Everyone has got a path they lead in life that either traces them to the footsteps of their ancestors no matter how far they run, or set free in life to lead quite a different life because of the battles and war their ancestors fought to free them. I felt like I didn't belong to either
. Unconsciously, I found myself in the cast of the shadows of those who traced the footsteps of their ancestors while trying to break loose to lead a different life. Fate, they call it. A four word name that determines your whole living despite the dreams you anchor to have a footing in whatever ground you choose.
If you want to run people or understand the world, you need to study them first. Their behavior, patterns, social and economic lives. We call it social science. That's what I was pursuing in college. I didn't do it out of love, it was a suggestion by my mother that I put some liking in because there is somewhere I needed to be in life.Most decisions we make in life are sometimes influenced by our surroundings and the people in it. I lived in my mother's dream for quite a long time which i later untethered to pursue the voice in me that I think brought me back to what I thought I hated.
I shared a room with two girls, Hailey storms and Rebecca spears , two beautiful ladies who became sisters I never had. Hailey majored in software engineering and Rebecca , industrial chemistry. We became friends or look out sisters, a bond so tight that no one dared to come between. We never knew we would need each other to the extent we did until need arose.
With both their company ,things and life aligned with so much easiness that gave me a chance to grow wings abit and enjoy life. I would work on the weekends to have extra saving to myself and to afford the lifestyle in town. This doesn't mean I was completely absorbed by the lifestyle in the city, I had some value and dignity still in me. There was one thing that scared me the most . 'Dating.'
"Do you immediately fall for a partner or do you just choose one for convenience,"I would think to myself considering my Friends needed only a few weeks to know what they wanted. All the girls around me had boyfriends and fiancees but I didn't have any. Was I that unattractive? Or unrelatable? I would have wanted to receive flowers, letters and also to be treated right too.
The only beautiful words that were closely said to me were from a professor who compared my likeness to a lady they schooled with 25 years back. He once called me Mary in his class saying we had a striking resemblance to that of two peas in a pod. I mean we all have doppelganger in this existing world and also in after life.
Rebecca would force me into meeting the guys in her class whom she thought liked me and I would end up turning them down. "How will you ever find someone if you don't want to meet them. Your life is quite busy to even glance at one around you," she would tell me.
One day I was walking from class to the hostels, when a young man called my name" Bella".no one called me bella apart from my inner circle. So, I turned in suprise to see a tall handsome figure stretching his hand for a shake." Hey"I said. "Do I know you from somewhere?" "Everyone knows me no matter how much I try to hide."he said in a low voice. "Joseph, the school's president. We share international relations class. I've meant to introduce myself a couple of times but couldn't get myself into saying hello." He explained trying to avoid my stare. Oh, it's a pleasure to meet you Joseph, or school's president?" I tissed." Please call me Joseph." We shared a two minutes moment of silence as we didn't know what to say to each other, but I could notice the stares on the side , student chitchatting under their breath, others gasping by the site of his presence, something I avoided entirely in my few months stay.
I hated being the center of attention, or fame. I needed to come up with an excuse to avoid being noticed and thanks to a group of girls who needed a couple of selfies that I slid without him noticing. I never thought of it as a big deal and I didn't want Hailey to know since he was her idol and missing such chance to introduce him would make her mad. Couple of weeks went by as I juggled between classes and work. I had joined an activation job in one of the brewery companies in the country. I enjoyed working extra hours after classes as it kept me busy from so much especially sharing stories and experiences that were so unrelatable due to big social differences.
There was a two week break from one semester to the next and Rebecca had planned a getawayof five persons together with their partners in spring waters resort,a secluded property built in 90s to indulge into fun activities for a whole week which would give us another extra week to figure out what we wanted to do. She had planned in advance and let us know aweek before to prepare ourselves.
Since the place was a couple's resort, I fell short of the requirements and thought of staying back, though I really wanted to be there. Rebecca was to go with her boyfriend Allan ,who was in the same department as her, Hailey with her fiancee, tony, Rebecca's other friend Jessica with her friend, Her brother peter who was funding the whole getaway with his partner too and I.
It was the last class of the first semester and I remember the phone kept beeping , as messages popped up on the screen.