Christabel Francis @christabel

My best friend would have been among the graduating students tomorrow, but destiny happened.

Faith, as she was called, was a very close friend of mine.

We were really intimate that even our coursemates argued amongst themselves that we were siblings. They said we look alike too.

I often wondered where the said resemblance was from, because, I knew deep down that I am no match with Faith, if it comes to beauty!

Her hair was long enough to tie a bundle of firewood. The deepness of her dimple swallows any man that glances at her. Should I talk about her diastema(gap teeth) or her glassy skin?

Well, I came on campus with the mindset of becoming a 'hot-girl', but my encounter with Faith changed the narrative.

If my memory ain't failing me, I think we became friends when I asked for her pen during the days of our departmental screening. We were both in 100L as of then. It's been four years already!

One thing led to the other, and boom! We became besties.

If not Faith, have you seen a friend who would always leave her lodge just to drag me to church, and monitor my reading schedules?

Faith would always inconvenience herself just to please me.

We studied together. She taught me courses that gave me tough time. She cooked for me, she even washed my clothes, we shared secrets, and yes, she was a bookworm and a guru.

Hmmm. Destiny happened indeed!

Faith was caught with implicating materials during our 100L Second Semester exam. She pleaded not guilty, but her pleas fell on deaf ears.

Faith was expelled.....

She was disowned by her parents. Faith was left depressed. Nobody believed her. Not even Samuel, her boyfriend. Then, she took the wrong decision.

Faith committed suicide!

Well, destiny happened. I never imagined it would end the way it ended.

I placed the implicating material in her pocket.

I gave suspicious signals. Signals that made the invigilator point fingers at Faith. And she was caught.

I only wished she was expelled, I never knew she would commit suicide.

If I meet Faith in heaven, I would tell her never to fall in love with my man in her next world.

A Short Moral Story.

A scientist and a lawyer lived next to each other. One day, the lawyer said to his wife, Lucy.

"Look how hardworking Kate, the scientist's wife is. You don't work as much as she does. She wakes up as early as 4:30 a.m. every morning. She prepares meals for her husband before he leaves for work. She irons his clothes. She does the dishes after each meal. She attends to all the washing and cleaning. She removes her husband's shoes when he enters the home. She still waters the plants. She can work for up to 15 hours a day. But you can't even spend 5 hours working"

Lucy spoke very gently.
"I may not be of the same standard as Kate... but you do know that I'm doing my best everyday to be a good wife to you"

The lawyer snapped.
"Well, your best isn't good enough! I deserve better than a wife who does very little. You are supposed to be as hardworking as the scientist's wife. You should extend your working hours in a day"

From that point on, the lawyer set rules for his wife. He made Lucy wake up very early in the morning to begin the household chores. He made her scrub all sinks and drains, take out the trash, do the grocery shopping, water the plants, weed the garden and more. She worked all day and had very little time to rest. Somewhere along the line, she became utterly worn out.

One evening, the lawyer returned home from work and found Lucy lying lifeless on the ground. He rushed her to the hospital where she was pronounced dead by the doctor. She died from a heart attack caused by chronic stress.

The lawyer was overwhelmed with grief and guilt. He couldn't deal with the pain he felt in his heart. Then, he went to his neighbour, the scientist. He said to him.

"My wife died because I made her do all the household chores all by herself. I compared her to your wife and wanted her to be as hardworking as she is. But tell me, how does your wife do all that and never suffers a breakdown?"

The scientist paused for a moment. What he said next was a total surprise.

"I don't have a wife. The lady who lives with me is a human-like robot called Kate. I created her to do all the household chores such as cleaning, cooking, ironing, etc. How could you have compared your wife to a robot? Lucy was a human with blood in her veins but Kate is a machine that works with a battery. Do you realize what you have done?"

The lawyer stood frozen in shock and disbelief. Then, the scientist continued.

"You had a good wife who was caring and compassionate. A wife who loved and respected you. Did you even know how lucky you were to have her as a wife? But you killed her due to your dissatisfaction and baseless comparison. Now you've lost her forever. What a shame!"

Many of us have the habit of comparing our life to others. We are fascinated and intrigued by the things others have. We lose value for what we own since what others have might look better, newer or prettier in some way. We often think that our body isn't good enough, our house isn't big enough, we aren't talented enough, our family don't do their best enough. But one thing we fail to realize is that the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. Comparison can kill a man very easily. It leaves us with negative feelings of envy, low self-esteem, low self-confidence and isolation. Know in your head and heart that you are different from others and not just only in appearance but also everything. Be happy with yourself and find satisfaction in your work. Stop comparing your life to others and be who you are.