In Plain Sight

He said she was not his type 
He didn't say it to her face 
He said it to his best friend 
The best friend told her 
She had to descend that low 
Try to figure out his thoughts 
About her, about them being 
together 
She loved him silly 
She saw them together 
That was all she could see
She had written the University 
admission examination three times 
She had failed to make the 
cut off Mark 
She had taken the third result badly 
Most of her friends had gone 
off to school 
She hated being branded 
a failure She hated being 
stagnant She slipped 
into depression
Her parents caught her 
just in time after 
she attempted suicide 
She was rushed to the hospital 
It was while she was at 
the hospital that she met 
him 
He was an undergraduate 
He came to visit his 
best friend who was 
clinically depressed 
He walked over to her bed 
He was sunshine...
He reached her out of that 
thick darkness 
He touched her somehow 
He became the highlight 
of her day 
After 14 days of not saying 
a word to anybody 
She spoke to him 
Giggled at his jokes 
She began to mend 
When she was discharged, 
he kept in touch 
She was 19 
He was 22 
She was in love
He came visiting often 
Her parents encouraged it 
The doctor also felt it was 
healthy 
The following year 
She passed her papers and 
gained admission 
By this time he was in 300 Level, 
Her parents sent her to a 
private university 
He kept in touch 
She exchanged emails 
every day!
She told him everything 
He was her best friend 
He was present at her matriculation 
She fitted so rightly into 
him as they took pictures 
He was her joy! 
He graduated and went off 
to serve 
And somehow everything 
changed 
He met a girl in Calabar 
He stopped replying his 
mails
She had grown independent 
of him by this time 
She could function without 
his light 
But she missed him sorely 
She tried to date some of 
her suitors 
It was not the same 
There was talk, smile, 
and laughter 
But everything was on 
the surface 
None of them made her 
giddy with delight
When he came home for 
Christmas that year 
She went to his house 
For the first time 
She realized he looked at 
her in a new way 
Like someone beneath him 
His attitude was totally offish 
Like she was constituting 
a nuisance 
Like she was unwanted
Like she was throwing herself
at him
 He didn't say so 
but she could read him 
loud and clear!
He heaved a sigh of relief when
she said she was leaving
It killed her inside
She went home and cried 
her heart out 
She had lost out in the 
race for his heart 
She went back to school 
with a broken heart 
She told herself to forget him 
She is a person of worth 
and value 
There is no point pining 
over someone who doesn't 
want to have anything to 
do with her
They bumped into each 
other one Saturday at the 
mall 
She was going to shop for 
a birthday gift for her mother 
She saw him walking out of 
the mall with a lady in NYSC 
uniform 
She greeted him and walked 
briskly away 
He didn't even ask about
her mum's birthday
He had forgotten so quickly
She didn't like how she felt 
She didn't want to think 
about it
When she got home that day
His best friend was waiting
He had a gift for her mother
All she did was talk about
her encounter with him and
how she felt watching him walk
away with another lady
His friend listened and consoled
her
He was such a good friend
His best friend approached her 
the following weekend 
He needed a job 
He hadn't been able to get
anything tangible since he graduated 
She had offered to help him 
get a job several times 
He always said no 
Like "I want to be my 
own man" 
She wanted to know why 
he changed his stance
He told her it was because 
he was in love with her 
He knew if she got him 
a job he wouldn't be able 
to ask her out or say how 
he felt 
But he didn't want to lose 
the girl and not get the job 
He had decided to get the job 
and find love elsewhere 
She was shocked! 
He loved her! 
Wow! Wow!
She never saw him like that 
He masked his feelings well 
But that day he was real 
What he said was real 
He wanted her 
He felt he couldn't have her 
He decided to cash in on 
their friendship to get a job 
She got it 
She asked him to give her 
two weeks 
She just needed the time off
By nature she is a very
meticulous person
She wouldn't jump into anything
without thinking it through
The best friend had not asked
her out formally yet
She had no other serious suitor
The one she was pinning for
had never asked her out
or shown any reason to 
encourage her not to consider another!
It is her innate desire to 
get married and have a family
But she needed to be very
sure...
She went to the one she 
loved 
Went to visit him at home 
She told him about the conversation 
she had 
with his best friend 
He listened with rapt attention 
He was happy for them 
She observed him keenly
He seemed relieved
There was no sign of regret 
from him 
He seemed genuinely pleased 
for her
The conversation did not 
make him angry, jealous
or feel betrayed
He was genuinely glad for 
her
She could see that he really 
didn't love her the way 
she loved him 
That much was clear to her 
But she also didn't love his 
best friend the way the 
best friend loved her 
She remembered how the 
best friend had always 
been there for her 
Year in 
Year out! 
Wow!
His best friend was always 
the one calling and checking 
up on her 
Even though she thought he 
was doing so for other reasons 
She came to see that he cared 
She invited the best friend 
over for a chat 
She asked him if he had the
intention of asking her out
and probably marrying her
He said yes!
She agreed to be with him 
See how things go for a while 
It was the wisest decision 
ever!
They were married fourteen months later 
She had totally gotten over
her crush 
It was not as difficult as she thought it would be 
She had loved and pined for an idea for years 
The real thing was far more defining 
He was the best man at their wedding
Her beloved was hiding in plain sight