Que Sera Sera

Note: Fictional names have been used in this story to protect the privacy of the actual persons

Tutu was a bright student, from a middle class family. Her parents both worked in the ministry and they gave her and her other siblings the best of education and whatever good life that they could afford. We were friends in school and she was one of the nicest persons ever. She was blessed with an enviable height and always willing to assist anyone who needed her help. Tutu was beautiful by every standard and she made you love to live by the way she enjoyed living.  She was generous to a fault and when she laughed, she laughed from her heart.  She was reliable and would stick out her neck for a friend. Tutu was a friend anybody would love to have. Initially, we were friends from a distance till the day she stood up for me when I was being challenged by other students in the girl’s hostel. She used her intimidating height to scare the other girls while I hid safely behind her. That day marked the beginning of a long friendship.

Then, there was Tutu’s handsome uncle; he often dropped her off in school after the holidays. I remember a lot of us coming out to greet him just so we could catch a glimpse of her handsome uncle Jide. We were all heartbroken when uncle Jide got married, we were sad that our older crush had been taken from us.

After a few more years, we passed out from secondary school having completed our Senior Secondary Examinations. We all parted ways with the hope that we might see each other again. Due to lack of adequate communication channels in those days, a lot of us lost contact with each other. Somehow, Tutu managed to keep in touch with me. We spoke a couple of times when the analogue phones went through.

On a very remarkable day, a few years after secondary school; I was already in the university, I got a call from Tutu, she told me that she was in my town, I was so excited that I quickly ran off to go see her where she was staying. It was a pleasant surprise to see uncle Jide when I got to the location. Tutu said that she had been on a road trip with “Jide”. That was a first shocker for me and I went quiet. Although I was still a bit naïve, but common sense told me that you don’t just stop calling an uncle, “uncle” for no reason.

I couldn’t hear any more word from our discussion, all I wanted was for the right time to ask Tutu how uncle Jide stopped being “uncle” but just Jide. I also observed that Jide, sorry uncle Jide spoke to Tutu in a different way. There was this softness to his voice and there was this look in his eyes. All I did was to observe the two of them. With the way my friend looked uncle Jide in the eyes when she spoke to him and the way she fell on his chest when she laughed, I did not need a soothsayer to tell me that the handshake had extended to the elbow.

To be continued.