Kingsley Ukwueze @kingsleysom

I had a roommate for a while, but he wasn’t fully a typical roommate. He didn’t pay rent or share utility bills. It was more like a kind gesture.
You see, he was in a tight situation and needed somewhere to stay temporarily, so I let him crash at my apartment for some weeks or rather a month per say.

He was an interesting guy, always full of stories and laughter and I was helping him out during his search for a new hostel space. After about a month, he found a spot in a hostel. When he settled in, he started packing his things, ready to move on.

I had to help him pack in order to avoid him leaving behind any valuable belongings. But despite our efforts to avoid this, he called about a week after and reported that he had forgotten in my kitchen, the ceramic plate which he won as a trophy as the fastest runner during an inter house sports that hosted about 10 schools in the region.

The next morning, I decided to help him out. I placed the ceramic plate on the table, beside the door where he would easily see it. I thought it would be super convenient for him to grab it on his way out.
But as fate would have it, while I was carrying some other things around, I tripped, shaking the table where it lay, and I watched in horror as the ceramic plate slipped from my saving hands. It fell to the floor and shattered into pieces.

I knew I had to lie to him about it, maybe tell him that I didn't find it, or that it was broken when I found it. But I am not a liar and he doesn't deserve to be lied to either.
I could hear the surprise in his voice as I told him about the broken plate.

He took it surprisingly well. I guess he understood that accidents happen. He wasn't so happy after I narrated what happened, but still we put that behind.

I came home after some time at school and working outside. As I was returning, I enjoyed looking at my neighborhood. The palm trees were tall and green, just like I remembered.

Suddenly, I had a flashback. I thought about the days when we were all at home together. I didn't have to work back then. My big sister was still in university, and my little sister was in secondary school. We used to pick palm fruits after they were cut down from the trees. We had so much fun together.

How I laughed when I recall how cunny I was then just to ease my own workload. I always had a way to sweet talk my way at the slightest detection that I was lagging in picking speed.

Thinking about those times made me happy. But now, it felt different. My big sister is married, and my little sister is still in school. Things have changed a lot. I still love my family, but I miss the good old days when we were all together at home but that's growth for you.

Back then, it wasn't really like I enjoyed the stress of picking those fruits with my siblings, but remembering it, all I see is family love.

Today was a busy day. A few people from my work were picked to go meet the Vice Chancellor at IMT, which is a well-known school. I was excited about the trip, but I stayed up late the night before and didn’t sleep enough.

When I got to the bus stop, I saw that the bus had already left without me. I felt sad and worried. I checked my phone to see if my coworkers had called, but my phone was dead because there was no power. I was really frustrated.

I didn’t want to miss the meeting, so I got on the next bus going to the same place.
In the bus, I was so restless and even without my phone to get in contact with my colleagues, I was almost in traumatic shock.

Luckily, I caught up with my colleagues on the way!
Sighting them in the moving bus next to the one I boarded, my joy overflowed, what haven't I assumed.
I got to the location before they did as my bus moved a bit faster than theirs, even though I thought I would be late, now I'll be receiving them, I thought.

Being the first one there made me really happy and relieved.

As I was walking down the path with my umbrella, I heard a loud crash. It was such a shocking sound that I quickly unplugged my earpiece. When I looked up, I saw two cars that had crashed right next to me! They were sliding on the slippery road after the rain.
Not like overturned, they were just pushing each other along the road as an effect of the collided force.

How life could be gone in an instant, it could be anyone else. The people around began to gather around the spot, ready to help if theres meed to and I joined too.

At first, I felt scared about what I would see. But then, I noticed that the crash wasn't as bad as the sound made it seem. The drivers got out of their cars, looking surprised but okay. A wave of relief washed over me.

We all stood there for a moment, taking in what had just happened. I felt grateful to see everyone safe. The drivers began to thank each other for being unharmed, and we all looked up and thanked God that day.

As I continued my walk, I thought about how quickly things can change and how important it is to appreciate life. Happy Sunday.

This morning, I wanted to get to church early. I wasn’t feeling great, so I thought it would be good to start the day right. I planned to wake up early and take my devices to my friend’s house, which is near the church. I knew this would take some time, so I made sure to leave early.

Our street light was having faults and we have not perceived electricity for some days now.
I had already contacted a friend who lived close to the church and as he confirmed that their vicinity had electricity, I planned how to cover the distance and still make it in church early.

After I arrived at my friend’s place, I plugged in my phone and other devices to charge. Then, I went to church.

I was so happy because I got to church 15 minutes before the service started! I sat in the front row and looked around. I felt ready to pray.

The Sunday was very nice, and now I’m back home, feeling good about my time at church.

When I was about four years younger, there was a guava tree next to our house that I loved to climb. I felt like an explorer, sitting up high and looking at the pretty view. But one day, everything changed.

I was up there in thd tree, daydreaming and watching the clouds float by, when suddenly I saw something that made my heart stop. I quickly took a closer look and saw a tail slithering up the branches. Oh no! It was a green snake!

I freaked out! My brain started racing. What should I do? Make friends with it? Offer it a guava? Nah, definitely not! So, I called for my brother, running around the tree like a crazy person. “Help! There’s a snake! A bright green one, it will bite me!"

But my brother was inside, happily munching on snacks and totally oblivious of the trauma that I was facing. I decided I had to jump down from the tree. I looked at how tall it really was, and guess what? It wasn’t that tall after all (this judgement was out of panicked)

So, with all the bravery left in me, I leaped off the tree and landed on the ground with a thud. I was safe! But I didn’t waste any time. I ran inside faster than I ever had, craving some chilled water to calm my nerves.

When I got inside, I flopped onto the floor, panting like I’d just run a marathon. I couldn't wait to tell everyone about my big adventure. “I have an amazing story!” I shouted, waving at my other siblings who were engrossed looking at a movie.

Immediately I mentioned that a snake was close by, they all gathered around me as I spilled my story to them.