One Sunday morning I was returning from football training when I met her for the first time. There’s a zebra crossing at Achimota Mile 7, right in front of the Ecobank. I was on the other side, trying to cross to where the bank is. The cars were not allowing us to cross so on both sides, pedestrians were gathered. I lifted my head and saw this lady dressed in a white dress with a little bag tucked under her armpit. I noticed her among the lot because she had this peculiar look. I can’t explain the look but I can say she was easily noticeable among the lot. I remember looking at her for a few seconds and telling myself that she was beautiful. It was on a busy road. You couldn’t think about someone’s beauty while trying to cross a busy road. The cars finally gave way and we both crossed to the opposite sides. I was looking dirty with my football boot hanging around my neck and the ball under my armpit. When I passed by her, I looked back to see her behind too. She was good-looking from behind as well. 

That was it. I went home, bathed and dressed up and went to church. I didn’t think so much about her or even thought of seeing her again. Over a month later, I was standing at the same place trying to cross to the other side when I saw a lady standing behind me. She looked familiar. I was struggling to remember where I knew her from. This time, she was dressed in a black straight dress that was a little too tight. I couldn’t look back to see her face because she was an inch closer to me. The cars stopped. I intentionally slowed down so she walked past me. Then it kicked. “That’s the same girl I met the other time after training. Does it mean she lives around here?”

As fate would have it, we both walked into the same trotro. She sat on a seat in front of me so I could see her clearly this time. She looked like someone who would sit in a crowded place and still be lonely. She was looking at her phone. Every now and then she will smile. She took her earphone and put them in her ears. She was off the drama in the trotro. I was looking at her, thinking about how God would give all that beauty to one person. I got down before her. I told myself, “If I ever meet this girl again, I will take it as a sign from the universe for us to be friends. I will go forward and introduce myself and see what will happen.” 

I never saw her again so, at some point, my mind automatically drifted away from her and started thinking about new things. And then Covid happened. During the lockdown, I was on the main road, crossing to the other side to buy food. The streets were empty. There were no cars to hold us at bay so once you step on the road, you cross freely to the other side. Again, I was on the zebra crossing walking majestically to the other side when I looked back and saw this lady coming again. She was in a nose mask but I still was able to recognize her. I recalled what I told myself the last time, “This is the voice of the universe speaking to me. This time I won’t let her pass me by without saying a word.” 

I waited for seconds until she got closer. “Hello, my name is Bright. It looks like I know you from somewhere. The nose mask was covering her smiling lips but the crease that formed on her forehead made it obvious that she was smiling. She said, “Yes, I know you. I’ve been to your house before. I came there with my senior brother to see his friend. That was like a year ago.” Amazed, I asked, “Who is your senior brother and who is that friend you came to see?” She answered, “That guy no longer lives in your house. He moved some months ago. My senior brother is George. You might know him because he’s all over the place.”

I didn’t know who her senior brother was but I claimed knowledge of him, “Oh yeah, George. That is your senior brother? Wow, such a small world. I know him but I don’t think he knows me. I see him around often but I don’t remember seeing you with him. We walked to the taxi rank closer to the Old peace FM premises. She was picking a taxi from there. I told her I would like to meet her again and she nodded. She told me I could come and see her whenever I needed to see her. I didn’t know her house so I asked where. She gave me a rough sketch of her place while making gestures into the sky. I didn’t get it but she was in a hurry to sit in the taxi. I wanted to get her number but I felt it was too soon to ask for a number. I watched her enter the taxi while I kept walking to where I needed to get the food. 

I spent all day thinking about her. Days later, I roamed her neighbourhood, counting on luck to bring her closer to me. I’ll choose a corner and stand there for a while and see if she would pass by. I went to different corners at different times, praying to see her pass by so I could approach her. The streets were always empty. Everyone was hiding from the pandemic but I was there counting on luck to bring that girl my way. I didn’t even know her name but deep down I believed I needed her to be my friend. All the times I spent roaming around became fruitless. I never saw her. When the lockdown came to end and life started sprouting afresh, I was in a trotro going to work when she joined. I removed my facemask and tapped on her shoulder. Immediately she saw me she said, “We’ve met again. Are you also going to work?” 

