“Oh my God, that is so tragic. I’m sorry for your loss, bro,” Tosin said touching my shoulder.

“Thanks, man,” I replied.

“How did you live through it if I may ask? Because you don’t look like someone that has gone through such ordeal, considering it was your first love.”

“Man, I won’t lie to you, it was tough. I had to leave Kano for Lagos for a change of scenery because everything I saw that reminded me of her caused me more pain. And I spent almost three years believing that she wasn’t dead, that one day she was going to walk up to me and tell me she was in a coma and just woke up. Truth is, it wasn’t easy at all, I almost ran mad.”

“I feel you, I can imagine myself in such a situation. How were you able to overcome those phases?”

“Through God, family and friends especially my clique, they were really there for me.”

“So you only had the luxury of spending seven months with her?” he asked and wiped tears from his eyes.

“Are you crying,  man?” I asked him smiling.

“You just made a grown man cry,” he replied smiling too.

“That’s good to know. Thanks for sharing in my pain and yes I could only spend seven months with her.”

“How was it?”

“Fun, amazing, heavenly, fulfilled, it was the best I could ask for. You know, along the line, I felt I had a mission in her life to make her happy on her last days on earth and I always used to pray that what we shared would make her happy anywhere she was and it would substitute for marriage since she didn’t have the privilege to have one.”

“Wow, that’s deep, man,” he said clapping.

We were quiet for a while before Tosin sat up and I joined him, “Man, thanks for sharing your story with me. It was amazing and touching at the same time.”

“You welcome bro, and thanks for making me do this, it has long been coming, I feel relieved like a load was lifted off me.”

“I am most grateful, for the fact that you shared such a deep story with a total stranger, I really am grateful.”

“Why I did that, I don’t know, but am glad I did,” I replied laughing.

“Well, it past midnight and I should get going, but am assuring you that am going to publish your story asap. I don’t need any other thing again, this is just perfect.”

“Thanks, man, I really appreciate that.”

“Do you have anyone you want me to shout out to on the story?” he asked me.

“Yeah, my best buddy Shola Olagoke. My amazing sister, Christiana Adebonojo. My guys Dayo Ojo, Dayo Emmanuel, Victor Ayeni, Henry Arowosegbe, Shina Arowosegbe and Yinka, thank you all for the times we shared, I couldn’t have asked for anything better, you guys are the best.”

“Man, I’m blushing here, it a privilege to have such friends in one’s life.”

“That’s true, man, not everyone gets the opportunity to have such.”

“True talk, are you guys still friends?” he asked me standing up.

“Yea, we are very much still friends, though we are in different places now but we still reach out to each other.”

“That’s great. Well thanks for having me,” he replied, shaking my hand.

“You welcome bro,” I replied.

We exchanged contacts and he promised to send me a copy of the book once it was ready. I thanked him and saw him off to a hotel. Once he checked him, I started walking home.

 “What a day, I hope my bleeding heart stops bleeding now that I’ve gotten it off my chest. Well it’s the first step to recovery,” I said to myself. I smiled and looked up and I could swear I saw her up there smiling as if assuring me that all was going to be okay.

“How about you, are you okay? I hope you are.”