Seeing What Others do Not See
There was once a man in the land of Toluwalasẹ who was despised, rejected by many people in the land because his poverty was outrageously great. Special attention was placed on the man and it was discovered that all that he puts his hands on turned out bad. Due to this many people do not want to be associated with him in fact people of the land used to warn their children and relatives of the inherent danger in associating themselves with the man. To avoid such catastrophe, people were admonished to steer clear of the man.
Many of the children that were brought up with him from the childhood days left him when they grew up having known of that his life would bring negative things into their lives. As friends deserted him so do ladies.
It was however surprising to many people in the land that despite the rejection, this man could still find someone to be married to, because many ladies who people once thought would be married to him subsequently afterwards left him after few weeks/days of relationship when those ones have been told of what lie ahead if she continues with the relationship with the man.
The hopes of surviving and breaking through in this world were not there for him as he grows but he couldn’t attempt suicide because of the culture of the land which he has been brought up. There is a saying in their culture, Yoruba, that goes like this "ìrètí wà fún ẹniti kò ì tí ì ku" translation, there is hope for someone who has not died. This word keeps ringing in her mind, thus the thought of him committing suicide never came to his mind when such thought crosses his mind, soon enough it will be brushed aside because their believe is that when a man commits suicide such a one has added sin unto his sin and would receive severe punishment from God.
This man continues to wish against wish, hoping that things would soon change for the better unto him, he is a man has known many sorrows in this world. He continued to endure the hardship, neglect and rejection from the society that he lived in.
It was a shocking surprise to people when a lady from another town started showing her interest in the man. People could not believe what they were seeing and some who were close to the people who know the lady called those people telling them that they need to talk to their daughter not to go ahead with what she has in mind doing. Those people told the lady of what they heard and counseled her to back out of the love adventure she was thinking about with the man.
The lady would not bulge, telling them that though the man was yet to make the move to her, but whenever he makes the move to her they should be certain that she was ready to go along with him.
When they saw that her mind had been made up of the man they did not bother their head to counsel her again, they just pray that she will not live to regret the action she was about to take, because everyone in the society has left the man including some ladies who had been associated with him before. In fact, some of his siblings wanted to leave the man too, for some of them have been brainwashed that it was the stigma on him that caused the myriads of problems they were passing through in the family.
This lady from another town kept on playing the cards of love with this man according to the Yorùbá proverb that says, “Ojú là ntẹ kí a tó tẹ ẹní” translation “you will start to show interest before the mat would be laid”. Signs of love usually fill the atmosphere whenever the lady and the man meet.
This lady was an apprentice at a shop very close to the man’s shop.
The man could not further his education beyond the primary school level. It was a general believe by many people within and without that it was the curse on him that attracted troubles to his family thus blocking the way of blessings unto the family which eventually made everything tight for the family financially.
It was discovered that things nosedived for the man’s parents after the guy got to primary 3, every attempt by his parent to salvage the situation proved abortive. He would not have completed his primary school if not for the efforts of the teachers in the school who asked the parents to at least let their child have a primary school certificate. Those teachers outside advising his parents to let him have primary school certificate they also assisted in the little ways they could to see to it that he completed his primary school.
After finishing the primary he was taken to a place to learn furniture work, but after some months, his master would not allow him to continue with him saying since the time he has arrived things have not been going on well with his business thus he was laid off. He was taken to other places to learn some works by his parents but he was usually being laid off after a while.
When his parents discovered that no one wishes to be associated with their son neither train their son, and they know that they cannot kill their son, they decided that he should be staying with them.
His parents were traders, but their shop is almost empty, nothing is there again. They were just going to their shop in faith. Their means of business has been running to others who were in the same trade to get goods for them when customers come to their shop to ask for something.
When people who do not know them noticed that they were running to other stores to get things for them when they ask them to wait, some of those customers do not come to their shops again. The fragment of people left patronizing them where those who knew their pasts, but as the world changes the number of those people thinned out.
This was their status when they asked their son to go and learn furniture work and other works because they hope by that he would be able to start on a new front, but since he has been rejected at all the places he was taken to, to learn an handiwork, they looked inwards and decided to be taken him to their shop to see if he may learn one or two things as a trader.
