythmic. To and fro, they zapped along like fireflies at night looking for their mates. Resting my head on a tree, I closed my eyes as occasional birds chirped from the nearest tree. It had been a stressful day at the faculty. The stairs, the lectures, and even the copious notes, it seemed as if the day was never going to end and I still had a class to go before the day was finally over.

Looking back now, I couldn’t seem to strike a balance on what I had planned for my day and how it had turned out, I had forgotten an assignment I was supposed to turn in for my first class and eventually had to do it all over again. It even got worse when I was caught sleeping in Dr Charles’ class and I was asked to stand in front of the class for two periods. As if it couldn’t get any worse, the heels of my sandals got missing during a struggle for front row seats, this left me no option but to hobble around the faculty for the rest of the day. Stretching my spine, I decided to take a quick nap before my friends came to get me for the next class. I had only closed my eyes for a minute when a shadow loomed over me. Snapping my eyes open, I reached for my bag instantly ready to give in to my fight or flight instinct.

The shadow turned out to be an outline of a man in his early twenties perhaps. His shoulder had a slight sag to it as he sat on the dead log of wood beside me, he balanced a laptop on his knees and titled his head in my direction, I couldn’t get a read on him, his broad shoulders was covered in a denim jacket with a baseball cap covering half of his face, shifting away from the edge of the log, I hitched my bag on my shoulder.

“You scared me half to death”, I challenged in a wavering voice.

“Oh! I’m sorry”, came an oddly steady baritone voice. He opened his laptop getting ready to work. I stared at him openly trying to see his face under the cap. Noticing the obvious stare, he looked and and shrugged his shoulders in question. Ashamed for being caught, I gave my attention to the road again as cars zoomed past, I rested my right shoulder on the tree behind when his voice boomed beside me

“Why are you sitting here all alone?”

“Alone?. Who says I’m all alone. I have nature around me?”

Laughing softly, He asked “And that is a good thing?”

“Why yes it is. Being at peace with creatures that God made to be Man’s companion”.

“And why not choose other ‘Men’ as your companion instead of beings that can’t feel or talk?”

Turning to him, I answered ” I’m fine being here alone so I don’t see how that is a problem. I’m not lonely”

Rubbing his left hand across his cheeks, he opined ” Actually, I think being alone and lonely are two different things entirely. You can be alone and not be lonely whereas you can be lonely and not being alone”.

(To be continued.. Comments are highly needed… Thanks)