Jesse

That smile…

I couldn’t seem to get it out of my mind. It haunted me and made me want to reach out to him.

That smile was one of the most beautiful things I had seen in a while. It revealed so much and negated much more.

I had wondered what happened to him…and his sister too.

I remember them from many years back… the shuffles and chitchatting from their morning routines…the beautiful voices that sang praises to God in the morning. They used to be sweet kids… There was just a wall in between our backyards.

Somewhere along the line, I heard their mum left… No one knew why.

Two sweet kids, left alone with daddy. I have no idea what kind of daddy he was…

…but not too long, they weren’t kids anymore… gradually…the world kind of lured them. To what? I don’t know…just mere hearsays…

What do I know? They wouldn’t look up anymore when they walked past me or anyone…not even a hello…maybe one hello in ten passings…

what was the point in saying hello anyway, everyone thought they were bad kids… presumably in bad company and on some substances too.

I guess I joined the rest… I don’t know. I never said a word to them…these kids I once knew. I took my few hellos they gave and walked on by.

Not until today…Today I got a hello and I asked how he was…and then I asked;  “Your name is Jesse…am I right?” He nodded and paused, then I added “…and your sister is Sharon… I hear you call out to each other all the time”.

That’s when he let it out, that smile…all teeth and crinkles around his eyes. It said so much.

Maybe I’m going to say a little more to him and not just say hello. He needs to know he’s got at least one person who hasn’t written him off.

Modified and narrated for Msugh Iyange Yakubu (my sister) from her true life experience