Relationship Stories & Experiences

She took my hands and made us swirl around in the dust as she sung what she thought was a romantic song- what she learnt from watching a lot of Nollywood movies.
She always dragged me by hand and forced marriage on me despite how young I was. Though I didn't like the fact that she paraded me along the village square and commanded my friends to stay away or snatching my privacy away each day, I still endured her company because she was pretty.

My younger sister and I had gone down to the Villa to celebrate Christmas with Granny and that was where I met my partner- Dubem.
Dubem was obviously older than me and schooled at a private junior secondary school at the town boarder. She was fluent in English which made her a bit respected by her fellow peers and it was with this ego that she had the courage to think she deserved me, a city-boy for herself.

We were walking down the red sand holding hands when she got distracted by an Udara tree (African star fruit). The tree was standing gloriously in a known compound decorated and decorated by the delicious yellow fruits.

"Pluck some Udara for me na, nwoke mara mma" Chidubem said, staring into my face with a pitiful look.

I was hesitant at first but as she pestered me, I decided to challenge my fear, knowing fully well that plucking any fruit in the community was against the village rules.
I was about to throw a second stone to a branch that held ripe seeds, when I felt something grab my arm.
I quickly stared at the spot where my supposed wife Dube was, and Voila! She was gone!
I glanced up to what was holding my arm, it was Mr. Maduka, a scary man who taunted children and disciplined the slightest misconduct.
"Are you from the Eze's? ", he asked me. I nodded instantly in affirmation, trying to wipe my teary eyes with the one hand I was left with.
"I will let you go today, but don't try this again", Mr. Maduka said, taking off his grip on me.

I scurried away happily, hopping along the shorter part that let to my Granny's house. It was my second chance to life and I won't let any Dubem influence my will ever again. Away with the marriage rubbish! I said before throwing myself on the bed.

I always wanted to spend time with John, but we lived far apart. When I heard he was coming for Christmas, I was so happy! I decided to plan a picnic for us.

I thought about a nice spot by the lake, with tall trees around. I made a list of things to bring: a warm blanket, hot cocoa, and snacks. I even packed a small speaker for our favorite songs.

The day finally came. I woke up early, feeling excited. It was cold outside, which was a perfect weather for a perfect picnic I dressed warmly and took everything to the lake.

When I got there, I saw John walking toward me, all bundled up. His cheeks were red from the cold. We smiled at each other and hugged. It felt great to finally be together.

We sat on the blanket, drank hot cocoa, and shared stories. We laughed and talked about good times we had. As the sun set, the sky turned beautiful colors, and I felt really happy.

I played our favorite song on my phone, and we sang along. In that moment, I knew this was what I wanted a fun time with John, without any distance between us.

When people usually spoke of roommate issues and similar topics, I would often exclude myself from the conversation. However, I must say that I now have personal experience with these roommate challenges. I once had a roommate with whom I shared a lot. I literally took care of him by providing most of the food. Every meal I cooked or bought, we would typically eat together.

He was usually very conservative with his own food, but I wasn't like that. I lived a very simple and transparent life. Eventually, it reached a point when my food supplies ran low, and I needed to rely on what little we had left until I could get more groceries from my parents. However, he reacted strangely; he seemed upset and even angry about the situation.

headed home, hoping to replenish my supplies. When I returned, I discovered he’d already eaten most of his own food, leaving only a few raw items behind. This time, I wasn’t as willing to share my food like I used to; I needed to look out for myself too. My change in attitude seemed to drive him even more over the edge.

He accused me of being a bad person, and shortly after, he decided to move out. I was conflicted. While part of me felt relieved, another part of me felt uneasy about how things had escalated. As the weeks passed, I noticed changes in him at school. He looked very stressed and was slimming down each day; the weight loss was evident, and he appeared pitiful to the eyes.

As weeks passed, he tried to rekindle our friendship. Yesterday, he even texted me, pleading to come back to our previous arrangemen, but I just couldn't overlook the betrayal. Trust, once broken, is hard to mend.

Today, I was walking home from a friend's place when I noticed a car following me. It had been trailing me for at least fifteen minutes before I registered it. To be sure, I deliberately changed my route. The car followed suit, diverging right behind me. I took another turn and again, it followed my movements. Then, I started to run. That's when the car stopped.

