I Got My Heart Broken in Dubai

I have been battling with storage on my iPhone for months now and it’s making me regret my purchase decision. Before this phone, I had a 256GB iPhone. But when I wanted to upgrade to a newer model the last time I travelled, I got a 64GB iPhone because I barely used up to 32GB on the last one so it made sense to downgrade with storage, right? WRONG. Thing is when I had my 256GB phone, I was just using the phone as a phone — calls, texts, WhatsApp and Instagram. Now, I’m doing a lot more with my phone. It has become my primary work tool.

Anyway, here I am trying to delete old photos from my photo library so I can have more space on my phone. In the process of selecting, I have come across some pictures I took in Dubai in 2018. They have brought back so many fun memories. One picture, however, brought back memories of a heartbreak.

In 2018, I was in Dubai for an MBA training. I wrote about it here. It was my second time in Dubai but this time, I was there alone (first time was with my family). After my training, I had some extra days to unwind. I had a list of places to go to — desert safari, At The Top (Burj Khalifa), Dubai Aquarium, the mall and more. I decided, last minute, to join some of my classmates who also stayed back after the training for the desert safari.

When we got to the camp (typically the last part of the desert safari), I met HIM. I had seen him from a distance and my goodness, he was fine! But I noticed he was with a lady so I mourned my loss and kept it moving. When we got to our seats and sat down, I looked around and there he was. This fine glass of chocolate was sitting behind me! Was this fate? I had no idea. I was soooo smitten. I kept looking for an excuse to turn back just to have a look. Everytime I did, I caught his eyes. It seemed he was interested too. The glances continued for a while and I think my classmates noticed. We even talked about how cute he was, to the annoyance of the guys in our group.

After the show at the camp, everyone got up to dance. I really didn’t want to because I was shy but Weyinmi and the others insisted. This cute guy got up to dance too! I must have turned red from blushing. Oh my goodness. I am smiling from cheek to cheek remembering this. Anyway, after dancing, it was time to leave so we started walking out of the camp. And then my crazy classmates did something. The guys among us went to talk to this guy and I was dragged along! We found out he was Nigerian (Yoruba to be precise), lived in Barcelona and was planning to visit Nigeria in some weeks for Christmas. Immediately the guys found out he was Yoruba, they switched from English to Yoruba and I almost died. It was tooo funny.

After the guys (my classmates) told him that I liked him, they got me to talk to him. His voice made me weak. He told me his name (I have forgotten it now), I told him mine and we exchanged numbers. Or well I gave him my number. My phone had died so I couldn’t get his. We took some pictures afterwards and then went to our respective vehicles. Remember I said this young man was with a lady when I first spotted him? She instantly became invisible to all of us! The guys didn't care when they took me to him or got us to take pictures. I started feeling bad afterwards. But I dismissed it and couldn’t wait to get back to my hotel to charge my phone so I could get a call or message.

I waited for days for a call, text or WhatsApp. Nothing. Oh the heartbreak! I was so confused and hurt at first. At first, I told myself that I must have typed my number wrongly in excitement and that’s why I hadn’t heard from him. Later, I said maybe my classmates and I came on too strong and he only got my number so he could get rid of us. I mean it wasn’t possible that he’ll have MY number and not call. A whole me! As I babe reach? No way. I finally decided he was playing the waiting game and I decided to be patient till Christmas since he had said he was coming to Nigeria. I figured he wanted to wait to call when he was in Nigeria. I wish that was true.

It’s July 2020 and there hasn’t been a call or text. When we all got back to Nigeria, some of my classmates asked if he had called and I said No. I searched through hashtags and location tags on Instagram to see if he had somehow taken pictures and posted. Nothing. Someone even offered to post our picture on Twitter. In her words, “Twitter will find him”. But I was too shy and embarrassed so I declined.

I wonder what happened. Did I really give him a wrong number? Was the lady with him his girlfriend who got upset and demanded he deleted my number? I mean me and my classmates had crafted a wedding hashtag and talked about being featured on BellaNaija Weddings and who’ll give a toast at our wedding. We even talked about how beautiful our kids will be. What happened?! I need closure!

Oh and by the way, I ended up not deleting as much pictures as I planned to. I couldn’t bring myself to do it because I have a lot of beautiful memories. I need to make up my mind and delete them or upgrade to another phone with a higher storage capacity because I’m running out of space! Decisions, decisions.