Lydia Ukpai @lydia

I had just finished taking my bath when I stepped out of my bedroom, feeling refreshed. As I opened the door and wanted to enter my room to dry my body, my hand suddenly slipped, and I spilled a bottle of red oil all over the floor.
We all know how expensive that oil is nowadays, and as I picked up the bottle, I realized with that it was more than half spilled it had emptied even more than half. Something I just bought.

What was supposed to last me for about ten meals had been reduced to only last four times. I had just bought the oil that very day, placing it on the cupboard near the entrance to my bedroom, planning to take it to the kitchen later. But it was too late after I picked the almost empty bottle up in regrets. The oil had leaked with such force that I hit it with, splattering everywhere.

At that moment, my day felt like it was falling apart, but what truly spoiled it further was the the rag I had just washed will suffer it more. In a panic, I grabbed the rag to soak up the oil before it spread further into my room and damaged other belongings. I still had some stubborn stains on my bedsheet and the rug that I couldn’t get rid of completely but it fine, stuffs happen.

Today, as I sat down to think, my mind kept going back to my use-to-be friend. I had been feeling really fond of her lately, and our friendship was growing stronger with each passing day. We laughed together, shared secrets, and enjoyed each other's company. It felt wonderful, and I was excited about where our friendship was heading.

But then, something unexpected happened. One day, she started talking about boundaries. She joked about how my calls were getting to be too much. At first, I thought she was just making a funny comment, but deep down, it bothered me.
I tend to take words seriously and always looking for meaning in what people say.

As a good friend, I decided to write her a long message to explain how I felt about the statement she made, I wanted her to know that everyone is different, and I just call her because she’s my friend and I care about her plainly.

When I sent the message, I was hoping for understanding. But her response surprised me. She sent me a sticker that seemed playful, almost as if she didn’t really take my well composed long writeup seriously.
I felt my stomach biting me in disappointment. Since that day, it’s been over three weeks, and I’ve kept my distance from her.

We used to talk often, but now our conversations are different. It was hard to pull though but not when someone I call a friend take me for granted.
She had apologised three times now but I am never letting us go back to the way we used to before.
How was she expecting me to feel when she made that statement.

I was at my usual restaurant trying to purchase some food this evening when I caught sight of people gathering. It wasn’t just a few people oo, it was a large number of people, as if something drastic had happened at that spot.

I didn’t try to figure out what was going on, I was just in a hurry to get my food and rush back home to eat because I was hungry, to be frank.

Then, all of a sudden, I spotted someone familiar in the crowd. It was as if she was the center of attraction, and she was shouting at the top of her voice. I couldn't understand what was going on; she was just shouting. I knew this girl was somewhat of a troublemaker-not a troublemaker per se, but she was a kind of violent person who always liked to pick a fight. You would always see her raising her voice, trying to make an impact...all that kind of things, and I disliked it. When I spotted her, I was like, "Oh, I should call ?, should I go and identify to know her?, should I go closer to just know what was going on?
All sorts of soliloquy came by my head and I think I went with none of the above.
I was home as soon as my food was handed over to me.

During the evening today, I noticed people moving up and down hastily as there was every sign that it was going to rain plus the lightning in the sky.

Meanwhile, I hadn’t eaten anything all afternoon and I desperately needed to find some food for the evening food that which I’m actually eating right now while writing this.

So, I was on my way when, all of a sudden, a bright flash of lightning struck right in front of me. It was the first time I had ever witnessed lightning that was so close and so clear striking. It felt like the my village people finally out for me. It struck so near that I fell to the grounds.

There werent people around, and after I got up, I ran under a nearby shelter because, as we all know, safety first. I watched as other people continued to walk about, unconcerned by the dramatic weather. I thought "Am I the only one who should be afraid of the weather?"

Just then, I gathered my courage, stepped out from under the shelter. Food is life, I couldn't turn back.

My father always warned me about one thing whenevet I was playing with stones. He always warmed me never to throw stones up in the sky He would repeat this every time he noticed a stone in my hand.
But I loved it, There was something magical about picking up a stone, feeling its weight in my palm, and then throwing it high into the air. I would watch it fly, with excitement as I aimed for the bright blue sky. The joy it brought me was like nothing else. One of my friends was the one who taught me the bad habit.