A young man came down from the car, he called out to me, but fear had already taken hold. I stopped, keeping my distance. Seeing only one person in the car, the driver who had been following me, eased my terror slightly, but I still hesitated. He pleaded with me to approach, but I remained where I was, close enough to hear him, but not close enough to feel safe.

I could bet it was an admirer but he had already made an impression and it was clear that if I hadnts picked up pace, he might have followed me until I reached my house, isnt that creepy?
He was looking fine for a man and even though he repeated that he was carried away by my beauty that he didn't want to loose sight of me, I had defined him as a creepy person and all he said to me passed right through me.

At last, I gave him a fake number and continued my journey before he could utter another word.

I had become very much uncomfortable with cooking for myself. This was unusual, as I typically only enjoyed food prepared by my immediate family. Before, I wouldn't even consider eating food made by anyone outside of my nuclear family.

However, my busy lecture schedule had disrupted my eating habits. I often found myself skipping breakfast and waiting until afternoon to eat. This had become a normal routine for me, and my body had adapted to it. Sometimes, I could even go a whole day without feeling hungry.

But when my friend visited, she expressed concern about my eating habits. She took the time to educate me on the potential health consequences of my actions. She warned me about the risks of stomach ulcers and gastrointestinal problems, which could arise from irregular eating and poor nutrition. Her words makea a whole lot of meaning, and I felt remorseful for my actions.

I decided then and there to make a change. I resolved to resume cooking my own meals, ensuring that I eat regular, balanced meals. If necessary, I would buy food that's easy to prepare, rather than relying on irregular meals or going hungry. I was determined to prioritize my health and avoid developing ulcers or other health problems.

I ran into Cynthia today was an old friend and my former classmate from JSS3. She was my first crush, though I'm not willing to disclose any details about that.
Back then, I had drawn a very beautiful picture of a flower, and to make it special, I wrote Cynthia’s name on it. I brought it to classhappy to show my artwork.

I was quite skilled at drawing, and when I displayed it, my classmates marveled at my creation. However, everything changed when a good friend of mine, a guy in particular, approached the picture. Without asking for my permission, he grabbed it from my hands and rushed over to Cynthia. As he presented the artwork to her, he shouted that I was into her.

Kaii! That moment left me completely speechless. It felt like my heart had stopped for a second.

Cynthia appreciated the picture, but disappointedly, she gently declined to accept it. She claimed her parents would be against it. I didn’t understand her reasoning at the time. To me, it was just a thoughtful gift, a good gesture meant to show my appreciation for her beauty and nothing more. I hadn't pushed for anything romantic; I didn't even accompany the gift with a wish or a declaration of feelings. I was still young and inexperienced, simply wanting to express my admiration.

Reflecting on that moment now, I realize how much I've grown. When I ran into Cynthia recently, it opened my eyes to how naive I had been. Perhaps then, I was just a kid, caught up in the idea of beauty without grasping its complexities. Cynthia was a fair girl, definitely beautiful in her own right, but she was also quite short compared to my preferences these days.

I was standing outside my lecture hall when I saw some nursing students coming out of their class. They were in a big hall down the road, right in front of me. Suddenly, I spotted an old friend from secondary school! We hadn't talked in almost five years, so I was really surprised to see her.

I didn't even know she was in school, and this was the first time I was seeing her since then. We started talking and catching up on everything. It felt really nice to see her again, and we exchanged our phone numbers so we could stay in touch.

While we were chatting, she mentioned that she was surprised by how confident and talkative I was now. Back in secondary school, I was shy and didn't speak much, so no one really heard my voice. It was fun to reconnect and share how we have both changed.

As we continued talking, my friend started to share how her school program was making her feel very stressed. She talked about how tough her classes were and how strict the teachers were about everything. I could understand how she felt because even though my own classes weren't as hard, I still had a lot to do every time we moved to a new clinical posting.

I think her department made things harder with their rules and schedules. It was interesting to hear about her experiences because it reminded me of my own challenges.

I have been very good friends from 100 level. That's my first year. Till now, we are still friends. But recently, I decided to elevate this friendship into something else. Because this girl always told me about her feelings about me and how she thinks she wanted to take it serious. But me, I'm a very intentional guy. Not to talk more of myself, but I'm intentional. I do not want any relationship that I cannot picture in a family setting. This girl, I do not trust her moves. I do not like the way she behaves. So I just have kept her in a platonic zone for a very long time. And I never wanted a relationship until she was very serious about it. So I decided that we would talk about it after meeting up.

