Different
assignments come with different challenges. Even for an angel, nothing good
comes without efforts. My mission usually takes me anywhere man is found
and there I was in a samll bedroom,
watching as a young girl composed a letter. Right behind her and unseen, I read
with heavy heart as she wrote in a flawless handwriting…
Dear Teni,
By the time you read this, I would be dead and gone. I know you will shed tears of agony over my wasted life. I know you will ask why I did it. why why why?
Why? If you look at me, then at yourself, you will find the why written boldly. Look beyond ceaseless times and seasons, you will see the why wrapped in fated doom.
Together, we grew in one womb. We swam in the same flawless blood. We were destined to be one, a mystery of nature. And when the time came for us to finally taste the world, you went first and I followed. We were like a song that would never go wrong. But remember, I went awfully wrong.
At the mother breast, it was always a healthy competition. You drank, I drank too. I cried, you cried too. We were dressed like one. We were fed like one. Oh yes, we were loved as one.
And then, you began to toddle round the house but I did not. With time, you were walking and running and yet I could not. Four years and the truth dawned with sheer cruelty. I was born a cripple!
We are alike, yet we are so different. When we were kids, you had so many friends and I had none. You were loved by many but I was pitied by many. During the school inter house sports, you were always winning the races. I could have represented the school in debate contests because I could speak better than everyone else. But tell me, what happened? I was denied of those opportunities because I could not lift my limps. Back then,you took all the glories and I was left with nothing.
Everyone kept saying that I was the prettiest and the smartest, but the boys thought otherwise. All the love letters were heaped on you. Remember what happened when we were still teenagers? Mum and dad traveled and we were left alone in the house. I crawled out of our room into the sitting room and what did I see? You and Dave making love. At sixteen, you already knew love. That night, I longed for a man’s touch but none came. Who would make love to a cripple, anyway.
I am angry! But not at you. Not even at God. I am angry at myself. Maybe I choose to be like this. Maybe I brought this on myself. Maybe I go wrong somehow somewhere. I don’t know, really I don’t.
But I know one thi ng. I know that I am going to die and now. I am going away. Away from this unwholesome wish for you to be me and me to be you. Away to a place where I would finally find my wings.
Adieu my sister. Adieu…
When she wrote the last word, she broke down in tears. Without wasting much time, I left the room, going in search of her twin sister. For this poor soul to be saved,man and angel must work together. I found her sister in the library and I became a youngman, quite visible for her to see. I sat directly opposite her.
‘You have to go home now.’ I whispered and she
looked at me, furrowing her brow.
‘Excuse
me?’
‘I said
you have to go home now. Your sister needs
you.’
She
tried to lower her voice, but she was obviously troubled. “What are you talking
about?’ .
‘If you
don’t go home now,’ I insisted.’You
might lose your sister forever. How will you feel if you get home later and
find that your sister is dead?’
She
didn’t answer. The panic on her face was enough. Before I could continue
further, she packed her books and dashed out of the library.
Back in
the bedroom, I noticed Temi was not inside but her letter was waiting patiently
on the bed. A moment later, the door burst open and Teni hurried in. The letter was on the bed and conspicuous enough for her to see it
immediately. She picked the letter, gasping when she read the first line. She
was still reading when the door opeedn and Temi wheeled herself in. She was
shocked to see her sister.
‘Temi,
what is the meaning of this? You want to commit suicide? Oh my God, but why?’
‘You
have read the letter, so you know why.’
‘But how
could you ever think that you are worthless?’
‘Because
I am! I am a cripple.’
‘That is
not true.’
‘Oh,
really? Tell me, why am I on a wheelchair?’
“It
really does not matter. You are an inspiration to so many people out
there. Most importantly, you are my inspiration. Each time I look at you, I saw
my own flaws and inadequacy. I went back to school because of you. We came to
this world the same day,yet, you have been more successful. You hold a PhD
degree and here I am still struggling as an undergraduate. You are talented and
we all can see. Without legs, you have achieved so much that I sometimes envy
you for. You can’t give up now. It is too late.’
‘But I
feel really worthless.’
‘That is
understandable. How do you think I felt when
you were given scholarship ? I felt like a cripple when you graduated
with a first class while I was still struggling with WAEC. It felt terrible but
you were the one who encouraged me. You challenged me to try again and again.
If you die today, it would kill me. Without you,life would lose its meaning.
Nothing will ever be the same again…’
‘Am so sorry.’
Teni wept.
Tears
flowed. Words poured like an ocean but a life was saved
.
For
me, it was another mission completed…
