In 2017, I fell in love with a guy who called me beautiful. I mean all my life, only two people thought I was beautiful; my mom and dad. They gave birth to me so they had no choice. My brother was plain about it, that he wasn’t going to date a girl like me. My elder sister didn’t think I was at her level when it came to beauty. They called me the odd one out. I was scared to look into the mirror but one day, I had a message on Facebook that said, “Hello beautiful.”

My first reaction was that this person didn’t know who he was talking to. I had a few photos on Facebook and I believed he hadn’t gone through them. I responded, “Hello, have we ever met?” He responded, “Not yet but I don’t mind seeing you soon if it’s possible.”

He wasn’t someone I knew. To date, I don’t even know how he became my friend but I loved talking to him. He was jovial, charming, good with words and said the right thing at the right time. I gave him my number and we started talking. He said I talked like a child. I asked if it was a good thing. He answered, “Everything can be wrong but sounding like a child can’t be one of those.” He said he loved my voice and even told me I could be a voice-over artist.

I swooned. With him, I could disappear from the world that thought I wasn’t beautiful enough. He gave me a space where I could disappear for a while. We could have an hour video call and all I would hear was his desire to see me and hug me. I disappeared into his eyes each time we talked on video. I liked it so we did it often.

He proposed to me on the phone but I didn’t accept it. I told him I would like to see him say that to my face and it was only when that was done that I would give him an answer. He asked me, “So before the answer comes, who are we?” I responded, “We are who we are until you say it right before my eyes.”

While we talked, he was in Techiman. Another day, he was in Kumasi. Days later he was in the Western region. He said his work was like that and it was the reason we couldn’t meet as soon as he wanted. I was patient with him until we could finally agree on the time to meet. We were supposed to meet in May 2017, on my birthday. He couldn’t make it. Something came in the way but he recorded himself singing a happy birthday song to me.

READ ALSO: Every One Of My Three Mothers Has Left A Scar On Me

I watched that video anytime I was bored. He had a very bad singing voice but the fact that he had the courage to sing to me on a video made me fall in love with him the more. We set another date. It was a Thursday in July. Two days before his birthday. He would be in town for three days so we could celebrate his birthday together. That also didn’t happen. He was sent outside Kumasi to work. He spent two weeks where he went.

I told him, “No more dates. The anticipation kills me and the disappointment buries me even when my eyes are not yet shut. Look into your schedule. When you’re very sure you can come here the next day, tell me. I will be ready for you.”

We met in 2017 but we never met. We met online but couldn’t meet in person. On the 31st December of 2017 when we sent each other messages before the new year, I told him, “May this year make you true to your words so you come when you say you’ll come.” He responded, “May the year be stable and treat us well so you don’t see me as a liar.”

We started 2018 very slowly. At a point, I thought the love was dying. The flames went a little dim, without sparks or flickers. He would talk to me today and go off the next day. I couldn’t stand it so I asked if he had realized I wasn’t beautiful after all. He laughed at me. He said he still found me beautiful but time hadn’t been on his side lately. Just when I was psyching myself to give up on him, he texted and said, “We are meeting tomorrow. Nothing will change this time and nothing will come in the way.”

That day he showed me two pieces of necklaces in a video and asked me to choose one. I told him, “You should have just bought one for me as a surprise. The surprise would be gone when I choose.” I chose one anyway and he told me he would package it with a touch of surprise so nothing would be missing.

I didn’t sleep that night. At long last my love was coming to see me. It was the longest night of my life. I got up at 4am and started getting ready for him. I put my place in order though he wasn’t coming to stay there. I did a lot of “just in case” arrangements because some things don’t ring a bell before they happen. Early in the morning, I saw his call on my phone. My heart skipped a beat for no reason. “Is he going to tell me something came up?”

I breathed in deeply before picking up the call. I didn’t say hello. I was waiting to hear the name of the disappointment; “Sorry something came up.” That had been the name of all our disappointments but not this time. He said, “I’m at the station. The bus is almost full. I’ll call you when we move.”

I took in a deep breath and said, “Thank God nothing came your way this time. I’m sitting here with my arms tucked in between my thighs waiting for you. I’m not going to do anything today but wait for you.”

He Called Me On The Phone So I Could Hear The Other Woman’s Voice

We texted. We shared funny videos and laughed. It was a four-hour journey. He said, “Give me the final direction before my phone goes off.” I sent him a comprehensive written direction to my house, naming all the kiosks he would meet, the signboards he would read, the sellers he would greet, and the corners he would turn. I said, “This should take you home without a phone.”

That was the last message I sent to him. I never heard from that boy again that day. His number didn’t go through. I waited for him at the station until the last bus arrived and the station light went off. That guy never came. When I slept that night, I didn’t lock my door, just in case he appeared by my door and needed to come in. I jerked out of bed at dawn when I thought I heard a voice from the outside. I swiped the curtains off my view to see who was outside…

Part 2 comes up at exactly 11am today

—Sophie

If you have a compelling story to share with us, you can email it to us at [email protected] or send us a voice note on WhatsApp number 0593290182.

******