Someday You Will Remember Me

When you Left, he embraced your family. He treated your parents with so much love and care same way he treated his own parents. He was always at their beck and call. Helping them to do what you should have done if you were around. He did that for the love and fraternity you both shared.

He was looking forward to hearing from you and he didn't know how to reach out to you since he didn't know your address. You promised you would write back to him but over a year, he had not heard from you. Each time he asked your parents, they would say that he should not worry and that you were fine.
Most nights, he would think of you and cry until he would sleep off and reunite with you in his dream. In your dream he would fine both of you doing those things you normally did together back then and when he woke up, he would relive the memory.

A year and Five months after you left for the city, Upiene finally go a letter from you. That day, he was overwhelmed with joy. He took the letter and ran straight to his room. And as he read your words, he could picture the way you normally held your pen with your left hand, occupying almost the whole space on the desk as you wrote. You had one of the best handwriting then. Your 't's and your 'g's were always beautifully and neatly curved, making your writing aesthetically perfect. He remembered they usually called you 'lefty' because of your left-handedness.

And you would always reply with pride, "yes, I'm a left-handed, but trust me, I don't think with the left part of my brain like some of you do" and all your friends would burst into laughter and Upiene would give you kudos for your savage comeback.

As Upiene read your letter, he could feel your plight. You started the letter with an apology and he could sense from the tone of your voice that all was not well with you. The body of your letter was more of complaints and rants.
"Upiene, it's been year and five months, but I still haven't gotten my mind off you. I'm sorry for keeping you in dispense for over a year and five months now. My God, it's been over a year and five months and I still miss you like I left you yesterday.

" The life here is so different. I am the only child from a poor family in this school. The students here look at me like an alien from a different planet because I look so different from them. My poverty and lowly state announce themselves. They look at me with deep shock written all over their faces each time I tell them that my dad doesn't own a car. And one of them asked me how the hell did I find myself in a school made for the children of the rich and influential in the society? I just simply replied him with a mild irritation that, "I'm here because the right to quality education is a fundamental human right for all children irrespective whether they are from rich or poor background. And that I'm simply here because I'm human". He left with guilt written all over him. Upiene, I don't belong here. I'm tired of trying to fit in the box meant for the children of the rich and influential. I'm tired of struggling to belong among a people who don't take me as one with full rights to exists amongst them. I want to be in a school where I would find people of my kind. In a school where the children would understand what it means to be poor and hungry. In a school where I can confidently wear my rags and not be laughed at.

"One of the students here called Clinton has been so good to me but I suspect he's just being sympathetic with me. I'm very skeptical of making him my friend because friendship borne out of Sympathy never lasts because they would always be that tendency of one proving to be more superior than the other and I may end up being his slave instead of a friend.

" I've known another version of bullying here . The children of the rich donot bully with whips and blows like the children of the poor do back then in our village primary school , they bully by flounting their wealth and making you look inferior and small like an ant they can easily smash without batting an eye. Almost all the students here have had the experience of spending their holidays in Dubai, Washington DC, Las Vegas, London, North Carolina, Canada, Norway, and a host of other big places the scope of my imagination cannot even reach. They laugh at me when I told them I've never been to the city until I came here, let alone Travelling outside the country.

"Did I forget to tell you about my result last term? Oh, that would have been an unpardonable oversight. Guess what? Could you imagine I was not close to being among first ten? I took 25th position out 52 students and I was so proud that I, who was often regarded in the class as a 'wretched moron' could beat some rich smart kids in my class. I was so proud of myself that I could leave a rural primary school even though I had been one of the best students after you, to one of the best schools in the city and still passed.

"Guess what happened when I got to the house? Barrister Ekwok, my sponsor, tore the result and threw it on my face, yanked my ear and warned me sternly that if I came back with such a bad result again , he was going to withdraw me. He told me that the person that took first position did not pay extra school fee, did not have two heads, neither was he thought different thing from what I was taught. The different was just the fact that he studied much more than us all in the class. And that I could do better if I worked harder. I was motivated. Second term, I jumped from 25th to tenth position and Barrister commended my improvement and told me that now my target should be first position. Third term, guess what I took again ? Fifteenth! Tell me, what do I do to convince him that I gave my best but my best was not good enough? I've one more chance left, please, Upiene, I need your advice.

"Upiene, I'm tired. Life in the boarding school is so stressful and demanding! There is no free time at all because even the so called 'free time' , is not even free since it has to be regulated by the school bell. We all hate the bell here. And the times we hate to hear the bell most is 5;00 am. Yes, We all hate the rising bell.

" Here, you must eat when others are eating, sleep when others are sleeping, read when others are reading , play when others are playing and so on and so forth.

Student here look up to visiting days when their parents and guardian would come to visit them, bringing all the goodies for them. This day often appear to be the happiest day for all the students except me who would always have no one to visit me. But then, life here is better than home because I have the opportunity to eat three square meal a day even though other students often whine That thhe food taste like shit.
"Upiene, I'm running out of time. They've rung the bell again and I hate it. It's time for afternoon prep. Let me drop my pen for now and obey the bell. Because here, they say, the voice of the bell is the voice of God. So, please, don't forget to write me back as soon as you get the letter. Looking forward to hearing from you, Upiene, my besty for life".
Upiene read the letter again and again until he memorised the whole words on the letter. At some times he would feel your pain and wept.

In his letter to you, he complained how the senior students in your village secondary school wouldn't allow the students to have breathing space because of unneccesary flogging. I'm still the best student in the class and my best subject still remains mathematics. The principal is so mean and discipline. We call him Mr Black Devil because he's so black, huge and tall with hoarse voice. But he calls himself Mr. No Nonsense because of his zero tolerance.
"I represented our school for interschool quiz competion in the junior section and my school came first.

Dagelle, you sounded so despondence in your letter. I noticed you are suffering from inferiority complex maybe because you find yourself among rich children. I urge you to never give up. Keep trying harder and you will always break limit. The only effective charm to success is hardwork. Hardwork doesn't kill and what doesn't kill you is meant to make you stronger. There is only one effective way of being at the top of your class. And that is, beginning to read whatever you were taught on the very first day of resumption. But what you also need to know is that, it is one thing to be at the top of your class and another to maintain your position. You must also know that the essence of education is not to be able to commit an avalanche of stuff into memory to pass and be the genius of your class, but most fundamentally, the purpose of education is to prepare you for life and keep you abreast with the art of not just living but living well.

"Daggelle, my main G, I've missed you so much. I wouldn't want to bore you with the roller coaster of emotional trauma I've gone through because of you. I will have alot to tell you when we finally see again.

"I've so many challenges that time and space may not allow me to share with you. I will give you a clue maybe, in my next letter . Please, in your next letter, I want you to tell me when you will be coming home so I can start preparing for your coming. Please, don't take so long to write to me this time. Hope to hear from you soonest. From Upiene your besty. On love. "

The letter got to you few days later. And as you were reading the letter, many thoughts raced through your mind and.....