We were both in a nursing school when we found each other. He was quite a beautiful man. He didn’t do anything wrong though the news out there was that he was a womanizer. I said no to him a couple of times but he kept coming. He kept caring and kept bringing me a gift whenever he came around to visit. He visited quite often.

My roommate, Suzy, asked me one day; “Why don’t you give him a chance? He keeps coming. He might be the one.” In my heart, he was the one. I loved him and loved everything he did. The only thing stopping me from saying yes to him was his religion. He was a Muslim. He didn’t look like someone who will leave his religion to join mine and there was no way in hell I was going to become a Muslim too.

I thought of that a lot but that evening Suzy said to me; “It shouldn’t necessarily end in marriage. You can use this moment to know him and understand him better. Let the future take care of itself.” She made a lot of sense so I decided to give it a try.

The next time Awudu came around, I said yes to him. He seemed lost so I repeated; “Yes, I would be your girlfriend.”

For the rest of our time in school, we were together and all was well. As fate would have it, we both were posted to Kumasi for our National Service. He was very helpful. He helped me got a place to stay and helped me furnished my room. He didn’t have a lot of money but he was that guy who loved to try. One day he would come with a fridge, the next day he would come with a TV set, rice cooker, and on and on. One gadget at a time he helped me fill my room.

One evening, he passed by my place to spend some time with me. He took my phone while I was away. I wasn’t away for too long but he managed to read messages between me and a guy who was trying hard to get my attention. Yes I’d gone out with the guy once and he had come to visit me some time ago but there was nothing between us.

Awudu got angry and started throwing tantrums. “Why are you entertaining a guy who is clearly interested in you?” He asked. I answered, “He’s interested in me but I’m not. I’ve said no to him. He’s just a friend now”

He was just a friend but he was getting closer to my heart. Awudu was right to be angry about the situation. If he read the messages for a little bit longer, he would have known I’ve kissed the guy once.

I was torn between going on with Awudu or giving Sammy a chance. That was when Awudu’s religious leanings came back to me. “Awudu is a Muslim, our future together is slim but if I give Sammy a chance, we could have a great future together. He’s a Christian so things shouldn’t be so hard for us.” I thought.

I spoke to Suzy about my dilemma and she said; “I can’t tell you where to go but Awudu has been a great guy. If you have doubts about the future, address it today or let him go.” I loved the “Let him” go part so I started making plans to let Awudu go.

I started seeing him less and gave him a lot of excuses. I thought he would get it and leave me alone but he was rather more accepting and a lot more forgiving. One afternoon, he called to see if I was around so he could visit. I told him I was on my way to see my mother and would return the next day. Sammy had already told me he was on his way coming and I didn’t want collision.

Some minutes after Sammy had arrived, I heard a knock on my door. Before I could say jack, Awudu was already in my room. “I thought you said you were on your way to see your mother?” He asked, then he cast a glance around the room and saw Sammy. He stopped talking and left.

I knew our end had come. I was sad the way it had to end but I was happy that it had ended anyway. I didn’t hear from him for some days until one afternoon I heard another knock on my door. I opened the door and it was Awudu. He didn’t say a word. He just entered and went straight for the microwave. He descended the stairs with it and sent it inside a taxi that was waiting for him outside. He came back again, went for the blender and the standing fan. I got the message. He was taking back all the things he bought for me.

I couldn’t stop him. I was so scared he was going to hit me or something. I wanted to stand on his way and prevent him. I wanted to beg him to stop but the anger on his face got me scared. He came back for the TV and then to the rice cooker. That was when he realized I was cooking rice. He said, “Pour the rice let me take my cooker.” I answered; “Awudu, don’t do this to me please.” Then he gave me this mean look that felt like he was going to hit the hell out of me. I told him; “You give me some few minutes, it will do kɛr right now then you take it.”

The next thing I saw was my rice on the floor. He pulled the curtains, poured my jewelry on the floor and picked the beads he bought for me on my birthday. He came back and lifted the fridge on his shoulder and started descending. I dashed in front of him on the stairs begging him to stop. He noticed my phone in my hand and tried snatching it from me. He lost balance and slid off the stairs. Unfortunately, the fridge fell on his left foot breaking it up into two.

He gave out a loud scream causing my next-door neighbors to rush out. He couldn’t stand up. His leg started getting swollen. The neighbors brought iced block, placed it in a cloth and tie it around his foot. He kept screaming in pain. The taxi driver came out of the car and helped lifted him into the taxi. Just when the taxi was about taking off he told the driver; “Come back and pick up the fridge after dropping me off at the hospital.”

I was sad for him but the fridge was more important to him. Truly, the driver came back to pick the fridge. Had it not been the accident, he would have come for the mattress too or even the carpet. I did not own anything in that room.

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When Sammy visited and saw my room, he was like; “Were you robbed or something?” He promised to help but for the next several months or so, he didn’t get me even a spoon. I love you, I love you saaa until one day he vanished from my life.

Awudu now walks with a slight limp but he’s doing well. Currently, we work at the same hospital but hardly do we talk to each other. My room is taking shape. I don’t have all the things he took away yet but little by little I will get them through my own sweat.

—Sarah, Kumasi

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