Forbidden

Does Time Really Heal?

This is just a life update, because sometimes even though you've grown and the time you had in your hands had been cut off drastically, you'd always want to remind yourself a little on what has been going on.

Sometimes I'd like to think about the notion that says 'time heals'.

Does time really heal? Things do get better with time, but it doesn't always heal wounds. You may have forgiven, you may have forgotten but that wound still exists. It becomes a scar and it reminds you that before this scar you might have been another person, and you skin was smooth, and probably you were happier. But the scars remind you that though it's healed you were not the same because you saw things you didn't expect. Maybe you would never be the same because those things struck you to see life through different eyes.

Time changes you but time does not heal you completely. It sounds almost sad thinking about it that way, but I have seen it in the faces of people that's been hurt that there's still a piece of pain. It's not just evident anymore.

I am nineteen years old, in university, with a three year old that I have grown to love, notwithstanding how I have tried in those three years to hate her but instead I fell deeper in love with her. She's perfect, and she would always be perfect. Maybe when I was waiting for time to heal me, I had fallen in love with her, so maybe I had not completely lost in the end. Maybe, when others turn their back on me, she would be there, waiting for me. And I would be just fine with that.

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Eight Years Later..

The room was too cold. Definitely way too cold. Isabelle shivered and tried rubbing her hands up and down her arms to warm up. But she tried so much not to let the cold distract her, and concentrate at what was happening on stage.

It was a Nigerian Union of Teachers conference, held at the International Conference Centre. This was held annually in Abuja, but this time it was just for female teachers. It entered more on a lot of topics relating to the Gender Pay Gap and Sexual Abuse.

"I can relate to being harassed by the principal of a school I used to work at years ago. I'd go to his office to probably drop a document, and he's tell me he could promote me, but only if I'd sleep with him." It was an older woman talking on stage. On the stage, four women sat at each side of the huge screen and once a certain topic comes up, one of them gets up to lead. It was refreshing to see that women were becoming more aware of the issues that happened in society.

As much as she wanted to Isabelle couldn't listen more. As much as she tried, the air conditioner was distracting and she was literally freezing. As long as that Air Conditioner was situated beside her then it would be hard to be kept abreast off the whole conference.

Soon after, the 30 minute brunch break had begun. Isabelle looked at her watch to see it was 11:45am. That was more than enough time to grab a cup of tea and some sandwiches and try to loo for some empty seats to probably take, which seemed impossible at the moment. Just as she grabbed a plate to take a few sandwiches there was a pat on her back. It was Dooshima, her colleague at the secondary school she was teaching.

"Babe how far?" Isabelle said, smiling.

Dooshima reached out to grab a plate and sandwiches for herself as well. "I dey oh. This break couldn't come sooner"

Isabelle laughed. "It wasn't that boring"

"No it wasn't, haba. I was just hungry. Any longer and my belly would be singing"

"At least yours was hunger. I nearly froze to death. My seat was directly next to the AC and it was so distracting. I don't know how but I'm going to change my seat"