I remember those afternoons spent in the open field near our house, sunlight pouring down like liquid gold. I'd stand there, surrounded by tall grass swaying gently in the breeze, and pick up stone after stone. Each one had a different shape, size, and color. I would imagine that if I threw them hard enough, maybe they could reach the clouds. It was a simple thrill, just the feeling of freedom and my own little adventure, aiming for the sky and nothing else.

But my dad never liked seeing me throw stones, maybe because I was a girl but he tried to make me understand that a stone thrown too high can come down with great force and it might land on someone’s head or it could hit something important, like a glass window, and then I'll have to deal with the consequences. He always told me this.

Despite his warnings, I couldn’t help myself, I would hide when my Dad wasnt looking and continue with my habit, but deep down, I knew my dad’s words were wise, just didn’t think it would happen to me.

Then one afternoon, everything changed. I was playing in front of our compound after throwing my selected stone high up in the sky, I saw it go above the tall palm trees and above roof tops.

I stood there in shock, my heart was pounding as I processed what had just happened. That crash sounded all too familiar like a shattering glass.
Till today, I cannot tell all that my buttocks saw in the hands of my father.
After the inhabitants of the house that I broke their glass window came to report to my parents.

Today, I had to plait my roommate’s hair, and everything would have gone smoothly if she had brought new wool. But she came with old, rough wool, which made things way harder than expected. We had to rub cream on each strand just to make it usable. After two hours, my fingers were red and sore from twisting.

What started as a simple task quickly turned frustrating when we realized, after four hours, we had barely made progress. The wool was tough, and it kept tangling, slowing us down. I was feeling so tired, but we couldn’t give up halfway.

I had no choice but to call in help. Our neighbors, who were better at plaiting, came to the rescue. They helped us rush through the rest of the hair, but even with extra hands, it was still a long process. At that point, we just wanted to finish before nightfall.

Finally, after hours of twisting, pulling, and cream-rubbing, we were done. It had taken way longer than expected, and we finished by 11 a.m. It was exhausting, but we laughed about it afterward, grateful to have gotten through it.

I am someone who values health and wants everyone in my household to also see their health as important as I do.
I want everybody basking in good health and then bubbling strong even when they are aging especially my Dad and Mom.

So after looking up some health tips, I studied on diet and exercises and how they could help elongate lifespan

so in a particular Saturday, I was able to convince my parents and all my siblings to come out for a little jogging.
But before the jogging, the evening earlier, I already bribed them with some drinks. I just used my little savings and got some bottles of drinks for every member of my family and then at that moment I seized it and convince them to follow me to sporting the next morning.

Well... I wanted them to value the proposed activity more even though they reluctantly prepared.
we all later went for the jogging and it was a good time together, I pray they all agree to join me this coming Sartuday too.

I had my mind made up on getting a body spray specifically, the red RIGGs body spray.

I called the vendor to ask if she had the red riggs, the ones that I had my heart set on, I have used it before and I knew that it smelt good.

Unfortunately, she informed me that they were out of stock. But almost immediately, she offer a recommendation which was the black riggs body spray.

Usually, I stick to what I know and love, so I insisted on getting the precise red riggs. But the way she spoke about the black rigs hypnothised me. She was just too sure when she made comparisons between the both. After some deliberation, I decided to try the black rigs instead. What do I have to loose?, and it was still thesame price.

The next morning, just before school, I applied the spray and instantly I was contented with what it smelt like. Throughout the day, I noticed people acknowledging the the fragrance.

After I got the 3rd commendation, I concluded that the black was more befitting for me

I went to a small shop run by a woman near my home because I needed some water. I picked up a bag of sachet water and thought that the story would end there, but it didnt.

When I took a sip, I noticed something was off. The taste was strange and not good at all. I tried to manage it and act as if it was a minor thing, but soon after, I started to get a headache. I hadn’t had a headache in a long time, and I couldn’t understand why it was happening now just some minute after I finished one sachet of water.

It was clear to me that the water was making me feel this way. I wasn't a doctor, but I could tell something was wrong.

So, I decided to put the sachet of water aside. I went to another shop and bought a new bag of water. This one tasted better and felt right.

After this occurrence, I doubt if I will be buyibg water from that very shop again, I can't be rushing my health or loosing my money.