On our first meet up, she was steadily on her phone chatting, chatting. And then there was this chat. A name of a man appeared. I wanted to take a peek and she hid the phone.

It was very upsetting. Normally, she's a very open friend to me, and I knew immediately that there was something up with the chat, so I demanded to see it. It wasn't me trying to be possessive or acting jealous; I didn’t mean to peek or invade her privacy. It was just the name that captivated me, and how she was constantly hiding the phone, moving it up and down, trying to shield the contents while she typed. That increased my interest.

I told her to show it to me if she had a clear conscience. Remember, I was supposed to talk about the relationship between us on this day. But after that incident, when she refused to show me the chat for about 20 minutes while she fiddled with her phone, deleting texts or whatever she was doing, it became hard to ignore the red flags.

Eventually, she decided to come and show me, but by then, I had already made up my mind. The thoughts of a relationship were completely canceled for me. I couldn't move forward with someone I couldn't trust, and that was it.

Life in medical school has never been easy, especially when it comes to professional exams. My God, the system is just designed to frustrate students' efforts. I had worked so hard for my professional exam. Going for series of night classes with my friend Angela. The experience has never been easy, but we believe together we can cross this bridge.

Paying the huge sacrifice for success and to make Mum and Dad proud. Every day, after each exam, we stayed back and have a recheck on our answers, and judging by our performance, I thought we're both doing well. And somehow, I was convinced it will all end in victory.

Finally, our results were out, and we both went to the notice board to check for our results with so much enthusiasm, just with little uncertainty. I was very excited when I saw that I passed. I wanted to celebrate, but then I saw Angela's face. I needed no other explanation; she didn't pass. "How can I celebrate?" I thought.

Angela looked so sad, and I felt her pain. Instead of partying, I sat with her and said, "I'm so sorry. You worked so hard." Angela smiled through her tears. "I'm happy for you, but I just wish it was me too." At that point, I couldn't help it, as tears flowed down my eyes.

"What's left to do with these broken pieces on the floor?" she asked. "Beauty can always come out of ashes," I said to her, and then she felt encouraged and was energized to sit for the exam again, and this time around, she passed, even better than I did, with two distinctions.

Owning a pet was something I looked forward to when I was still much younger. I always admired those movies where the protagonist or the actor would have one fluffy, admirable, small puppy that could talk.

I anticipated that when I grew up, maybe in the university, I would like to get myself a puppy. Not until some months back, a friend of mine kind of suggested that a particular seller was willing to sell a cute puppy for a lower amount. I quickly opted in on them, had to join money from this person and that person until then I met up with the amount and then I got this small puppy dog.

Since then, I've spent on this dog what I have not spent on myself.
I've stayed with this dog for some months now, and I must say that the money I've spent on this puppy is far more than what I've spent on reckless or careless expenditures. You know those expenditures that don’t require deeper thought you just spend, and then you realize you have wasted your money. I think this dog has taken its place.

I do not buy accessories again, I do not go for things that I admire anymore, and I do not even have any savings. Because of my fantasies, I have to budget for myself, and budget for this dog too, and it's taken much.

This dog is already family, and I do love it despite all its disadvantages, I must say. I can't give it up now I've come too far to give up. So let's see where it leads.

It all began two years ago when I met her. There was an instant spark, a connection that felt undeniable. We laughed, shared secrets, and quickly began to spend more time together, getting to know each other's thought on destiny and purpose. It was a blissful time filled with youthful excitement and hope.

I've known mercy for quite some time now and there is know need snicking around, we both decide to be more official and by implications we started visiting each other's homes, not longer the formal way of waiting behind after lectures but this time around she can come to my house and me to her place as well.

My first visit to her place wasn't a bad one, as her parents thought I was just a school friend and probably came to have some home lectures with her. Little did they know that something fishing is going down 🤣 trust me I was looking cool and gentle all true my stay.

Things has been going so well but not this time around, I visited and she went to the market, it was just her dad at home. Cheerfully the old man offered I stay with him while I wait for my friend. Hmm 🤔 I was left with know choice but to sit, the man was not just interesting to be with but also very funny. I could not help but become very free with him.

