COLOUR BLIND

CHAPTER 18

Kirah once said that I'm the kind of person who calculates people and try to understand books. That could be the reason why I still don't know what made Ian disappear from my life without a word.
It's been 6 years since I last saw Ian yet the memories of our time together still feel so vivid.
I wonder how long it takes for other people to forget the things they did in their teenage. A day, a week, a month, a year or perhaps forever.
Sometimes I think having a retentive memory is rather a curse than a blessing because, for someone like me, it means I'll have to live every day remembering the past like it's today.
There are times when I try to make myself believe that what Ian and I shared was only out of teenage curiosity but deep down, I know it was more than that.

Rotimi is getting married to kirah, I heard they went to the same university and fell in love. Long story short, they're tying the knot in the middle of next month. Love is indeed strange.
I've never imagined those two would end up together but then people change and people move on too.

Uncle George got a better job in Switzerland and my Aunt moved there with him. They adopted a baby too.
I was surprised at first but lately, I'm getting to understand why they made that decision.
it's better to leave the past behind and start all over again. Maybe I'm the only one who's stuck in one place.

My life has been quite monotonic ever since Ian left. Sometimes I get bored with the repeated routines in my days as a thriving medical student.
I wake up every day by 6 am to Pray and do my morning push-ups, I go to medical school by 7 am and return by 6 pm.
I take a nap and wake up at exactly 7 pm. I have my bath and watch the news. Read and study till 10 or 11 pm before going to bed.
Sundays are the only days when I have a change of activity because I visit my Dad and mom in Bloomfield every Sunday morning.

Ivy recently gained Admission into the university. There's been no drama at my parent's house for a while.
My mom still asks me about Ian.
I feel sad knowing fully well that I might never bring a beautiful bride just to fulfil my duties as a son even though she has never asked me to.
Sometimes I wonder if she's completely clueless or just acting clueless to make me comfortable.
Whatever it is, I love my mom and know she'll do anything to make sure I'm happy.

My dad is getting older and maybe a little softer. We talk a lot these days too.
About medical school, About the church. Just anything as long as the conversation keeps going.
He doesn't forget things like he used to.
Last year, I got choked up with schoolwork and didn't remember my birthday until my Dad called me to meet up at the cafe off the hospital I work at.
We shared a glass of grape wine and he gifted me a dog.
I know it sounds funny that I got a dog as my 23rd birthday gift but it felt nice.
I think he's been having a rethink about a lot of things he did to us in the past. That's why he let Ivy apply to the university of her choice too.
I like this version of my Dad.

'The unbendable Pastor Jeremy Yavinga suddenly gifts his only son a puppy dog to make up for the border collie he refused to let him keep when he was a kid'.
That would have been an eye-catching headline for some upcoming blog.

I love the dog my dad bought for me. Although he's not a border collie, he's still an awesome companion, especially for a loner like myself. I named him Max.

I still go to my mom's hometown in Aga.
I climb to the top of that rocky hill just so I can reminisce on that one time I did it with Ian.
I take a pen knife with me every time I go there to trace the words we wrote there again because I don't want them to fade.
Rocks hold memories better than some humans.
Maybe we'll meet again if I continue to do that.

Last year Malik and I reconnected through social media and we've been keeping in touch since then.
He graduated from the University of Manchester and is currently working in London.