Sing Of A Tree In The Wild

Expect The Unexpected

Elfrida's Perspective

All my life, I have never come so close to revealing it all, the way I have today with Dennis. I really don't know how Dennis is doing it, but I really, really, really want to trust him. Maybe I already do, deep down.

But I don't trust anyone....

Well, apart from Matthew.

If you ask me, I had a whole amazing day planned out with Dennis. My parents already went out to vote before I woke up. No one told me that, I just knew. The silence that greeted me when I woke up was enough to convince me beyond all reasonable doubt. Jumping off my bed, I set out to get my morning rituals over with. By the time I'd finished dressing up, I took one final look at the mirror.

And guess who came to my mind.

The moment a mental picture of him formed in my head, a horde of butterflies began to bang incessantly against my gastric walls.

I missed him terribly.

The amount of joy I derived from Dennis' company was immeasurably more than that I have ever derived from anybody outside my family.

But really, do I even have a family?

Do I know what a family is?

Have I ever belonged to one?

The only blood relative I have, that I can consider to be family, is Matthew. Not my father. Not my so-called mother. Not the red-eyed monster. Matthew. And I haven't seen him in three years, ever since he and his parents decide to begin a new life in the United Kingdom.

I was so devastated when he left.

For the period of time I spent with him, he made my stay in this maximum security prison so enjoyable. His presence quenched the flames of my hell and brought paradise. He was the oasis to my scorching desert.

In three years, no one has come close to filling that void, no one.

No one but Dennis.

Funny enough, I have known Dennis ever since I moved to Gbagada in 2013. I was even surprised to see him in Grace High School, where I resumed as a Year Four transferee. But never for once have I had a conversation with him. On my part, I was a recluse, as he rightfully described me not long ago. On his part, he was probably too loved up with his then-girlfriend, Kofo. Even after they broke up, I still never saw the both us meeting each other officially. It was just unimaginable, too unimaginable.

The day he visited me was a very terrible one for me. Not like the other days were any different, though. The thing is, that very day was the day I decided to write my competition poem. Coming up with a title was not hard. I penned down the first four stanzas effortlessly. After that, I was stuck; my brain went blank for over four hours. I wrote and wrote, but it didn't correlate. I crossed out many lines and trashed quite a handful of papers.

It was frustrating, to say the least.

Normally, whenever something like that happens, I always suspend my work and take a break. Experience has taught me that the 'flow' returns during my breaks. I saw no reason why it wouldn't work then. Just when I had packed up to leave the balcony, I saw him standing by my gate, talking to my gatekeeper.

I couldn't believe it.

I can remember my mouth open in excited shock. I can remember pinching my arm just to be sure I wasn't dreaming. Quickly, I shifted my eyes back to my notebook. I didn't want him to know that I was aware of his arrival. It would have ruined the moment.

But something else happened, something I haven't been able to explain or understand ever since.

The moment I sensed him walk through my gate, the ideas came to me.