After some years of going with them, he decided to go and start his own business off their parents, thus he moved away from them to a completely new environment. He was at first getting something from his parents to hawk around with wheelbarrow, his parent would get the goods from their business partners and would give him, because no one wants to give him goods directly, it was that terrible.
As fate would have it, things were changing for him and he was able to be paying back those things he got from his parents. After a short while he was able to get a movable iron containment which the owner wishes to let out. He rented the place and he was putting his things there. He has a place to resort to in the rain and during scorching sunlight. On a gradual process people started knowing him with the kiosk (or containment).
He was in this status when the lady moved to the environment, and she started her apprenticeship at one of the shops nigh by. The man used to go to their shop to buy sachet water, granulated sugar, roasted groundnuts and roasted cassava (called garri) from them. When he gets there he would play with them a while before he leaves for his store. Things continued like this and people started noticing affinity between the lady and the guy. This was when they called her people to note on what was ensuing and the need for them to sternly warn her of what she was driving at.
She was warned but she rejected the warning and continued to play with the man. Whenever her master sends her out to go and buy something if she will pass through his place she will make a stop-over at his place for some seconds before moving off.
She used to close early at her working place and she would stay with him for minutes before moving asking him things.
The interaction between them grew and the guy started seeing the picture she was showing him but he was afraid this may not last long she will soon leave as others he thought within himself. “Why do I have to make a move to someone who will leave as others”, he reasoned within himself one day, “after making the move on her, she will again turn me to a subject of ridicule like others had done, I won’t” he concluded within himself and turned the relationship into a normal one like before, not being moved by any of the signs she was showing him.
The lady on the other hand was thinking why is he doing like this, or does he not seen the signals I have been showing him? Or was I not showing him enough love signals? She continued to ask herself questions of why the delay from the man’s part. “If not that it is not good in our land to make proposition of love to a man, I would have come out point blank unto him”, she said to herself one day. She was continually being worried by the man’s slow motion.
One day, she was in a taxi going to the extreme edge of the town and with her in the taxi were two other ladies. Those ladies had been in the taxi before she joined the taxi. The lady had been discussing some issues before she entered the cab and what they were discussing was related to relationship between men and women, love affairs. She ensured that she listens to what they were saying.
One of the lady said, some men may not want to propose to a lady they love because of their financial status, she said that was what happened to her because the person she was engaged to have to tell her after they started going out that he did not make move early because he was considering his pocket, and he knows that relationship requires money. He had to make a move when someone told him to do so stating that, the lady may be the understanding type.
It was on this discussion they were that the lady come off the taxi. After she got off the taxi she started thinking this may be the reason why the man has not make move to her too. “Well, I still have time ahead of me, I will keep myself, and would not relent in showing him my interest”, she concluded within herself.
It is getting clear to all and sundry that the lady meant what she said to them. She may be her savior some people said and they asked everyone to let her do what was in her mind, after all they are not the one who will live her life for her, neither would they move to the man’s house with her. If that is her choice, may the Lord help her then concluded.
The man has no one to confide in, all he was just doing is seeing if this dream would become a reality or not.
The popular end of the year festivity is approaching, the lady and the man started discussing one day, and the man asked the lady if she would be traveling to mark the occasion with her people and the lady said she is not traveling. The man asked if she would go out with him during the festive period to which the lady consented. They agreed to meet at a bus stop close to a popular church in the town.
The lady had put on her best dress and was waiting for the hour to meet with the man. She wanted to look her best for the occasion. She got there five minutes before the set time only to discover that the man had been there earlier. They exchanged greetings and the lady asked him where he wants to take him to.
The man said I used to know a place call “lakeside garden”, the place is a cool environment and we would have time to stroll around peacefully there.
That would be beautiful the lady replied, I have been hearing of the garden and have been longing to know the environment she replied.
They took a taxi to the T-junction from where they trekked into the garden. The T-junction is where everyone who has a vehicle does park their vehicle and they would walk into the garden. There are securities watching over people’s vehicles at the place and anyone who parks there would be given a tally to take along with them while entering the garden.
There are hawkers of some foods, refreshments, ice-creams, drinks at some selected spots along the street of the garden. Before these hawkers would be allowed into the place, the community health supervisors would have tested their foods to certify them fit for human consumption.
In association with these too, there are selected resting points along the garden paths, and in case of emergencies, there are small clinics with certified medical personnel.
