The devil plays hard…

Barely 24 hours after declaring I was the happiest I had ever been, problems started to crawl out the woodwork. It’s really like the demon on my shoulder has a notepad and he makes hourly report to the devil. How else would I explain kayaking with friends one minute and almost getting blinded by rising hot water hitting my face from the cars’ radiator?

Friends ❤

This story starts on the evening of Friday the 23^rd of November, 2018 (only a snitch begins a story like this)

Well, I was resting jejely in preparation for my usual Saturday long runs when I got a text from Wendu asking if I would be going hiking the next day and my answer was a blatant NO. I went ahead and suggested she join my hiking group as they’d be going on a hike that Saturday but she said she’d rather not go since she wouldn’t know anyone there. Fair enough, I was gonna try to convince her to go alone regardless but it had been a minute since we saw each other and I missed her so I said; fuck it, no wahala, let’s go…

That was when she dropped the poster for another hiking group saying; that was the one she had in mind all along… at this point I must have broken the world record for the longest eye roll but because I was looking for any excuse to hang out with her, I said; fuck it, no wahala, let’s go…

“I skipped running with my crew only to come here and meet just a handful of people” was what I was thinking as I stood and counted the cars parked in front of City Park when Wendu pulled up at the muster point and literally said the same thing out loud. For a hot minute, we thought about ditching them for my own hike group but it was already too late as my group usually leaves early. Besides someone did not leave her house on time and her friend Blessing whom I now found out suggested this hiking group was on her way to join us and she was running late… so we said; fuck it, no wahala, let’s stick with it.

On getting to the hiking site there were a lot more cars and I noticed that students from Nile University were also here too. No thanks to the huge white bus that carried their name and a flock of noisy young adults who were obviously very excited to be here. As we got out of the car, we were literally just talking about how this hike might not be so bad after all when someone in black pants and boots,wearing shades and carrying a white backpack brushed past Wendu’s shoulder. She turned back to say sorry then went on to make some other “unnecessary comments” talking about; but you know you were on the road and kept walking. We all stood in awe watching her match along. The madman in me wanted to curse this person out but my Lord and personal saviour held my tongue. Like this whole road is wide AF and Wendu did not occupy the whole road. If she had just said sorry and kept it rolling, it would be all fine. And to be honest, it wasn’t a big deal till she said all that extra stuff.

I think I know that person though, I have seen that face before… I said turning to Wendu who was obviously not interested in hearing me out.

Saisy!! I called out to her when it came time to pay, as that familiar face had now become clearer. Saisy AKA “the connector” was part of the organizing team here but I met her a couple of months ago when I volunteered for the inaugural Millennial Summit at which she was a Key Speaker. She is a Serial Entrepreneur and Founder of JustAskSaisy. She is your go to for any and everything LEGIT (just for emphasis sake). She has a wealth of wisdom and is one of the most hardworking women I know, yet she makes time for this. Technically, she was still working too but that’s not the gist. Would you believe she recognized me too and actually hugged me?!! At that moment I instantly forgave her for everything. We had quite the chat but that’s not for y’all to know lol

Saisy ❤

 

The first half of the hike wasn’t as intense as it was dramatic as some grown babies were screaming as we walked through a dark wet tunnel which I hoped wasn’t sewage water… too late to cry now. In no time we were at our 1^st rest point on a hill overlooking Guzape. Kids were singing happy birthday behind me and I turned to an actual birthday celebration with cake and drinks on a hill top. That was really cute.

 

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Turning back to gist with Wendu and Blessing, I noticed these Nile University students clustering around this tom boyish looking fellow who had been in front of me the whole while during the hike until this point. They were all beaming with joy and excitement and I was still confused as to what was going on till she stood up to take a picture with them.

I couldn’t believe my eyes. I tapped Wendu on her shoulder, look look is that not… before the words could leave my mouth, this young guy walked up to her and called out “Maraji Maraji” in the most stereotypical Hausa accent ever, I want to take picture with you. For a bit I was star struck I won’t even lie. Like I had been standing right next to her the whole time and I did not even know it. At that point I made myself a promise that if I ever get famous, I’m getting myself a hat.

I’m sure she wasn’t trying to disguise herself but it worked perfectly because I’m sure I’m not blind, yet. Being famous must be hard because I could tell she just wanted to sit and talk with her friend but every kid on the hill including me wanted to take pictures with her. When she was done with that session, I let her be. I mean I’m a huge fan but I’m a sensitive person too.

That is why as soon as she stood up again, I rushed her lol… okay, I didn’t rush rush per say – I casually walked up to her and waited for her and her friend to finish taking pictures before I and my gang proceeded to invade their privacy. I know, I’m sensitive like that. She even let me take a picture of them. She was really cool and friendly.

siblings

cousins

sisters

 

How can this hike get any better? Well, let me tell you.

The second half of the hike was long and very intense, it was like walking through the wilderness. The path was mostly narrow and bushy and at times we had to raise our hands up just to avoid getting scratched by the weed. All these felt like a breeze as we were singing, occasionally dancing but mostly laughing all the way through it because my girl Wendu is a delight to be around. She is funny with a sense of humour that is so pure and a laughter that is very contagious, she’s simply a bundle of joy. Don’t tell her I said this, but I low-key go to church every Sunday with hopes of seeing her. Meanwhile, her friend Blessing, to whom I should say thank you to is a real estate professional and she was helping us breakdown every type of house we came across on our trail and I must tell you, Nigerians are building massive mansions in the hills. I guess you could say, Blessing was really a blessing to me after all. I can’t remember half the things we talked about but I have vivid images of all the smiles and laughter we shared. Thank you guys :*

On our way home, Wendu “our driver” (she’ll kill me but idc lol) started hearing some funny noises so I killed the radio and we could all hear it too. She pulled over and, we noticed we had been riding a flat tire, It was no big deal. I guess these things do happen right? I got to work and replaced it with the spare and she drove around till we found a vulcanizer who fixed the punctured tire.

You see, I didn’t really think much of the incident that happened on our way home till I almost lost my pretty face the next day. That was when I started connecting the dots and it all made sense to me. I promise to tell you all about it on the next post. 🙂

 

PS;

Thank you so much for reading. The full gist is too long, so I split it in two. The second part will be public in than 24 hours or less. I just don’t want to over feed you 🙂

“Jejely” translates to patiently

“Wahala” translates to problem

Please follow my friends on the gram

Wendu

Blessing

Saisy

Maraji