I know you love my daughter he questioned? at this point I knew the man it's becoming very interested in our relationship, on a first thought I wanted to lie but on the other hand I knew he had seen us more offen than expected if i claim of just being a friend. I only said nothing but the truth.

Just like every other Nigerian man his next question was who are your parents and what is your family name. The atmosphere changed immediately I answered him. I suspected something was wrong, but just couldn't pick point what the problem was. Unfortunately my friend is home and our conversation was interrupted.

I wasn't surprised to see mercy with her dad in my place the next morning. I could sense the gravity of what was coming. Somewhere wetin my spirit I knew I had not done anything wrong and besides I and mercy hasn't bounded so there is no way she could be pregnant.

My dad was already in the sitting room when they entered, I was suprise to see both parents exchange pleasantries as though they've known from somewhere. With heavy hearts, they revealed the truth we were distantly related. Not close enough to be considered immediate family, but the connection was there a thread that tied our families together in a way that made our relationship complicated and, ultimately, unacceptable.

The news wasn't a good one. All at once, the joy we had shared turned into heartache. We were faced with an impossible decision to end what had blossomed between us. It was as if the universe had conspired to tear us apart just as we were discovering the depths of our feelings. In that moment, we both understood that love sometimes comes with boundaries we cannot cross.

I’m the kind of person who usually doesn’t understand why someone would stay on a phone call for more than 30 minutes. I’ve always looked at those people who talk for an hour or even two as if they’re just jobless, unable to find something better to do. What could possibly be so important to discuss for that long, especially over the phone?

But today was different. I received a call from one of my close male friends, and it had been a while since we last spoke. To be honest, I really like this guy he had a good personality, and I know he liked me. When he called, I wasn’t sure what to expect. To my surprise, we ended up talking for a long time. The call was long, in fact, that I didn’t even realize an hour had passed until I checked the time.

What amazed me was that we still had so much to talk about. I felt a rush of happiness as my perspective on long phone calls shifted instantly. We continued chatting, and before I knew it, another hour flew by. Unfortunately, that’s when the network started to interfere. It was the only reason we had to hang up, but by then, my idea of long calls had changed.

It’s not that I hated long calls or had never experienced. It was just that seeing someone engage in lengthy conversations repeatedly felt a bit too much.

It was a busy day trying to finish this certainwork. So focused that I didn’t see the time moving extremely fast, till now I cant tell how it happened that I wasnt timing myself. But suddenly, I looked at my phone and was shocked that it was already past 12 pm.

My tummy was growling and battling with me to serve it it's first offering because I was very hungry, but I was still trying to round up the work which was almost completed before I continued with any other thing.
If you want to know how much focus I had on this task, then I should let you know that I didn't was my morning face.

When I got done, I thought about getting dressed to go buy something to eat. Just then, I heard a knock at my door. It was my friend, my nice neighbor! She had a big, beautiful plate that was showing of hot smoke.

When I took the plate from her and opened it, my eyes was greeted with the kind of aroma you only find in rare places
She had given me a plate of well cooked spaghetti and two slices of fried fish on it. The smell made me very happy as i quickly thanked her and ran to get my fork. I ate carefully not to spill anything. People can cook, forget stories.

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.

My neighbor was pleading with a girl over the phone. It was one of the funniest calls I'd ever heard. He kept saying things like, "Please don't do this to me. I can explain." Each time ge repeated this statement got me thrown into laughter so loud that he could hear it across the wall that separated his room from mine, and I couldn't help but think he sounded ridiculous.

Suddenly, I noticed the call end abruptly, and a moment later, my neighbor came out of his room, looking a bit unwell, he was looking sick already. He walked straight up to me and started spilling the story behind the phone call. I felt guilty for having laughed so loud then.

His girlfriend wanted to break up with him, and he was trying to explain his side of things. He told me, "If a girl makes you lose your way, then she’s not good for you." That was solid advice I thought, but it was still the same man who was begging some minutes ago.

I didn't know much about their relationship or what had led to this moment. All I could do was nod and listen as he vented, wondering how someone could go from pleading on the phone to standing in front of me already trying to make his soon to be ex look like the evil one with lots of flaws.

An old time friend visited me some days ago. It was a tiring walk going to bring her from the junction.
After we happily met, walked about 2 minutes before we got to my house.

We were tired because it was a very hot afternoon. I myself, who walked the short distance to bring her in, was so tired. Now you can imagine how tired she herself was.