These things that are available on the garden make the garden a place that people will love to go and relax with their families every weekend. But on special occasions like this people from other towns also do come to the garden to relax, thus serving as a source of internally generated revenue for the town of Toluwalasẹ, outside being the source of income for some other small scale business persons within and without the town.
The garden is about 8 kilometers square. The architectural design of the place was inviting. There are beautiful trees here and there in the environment, there are small rocks that could be easily climbed at both sides of the road. At some designated spots there are places where people could sit down and rest. You can also see at some places mattresses on which people could sleep, but you will pay a token for this.
People are many in this garden at this time of the year, they are obviously at the garden to rejoice with themselves that God has made them to see the end of the year, people are there to relax, have new perspective about life and the world. Business people, lecturers, crème-de-la-crème in the society usually come to the garden to have new orientation about life and what they are doing. It is not uncommon to see some people gathered together discussing at a place in the garden, such people must have come for a special meeting in the garden.
It is not as if the garden is made for those who are not big wigs in the society, ordinary people also come to the garden to enjoy themselves.
At this time of the year, the people in the garden could not have been the people from the town of Toluwalasẹ alone, some would have come from other towns. It’s holiday time, it is end of the year, it is time to refresh one’s mind.
Children can also be found there with their parents, they were laughing, talking with ice-creams and snacks on them, faintly I could see some small children pointing their hands to some things, which inevitably means they must be asking some questions from their parents of what they were seeing. I saw one of the children with something that she puts to her eyes, the thing looks like a metal like this with two extended ends with something like glass covering, I think her father is teaching her how to use the thing, as he puts the thing to his eyes and said unto her that did she see what he has just done? The child nods her head, and the father asked her to do like that that she will see things very far away.
We started walking, and talking, about different things, he was asking me several things about my life to which I was faithfully answering. Then we get to someone hawking an ice-cream with a bicycle and he asked me if I would want an ice-cream, and I said “Yes, I do”, he stopped and get for us an ice-cream as we continued to walk along the cool garden.
I looked to the right hand side and I see people on the mountains, some lovers laughing, holding their hands with some kissing themselves on some of the small rocks. The place was a beauty. The sweet aroma coming out of the flowers planted in the garden too was fantastic.
Soon enough we got to a place where we noticed that there is no one on the elevated rock by the side of the road, he asked me to let us go there and there we were sited and again talking, and laughing.
And I asked him why sometimes it could be difficult for a man to propose to a lady who has been showing him signs of love. He knew what I was driving at and he will not mince words as he said I am just being cautious of you and would not want to be mocked again because I have made myself a subject of ridicule before some ladies in the past.
Well, I am not the one, I have heard so many things about you and I have told them that all they said do not apply to me.
Do you now wish to tell me that if we started seeing ourselves you won’t leave me when the pressure is much?
No pressure could be more than the ones I have passed through to stop me from coming to your kiosk, but something keeps telling me that I should not do as others have done.
“Are you saying we should give ourselves a trial?”, he asked.
“I do not want trial, I want full relationship”, she replied.
“I do not want to misconstrue you that is why I said that, I also want full relationship, something that will end in marriage soon”, the man responded
“That will be okay by me”, she said, adding, “I am in if you are in”.
That was how they started the relationship. it was very late before they left the place that day, but they left the place a fulfilled person.
That was how they went out together during the festive period. It was a memorable day for both of them, a day that their stories were turned around.
It was not long after the festive period that the people started noticing that the intimacy between them has exceeded the status which it was before the break. People were able to put one and one together and could conclude that they were in relationship. This continued until they started preparing for their wedding.
Months later, they solemnized everything in a low keyed manner according to the culture of the land, praying for them that God would shower his mercy on them and they would always remember that day for good in their lives.
A new journey started the journey of building their own family.
The man married the lass into the singular room he was living in his father’s house. This was where they were living until they gave birth to the second child. After they gave birth to the second child it became increasingly difficult for them to cope with others in the man’s father’s house of five rooms. They thence started looking for means of leaving the place. To raise money for such became difficult.
The wife has a friend, she was the only one who supported her to do what was in her mind as per marrying the man. She contacted her for financial assistance and the woman lend her money. With this money, they could get a room and a parlor where they moved into.
They continued to live in peace, but financially, things did not change for them.
