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Diary of a survivor
DIARY OF A SURVIVOR
CHAPTER 1
The night my best friend died was a Thursday night. There was a heavy downpour that night. I should have known that the rain was trying to tell me something. What could I have done? I don't speak rain language. I wish something else had died; maybe my cat or the Christmas chicken for that year; but not my most Gracious Grace. She had been my best friend since her family moved into my neighbourhood. How we became friends, not to even talk of being best friends is still a mystery on its own. I had a special liking for her. I don't know why. I just did. Probably, it was out of pity at first because kids in the neighbourhood refused to make friends with her. They found her to be strange. Oh.. She was strange all right but I liked strange all the same.
I can still remember how she looked. She had those incredible eyes that could pierce through your soul. She was of an average height. She was simply what one would describe as beautiful. It's funny because sometimes I envied her. I remember a day we were retuning from school. A group of cute boys from a nearby school were standing on the road and looking at us ; or should I say HER. They even went as far as calling her but none of them even took a second to look at me. Instead of enjoying the moment and paying attention to them, she just kept walking fast; signaling to me to also do the same. I asked her about it later and she replied that she didn't feel comfortable with so many eyes looking at her. Weird.
She was kind of an introvert. She hardly talked to strangers; but she was more comfortable around people she was familiar with.
""Grace you need to go out more""... Her mother always said.
"" Grace, you have a wonderful voice, but you have to project louder""... Our choirmaster would say
""Grace is a straight-A student but she needs to interact more with other students in the class""..our teacher always wrote in her report card.
She never actually wanted to join the choir. She was forced into it by her mom. She thought it would help her socialise more. I always asked her why she never wanted to be involved in any thing, even at school. She never participated in social events, seldom attended end of the year parties. She always said "Chinwe, I'd rather be locked up on my room than be at any of those events". I always wondered why. I was virtually the only close friend and confidant she had. Did that make me special in any way? No. I had to compete with her diary. Can you imagine? A non living creature. That was her special place. It was like a whole new world. I also tried keeping a diary too but that didn't work out. I thought it stupid to talk to a diary on a daily basis.
Grace was a whole new vibe when only with me. She was full of energy. She would sing so loudly at the top of her voice; something our choirmaster could not get her to do. And then when I teased her, she would smile so widely, her 16-year-old face would almost crack.
To be continued
CHAPTER 1
The night my best friend died was a Thursday night. There was a heavy downpour that night. I should have known that the rain was trying to tell me something. What could I have done? I don't speak rain language. I wish something else had died; maybe my cat or the Christmas chicken for that year; but not my most Gracious Grace. She had been my best friend since her family moved into my neighbourhood. How we became friends, not to even talk of being best friends is still a mystery on its own. I had a special liking for her. I don't know why. I just did. Probably, it was out of pity at first because kids in the neighbourhood refused to make friends with her. They found her to be strange. Oh.. She was strange all right but I liked strange all the same.
I can still remember how she looked. She had those incredible eyes that could pierce through your soul. She was of an average height. She was simply what one would describe as beautiful. It's funny because sometimes I envied her. I remember a day we were retuning from school. A group of cute boys from a nearby school were standing on the road and looking at us ; or should I say HER. They even went as far as calling her but none of them even took a second to look at me. Instead of enjoying the moment and paying attention to them, she just kept walking fast; signaling to me to also do the same. I asked her about it later and she replied that she didn't feel comfortable with so many eyes looking at her. Weird.
She was kind of an introvert. She hardly talked to strangers; but she was more comfortable around people she was familiar with.
""Grace you need to go out more""... Her mother always said.
"" Grace, you have a wonderful voice, but you have to project louder""... Our choirmaster would say
""Grace is a straight-A student but she needs to interact more with other students in the class""..our teacher always wrote in her report card.
She never actually wanted to join the choir. She was forced into it by her mom. She thought it would help her socialise more. I always asked her why she never wanted to be involved in any thing, even at school. She never participated in social events, seldom attended end of the year parties. She always said "Chinwe, I'd rather be locked up on my room than be at any of those events". I always wondered why. I was virtually the only close friend and confidant she had. Did that make me special in any way? No. I had to compete with her diary. Can you imagine? A non living creature. That was her special place. It was like a whole new world. I also tried keeping a diary too but that didn't work out. I thought it stupid to talk to a diary on a daily basis.
Grace was a whole new vibe when only with me. She was full of energy. She would sing so loudly at the top of her voice; something our choirmaster could not get her to do. And then when I teased her, she would smile so widely, her 16-year-old face would almost crack.
To be continued