Just as we entered the house and she had seated and made herself comfortable, I had given her a cup of water and then a can of malt to help cool her off when all of a sudden we spotted a scorpion entering through the door. It was just as if she had invited the scorpion with her.

As if in expectance, she stood immediately and killed it with a broom, uttering some words of prayer as she ebuked the harmful creature.

Almost throughout her stay, our conversation was centered at scorpions and other similar harmful organisms. It was fun to have her around.

I once went out with a male friend in the evening, he invited me to a small sit out, we gisted and discussed about a lot of things. I considered him my friend, because I've known him for years, so I felt safe and comfortable. It was getting late, so I told him I wanted to start going home, he didn't seem comfortable with that, but then he said he wants to tell me something, that I should follow him.

He took me to a lodge there at the sit out, I asked him what it is that he can't tell me where we were seated, he said I shouldn't be afraid of him, that he just wants to have a word with me. I considered him one of my best friends, so I saw no reason to be afraid of him. He started telling me how he has feelings for me and wants to date me, I told him I'll think about it and if that was all.

This could have been discussed outside, I couldn't understand why this had to be said inside, I got up to leave, but he stopped me and made some abnormal advances towards me, I objected. But I knew it, this guy was physically fighting me, he tried to rape me, I plunged my teeth into his chest and gave him a very deep bite, he let me go and ran outside, straight home. I didn't know he was capable of that, how could he try to rape someone whom he wants to date?

I got home, and felt pains on my back, I checked and saw injury on my back, I was wounded during the struggle, the scar remains till today. For that guy, he later came around to apologize, I accepted his apology, but we can't be friends anymore, I deleted his number from my phone. It was partly my fault, I trusted him too much. That is why till today, I don't go out with people anyhow again, that incident taught me a lesson, anybody is capable of anything.

I use to hear and see people reading through the night with some kind of either coffee or a kind of energy drink, which I've not fancied for long. Sometime during the early stage in the university, I read an article that highlighted the health implications of taking coffee, caffeine-related and all those energy drinks, and I’ve abstained myself untill yesterday.

Yesterday, my friend came around and insisted that we do a night story. Well, she came along with some energy drink, and then during this night study, she gave me a bottle. I drank it, and I think I'm loving it. I think I would get it tomorrow morning, but I'm still trying to keep myself away from it.

This is just a way of somebody starting an addiction without knowing, and I do not want to be a part of it. I enjoyed the energy drink honestly, and it kept me active throughout the night, but I do not want to get addicted to any sort of drinks. I do not.

It’s been two weeks since I last made it to choir rehearsals, so today I decided no matter what, I’d be there.

On my way to church, I had no idea the day had something unexpected in store. I caught sight of a familiar face. Could it really be Joy? My heart skipped a beat as I recognized her.

Before I could fully process it, there she was, rushing over with a smile. She’d been away, and hearing she was back brought this excitement I couldn’t even describe.

We found a bench nearby and got into talking about life, her trip to port Harcourt, and all the small stuff that had happened while she stayed there. Time was flying, and honestly, I didn’t want the moment to end. But choir rehearsal was waiting, and the clock was ticking faster than normal.

Just as I was about to say goodbye, Joy insisted on grabbing me a quick snack.
When I finally reached rehearsal, I was singing from deep within. The happiness I felt was on another level entirely. That unexpected reunion added a miracle to my voice.

Saturday remains one of those days that all ladies spend their full week preparing on how to make the weekend such an amazing one. especially when you have a deal either to go out with friends or on a dinner date with your boyfriend.

But in this case there was no sign on any of those events happening, so I was already prepared for a boring weekend little did I know that my best boy is cooking up something huge for the weekend.

It was morning and there was no need waking up I mean why should I be in a haste to leave my sweet and soft bed without any important reason and besides it's Saturday I should have a good bed rest.

Just massaging myself on my bad I received a text message, it was from my best boy, with a smile on my face I unlocked my phone to check the content of the message. And it reads " get ready we're going out on a date"

You don't want to know the type of strength that I entered me all of a sudden and in the next one hour I was ready and was waiting for him.

He eventually showed up and we left for his most preferred event center where we had fun, hosting different games to another. And of course there was lot of snacks and food to eat. It was indeed an amazing time with him once again, even though I couldn't get enough of him.

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.