About 25 years later, people noticed that things started changing for this man. What could have brought about this? People started asking themselves this question until they discovered that the genesis of the change could be traced to a politician who spotted a virgin plot of land by the road side and made inquiries on how to purchase the land. This said land that this politician makes inquiries into was the one allotted to the man’s father out of his father's properties after his father's demise. His father is now full of age and he has handed over the properties he inherited to his son.
These plots of land which were afore now hidden from the main road, because his father’s other siblings had allotted to him those plots of land at the back of theirs’ because at the time of sharing it was clear that his father would not be able to do anything on the land and they would not want the king neither any government to seize the fore-parents properties from them, thus, they gave him the portions that is at the back of theirs’ while others share the portions in the front.
His father’s siblings who were buoyant had put up structures on their own portions of land that is nigh by the road, while his father’s own lay fallow behind theirs’ for decades.
However, when the government of Tiwaloluwa wanted to expand the road and construct new roads, some of the buildings situated at vantage views had to go. As such those structures and buildings of his father’s siblings were marked for demolition. The owners of the buildings were compensated as the building was demolished.
This demolition brought into view the erstwhile hidden land of the man’s father. When this leading politician in the town saw this portion of land, he loves it and desires to possess the land. He had to make inquiries into who owns the land, and he was taken to the man’s father. But the man’s father told them that he has handed over the land to his son, whatever he wishes to do with the land, they should go and contact him.
The politician was led to the man at where he was and the land was negotiated for and the land was sold at a very good price to the politician.
The man took the money to his father, but his father asked him, “what do I want to do with the money again? I cannot run around like you and your siblings again. It is my utmost joy that at long last you will have something that would transform your lives. Go and share the money among yourselves and live a life that is befitting”, his father concluded.
After the sharing of the money among the siblings of the man, the man used the portion that reached him to expand and grow his business, his father’s business that nature forced him to inherit.
People were thinking he will use the money to build a mansion like others, but he never did that, what he did with the money was re-investing the money into the business that he has learnt from his father and he has been doing all this while.
When a business person has varieties of things in his shop there would be many customers patronizing his business. His business became the talk of the town in a limited space of time, and all eyes started being on him and his business, all tongues started talking about him and his business as if he has been dead and now resurrected. His fame immediately rose and got to the farthest of the lands. He was no longer dealing with meager stocks again, he was dealing with the foreigners and companies.
After this establishment, he started building his house and he was able to complete his own apartment within 90 days because workers were working on his site day and night, in fact the work of the building was awarded to the world best contractors.
His father was 100 years old while his mother was 90 years old when he finished his building. The day when he was to dedicate his building was a special day in the town, because people from all walks of life were present at the ceremony.
His father would say at the meeting, “now I can go in peace, for I have seen my son’s glory”. His mother could not say anything despite being pressed by the reporters of the leading magazine in the town to say something, she could not utter a word, all that she said was, “what ever my husband utters, I utter”. The man’s parents did not stay long at the venue as they resort to their apartment to welcome their visitors those who had come to felicitate with them on the absolute turn-around of their son whom the world has forgotten.
The man is now glowing, like a diamond and all those who had said there was a placed curse on him that he needs to go to the river of the goddess and wash off do not know what to say again. Those ladies who have been persuaded to leave him too have not fared better during this time because the change was so unique and terrifying telling all who cares to know that “Ìgbẹhìnlójù” translation “the end is greater”.
“In all things in life, the end matters and it is not everything that happens in life that we should always attach to some evil or demonic spirits, because God has plan for individuals, the plan he has for you is different from the plan he has for me”, the man with a cup of wine on his hand said to the reporters who were with him to ask him one or two things about himself and how joyous the occasion was to him.
The man poured encomiums on his wife, because she saw what others did not see in him and despite all odds she stood by him through thick and thin. “I know I would get married one day, but I do not think it will happen the time it happened assuming my lovely and charming wife did not come then, when she came was the most terrible period of my time, it was the time everyone was fleeing me like a plague, but she entered my life, even when there were no obvious changes, people said when a woman enters a man’s life or vice versa, there would be changes, but that never happened in our case, assuming it was for that reason she agreed to marry me, then she would have left like others did. She however did not leave because she loves me, and believed that if there is life, there is hope” the man concluded.
Music is oozing from the loudspeakers as the waiters and waitresses keep on serving people….
Comments