The African saying, “between two friends, even water drunk together is sweet enough” is the best way to describe my relationship with Damilola; though my seatmate and friend, I could confidently call her a sister during my high school days. How we actually became friends is what I still find hard to explain but I just realized that we got on famously, in fact, what we shared was mutual and wonderful. When the rest of the world worked out of my life, she walked in and became the sister I never had. In fact, saying that my high school days were worth a while is an understatement considering how caring and good natured she was; I can confidently say that she was indeed more family than my blood. One among the many good qualities she had which endeared me to her is that fact that she was honest, trustworthy and a good listener. Countless times, I had cried on her shoulder concerning the problems I was passing through, Damilola would listen, wipe my tears that often flows like water from a fountain, assuring me that all will be well. Even when I drifted, she was there to put me back on track. She exemplifies this by calling me aside to advise me on the dangers of my actions. Sometimes, I ask myself why she loved me so much despite the fact that I was not as concerned about her, as she was about me. She knows my moods; when I was happy, sad and even afraid. She is one who respects the things I love, the things I fear as well as the things I detest.
Ah! How can I forget how open hearted she was in fact, saying that she left a space for me in her heart where I could tuck in anytime I wanted, is an understatement. She was one who totally accepted everything about me. For this reason, I felt so comfortable around her to the extent of letting every aspect of my personality out, as I found it difficult to hold myself back. We often spent enough time in each other’s company, sharing sweet moments both in school and after school. She was the only friend my mother accepted to our house because of her beautiful qualities that was also glaring and visible, even to a blind man. Often times, my mummy while advising me would always use Damilola as an example. She is one person who forgives me for almost anything because she always tries to understand the reasons I acted the way I did. But that does not mean she lets me go away with absolutely anything as she had her own way of calling me to order. My mummy would often say, “don’t you want to be like your friend? See how calm she is compared to you that is hot headed” I often frowned whenever she said that to me but that was the honest truth. Sincerely, I could talk about almost everything with her but despite the good qualities; she also had her flaws. The African saying, “Search a friend with no faults and you will remain with no friends” is pertinent here because Dami, as I fondly call her had her flaws, though, not as much as mine. She was calculative and bossy, but her deliberate effort to get rid of these negative habits and qualities was so impressive; for that reason, I tried all I could to encourage by giving her a helping hand.
We communicated on the deepest level as we both shared our dreams, hopes, aspirations and where we anticipated to see each other after some years but unfortunately, we lost touch with each other shortly after our high school days as she gained admission to study Architecture in the famous Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria while I secured admission to study Chemical Engineering at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Enugu State. Though, we were in touch a few times, when we were fresher’s but after a while, the communication weaned. Several attempts to find a friend like Dami proved abortive as all had several flaws that I could not condone and put up with. These were people who made it a point of duty to discourage me for trying new things, something that my dear Dami would never do. I realized that they were never supportive of my growth as a person. For this reason, I decided to be my own friend throughout my University days as there was hardly anyone I could trust.
On graduating towards the end of 2019,// I decided to search for my dear friend whom I was closely knit with like two peas in a pond. After I had returned, I went straight to her family house but I realized that the house had been demolished. I went online to search for her on social media, specifically on Face book but all efforts proved abortive. Could it be that she has changed her name on social media just like I did? Oh! Can someone re-connect me to the only friend who speaks the same language with me? One who is joined at the hip with me through thick and thin…Of a truth, true friends are like diamonds , precious but rare, for this reason, I will not relent in making efforts to find my dear friend, Damilola.
Ihuoma Okorie wrote in via okorieihuoma4@gmail.com
