Do You Remember?
I contemplated not posting this piece for a while because while it’s an appreciation letter to my friend, it is also the most vulnerable piece of me that you will see online.
I chose to do otherwise. Cheers to acknowledging and celebrating pure love!
Do you remember?
The day we first met?
It was on a sunny Sunday afternoon;
One that would birth a beautiful friendship.
I came over to talk to you,
But when we would reminisce much later,
You would say, it was you who did.
Do you remember?
How on this same day,
We helped each other settle into this new school of ours.
And after we had laid each other’s bed,
We prayed and shared comforting bible scriptures with each other.
I look back and see how easily we clicked. That rarely happens with me.
Do you remember?
When and how, we came to call each other best friends?
Well, I don’t.
I guess it’s one of those moments that happens without you noticing.
Do you remember?
In Jss2, you taught me the song “You are my all in all“.
We performed it together on Social Night,
Timidly yet beautifully.
And we received our deserved round of applause,
We would later go on to perform a lot of duets together.
Do you remember?
The late night gist tradition?
About dreams and goals, people and boys.
We would leave no detail out. It was hard to do so.
Those moments were pure, undiluted. Free from the stress of adulthood and university life.
Those nights, grew to accommodate two more wonderful people — Solarin and Amarachi.
I would pay heavily to bask in these experiences again.
I remember,
How intentional we were about our friendship.
We would always make sure to sit close to each other, EVERYWHERE.
It helped strengthen our bond,
And people came to consider us twins.
I hate that the world has stolen that naivety.
How, now, one has to tone down their expression of love,
Because of the fear of being taken for granted…
… I crave such naivety again.
I remember,
Embarrassing moments. Self-esteem shredding experiences.
But amidst the sneers and laughs from others,
I knew you were always on my side.
Sometimes all we need is one person, one person cheering us on.
“I love your skin. It makes you so beautiful”
Those words. Those words helped me see myself as God saw me.
I came to love my dark skin tone.
I came to own myself.
We would sit and talk about how we had never come to argue in our 4 years of friendship.
Now it’s 8years and I still wonder, “How?”.
I suppose we knew how to speak kindly to each other on matters that we desired change.
We would talk about dreams,
dreams we had, dreams we still have,
dreams we are now making reality.
I bless God for CJPAC and our parents. They gave me the chance to meet you.
You had an amazing work ethic.
Which I exemplified in Jss3.
Saviour Kole-Jones, would later say in SSS3,
That academically, the Elizabeth(me) he knew in Jss2, wasn’t the one he met in Jss3.
You played a huge role in that.
We entered SSS3, and our bond only got stronger.
You would sit on Solarin’s bed and Amarachi on mine.
Then, we would talk the night away, sharing the sweetest gist we had.
Gosh. Nostalgia.
I came to love spending evenings in the school’s uncompleted building.
And I succeeded in dragging you along — sometimes.
There, you spoke about personal experiences you had gone through — It brought about a much deeper connection with you.
I would always remember,
Blue house box room.
Few weeks to our graduation,
The E4 sisters (I’m not laughing, I promise) gathered somberly.
We weren’t happy we were going to separate, so we made promises to each other.
Promises we haven’t fulfilled and we understand why.
Do you remember?
You are that Sister.
Many people advise on holding close, irreplaceable friends.
And anytime you come to mind,
It is deep-seated in my heart, that you are that friend.
Do you remember? — January 2020?
Two years after our graduation, we planned to meet at the Awesome Youth Summit.
I saw you from a distance and ran. You ran too.
Later on, I would sit and think about how every moment with you is pure and unpretentious.
That, I’ll always remember.
Though distance separates us,
I know that as we meet again and again,
Our eyes will dilate in excitement of a new moment to be shared.
Just like it did in January, 2020.
I sit here in the wee hours of the 25th of March, 2022, typing all this.
And I wonder how we spoke and acted in such wisdom — at such young age.
You taught me to love unashamedly — this would later become one of key values.
This thing we shared?
I pray for it in new relationships that will come my way,
Both platonic and romantic,
And trust me not to settle for less.
I know you won’t either.
I loved how I could be completely free with you
And always know that all I said was safe with you.
You would always tell me the truth, kindly.
Every moment with you was an opportunity to learn.
To moments shared,
And memories that will be shared.
To my small but mighty,
And my personal friend.
To Esther Akinwunmi.
I love you more than you can imagine,
And will always give you your flowers.
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