I remember that incident crystal clear like it was yesterday,well...it was yesterday.
This man who happens to be a customer,known him roughly 3 years and counting,
Once a in while he would stop by to check if they had new arrivals,and probably pick a few things.
So this time he stopped by as usual:it had been a few months since she last saw him,and when he came into the store,she was so engrossed in a novel she was reading that didn't recognize him.
When she finally recognized the tall dark figure standing in front of her,she tried playing the "hello sir!,it's been quite a long time" game with him:she wasn't really in a chatty mood(normal female mood swings thingy🙄)
Or maybe it was because she just had a hunch that someone somewhere was going to ruin her morning that day.
Shevstood up to attend to him after the usual exchange of pleasantries and next thing He spewed out of his mouth was" you,u no dey ever grow?, anytime wey I see you nah so u just dey"
The moment those words rolled out of his mouth,she kept her eyes averted from his,the upside curve of her lips had begun to disappear,
She froze!,,all kinds of feelings fluttered in her tummy, she stood motionless...abashed, crushed,felt like the ground should just open up and swallow her, tears out of nowhere begun to well up in her eyes
She tried to reassure herself that I wasn't going to let something like this make her shed her precious tears, but the assurance made the tears even worse.
He didn't care, he was insensitive to the the fact that he had said something wrong,he was still asking about the things in the store,she answered him coldly, and he could still not see beneath those cold replies of mine that he had murdered someone with his words.
It might not have meant anything to him,but it did to her,big time!
Because all her life, for the past two decades and few years of my life,in one way or another she has had to deal with toxic people! Both within and outside, and as she grow in age they keep expanding,they keep coming with more hurts.
Anyways!,
Few minutes after he left,she let the tears flow freely,
There's nothing terrible she didn't think of doing to herself,(take sniper, that would be easier,...No! You could just use the razor blade in your hand bag ND end this once and for all...)
But she wiped her tears, and in those moments,she stopped to think:Does it mean that people who body shame others do not feel remorseful afterwards?
What do human beings derive in causing each other pain?

this is me, stronger

Looking back now,I can only be proud of myself for snapping out of those thoughts,I'm beautiful no matter what anyone thinks.
Small body no be sickness:in other words; just becauseu're petite doesn't mean there's something wrong with you.

© Ani .T. chinaza