I nearly answered, “I’ve been looking for you everywhere,” but I answered, “Yeah I’m going to work. Good to see you again.” Where she sat and where I was sitting wasn’t conducive for dialogue. If there was an empty space beside her, I would have joined her but there wasn’t so I used the little time available to us to ask for her number. I gave her my phone. I said, “Give me your number, and I’ll call you.” She tapped her number and gave back the phone to me. I asked, “What name should I use?” She answered, “Celine.” Right there, I got her name and also got her number, the two most important things I’ve been looking for all that while. I called her phone and she also got my number. After work that day, I called to ask if she was on her way home. She said, “No, I’ll close late today.” 

That was the beginning of me checking up on her each day after work. In the mornings, I waited for her so we go together. In the evening, we’ll talk for a while before we go to bed. I was always looking for the perfect way to make my intentions known to her but something about her kept intimidating me. I thought she had a boyfriend. She looked like someone who has someone taking care of her emotional needs. Some evenings, I’ll call her and her line would be busy or I would get the call-waiting feedback. I will wait patiently for a callback but she’ll never call back. I’ll feel hurt and sleep with a broken heart. The next day, I’ll call her and she’ll apologize for not calling back. But it didn’t stop there, it kept happening until I decided to stop getting worried about it. 

One day after work, we talked. I realized the trotros we were in were not far from each other. I told her, “I will wait for you when I get to the bus stop.” Minutes later her car arrived. We had to cross to the other side but the cars won’t give way easily. I gave her my hand and she held on to it. I pulled her along as we walked through the moving cars. When we got to the other side, I told her, “I want to see you this evening. Is that possible?” She answered, “I’ll give you a call when I get some free time.” 

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She called around 9 pm. I was there with her until 11 pm. I made my feelings known to her. She said, “That’s not possible. I thought we were friends?” I answered, “Yes are still friends but something changed in me. I no longer see you as a mere friend. I like who you are and I’ll like to plan the future with you.” She smiled while shaking her head. She asked, “So you want to tell me you don’t have a girlfriend?” I answered, “If you say yes to me, I’ll have a girlfriend. Until then, I’m single.” She was quiet. It was getting late. She told asked me to leave so we talk about it later. It took a whole month for her to say yes to me. It wasn’t a total yes. She put me on probation. She wasn’t sure about me so she needed time to know me very well.

That was November 2020. We walked around wearing masks so it was difficult to see what everyone was hiding behind the mask. Some could hide a smile, others could also hide a frown. Celine was hiding the true answer from me so I had to work for it. She could come to my place unannounced. She could use my phone as and when she pleased. She could go to the corners of my life and see whatever she wanted. Each day after work, I will wait for her at the bus stop. I’ll give her my hand, and we’ll cross the road together. 

In December 2020, she asked me, “So what’s the plan? What’s the future like for both of us? Is it just one of those things? We date, we sleep around and later call it quits? Am I permitted to see a better future for us.” 

From that day we started making plans for our future. We agreed not to have sex until we are sure. We decided to meet each other’s parents and communicate our intentions to them. We needed the future to be correct but we also agreed not to rush into areas we wouldn’t like to be. By December 2021, we knew we were ready to get married because everything was in place for us to do so. Usually, we held hands and crossed the road together but in April 2022 when we held hands, we didn’t cross the road. We walked together down the aisle. In front of the church, the pastor pronounced us a husband and a wife. 

We’ve been here, living our best lives together. It’s at this moment that I know that indeed, it wasn’t just by an accident that we kept meeting every now and then on the Zebra crossing. It was a call we needed to respond and I’m happy we did. 

—Bright

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