Common Person
Today I took the bus, yes the yellow buses with black lines in
Lagos. I do that sometimes when my destination is close and I need real air.
Soon after I alighted, I saw my young friend “Aunty long time” she said. My
young friend who sold bananas and groundnut by the roadside. Our acquaintance
began when my weight gain journey began. I made it a tradition to drink a
banana shake every morning with peanut butter. I added a little weight and
gained an amazing skin. I stopped that journey a long time ago when I lost my
smoothie bottle. I still don’t have my weight gain goal but my skin grew better
(this is not medical advice). I didn’t want bananas, but I gave her money. She
was happy and grateful. I had gone past her when I remembered that I should
have taken a picture of her and her goods,
saving memories and sharing memories.
I jumped on a bike shortly after because it looked like it was
going to rain. As we made our way past the street, I saw an elderly man with
his Bible and shekere (beaded gourd). It looked like a thousand years since I
had seen the instrument. Few seconds after, I
saw two young girls who looked like sisters, their pink hijabs flowing through
their shoulders as they cheerfully walked down the streets. This amazed me in a
small but beautiful way. After some seconds, I
saw a woman who backed her baby with an “old school”
shawl. The Yorubas call it “Oja”. I hadn’t seen that in a
while as well. I had long passed all these people before it dawned on me that I
should have captured those moments. For saving. For sharing. But it
was too late. I however knew
I had to stop when I heard a beautiful song. I
got off the bike and walked abruptly towards the building where the music was playing.
My Deezer was trying to catch the song, I was also trying to catch the lyrics. It was too late again. I did not get any result, but I recorded
the end of the song. I hope I find it.
On my stroll back to my destination, I
saw a woman backing a baby with loads on her head and this time around I took a
shot.
The lesson is obvious here; we
should not lose each moment because they pass by so quickly.
P.s: I wrote this post in 5 minutes and the title
of the song is “Common Person” by Burna Boy
My girrrrllll!
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