Jaxon's POV
For ten years, I was in Tanzania. I wanted to live a low life, so I didn't contact anyone at home. Life was good alone, away from anyone who wanted to create problems for me. I was living in an affordable hotel until I depleted my cents. That forced me to seek employment, and in less than six months, I was working. I was employed by a tree cutting company which was desperate for employees because it was a new company. In my second year at work, I rented an apartment that was closer to my workplace.
I met different people and made new friends. My employers liked my activeness at work, so they promoted me to be a supervisor. In the end, I worked in my own office. The money I was earning was enough for me to pursue my studies, so I went to the University of Dodoma and started my biological science degree. I was working during the day while I was a student at night.
Life in Tanzania was very remarkable for me. I visited Serengeti National Park with my colleague, Amanda. We saw elephants, giraffes, and zebras. I would rather not leave the chimpanzees, which I liked the most. In our leisure time we also visited Mt. Kilimanjaro, and tried some mountain climbing even though we never climbed that high. Amanda was afraid of heights. We were having fun, and I needed no more company. Amanda's moment was enough to make me happy.
Things were going fine, but they changed after I graduated from university. I was thirty-two years old, and I missed my mother. I remembered my last hug with her. The feeling was intrigued when I saw other students with their parents during my graduation. It made me wish my mother was around. The memories came back anew, remembering how I ran from home ten years back just because I didn't want to get married to Cassie. It was the dumbest thing I ever did in my life. Cassie was the best girlfriend of my life in high school. I loved her very much, although something happened, which made me turn her down. When I thought about everything, I blamed myself. I couldn't even imagine how Cassie felt when I left.
One night after work, I was on my bed wishing to speak to my mom. It was difficult because I didn't have her phone number. The only number I knew in my head was Cassie's but I couldn't speak to her. I thought she was still angry to an extent of not wanting to hear my voice. To escape the thoughts, I jumped from my bed and went to prepare my supper. After switching on the stove, I heard a knock at my door. It was already past seven. The knock was familiar, so I knew it was Amanda's.
"Find yourself inside, Amanda!" I responded, looking at the door.
"What... you've mastered my knock? Next time, I won't bother knocking," she said, coming inside.
"You'll save much of your energy," I stated, receiving a plastic bag she carried. She realized I was preparing to cook and didn't waste time. She removed her shoes, washed her hands, and went straight to the stove to prepare supper.
"Let me make supper for you. You must be exhausted from work. I got your favorite oxtail meat from the supermarket," she said and smiled at me.
I checked inside the plastic bag and got pleased as I saw the oxtail meat. I pulled her closer and kissed her forehead. Oxtail meat was my favorite. When she was preparing supper, she urged me to go to the bath. To be frank, I didn't want to because it was cold. I didn't even wish to remove my socks. However, she continued insisting, so I complied.
Amanda was once my workmate at a tree cutting company. It was where we met and became friends. She didn't stay for too long in the company because she resigned after having a misunderstanding with our boss. Believe me, she was talkative and didn't care whom she voiced with. After her resignation, she lived with me while looking for another job. However, she ended up deciding to get married. She married a rich man, and after a few months, they divorced. She married again, and the time went on again until she was divorced again. The second heartbreak was hard for her because the man left her pregnant, but she aborted the pregnancy. She was lucky in marriages because she got married again for the third time. It was good, and they survived for only good eight months before she broke up with the man. She claimed the man was a drug addict. After all of her failed marriages, she surrendered and came to live with me again.
Don't forget I was bathing. After that, I dressed and went to the kitchen. My apartment had only two rooms. Bedroom and the kitchen. When I entered the kitchen, I found Amanda already done cooking. She had my food ready on top of the table. I went straight to eat my favorite supper while she took her way to the bathing room. She was tired and needed a shower before sleeping. As for eating supper, she said she was okay. I didn't bother asking her the reasons. After eating, I washed my plate. Thereafter, I took my blanket and prepared to sleep on the couch in the bedroom. I slept on the couch because I allowed Amanda to sleep on my bed.
When Amanda was done bathing, she said her good nights and jumped straight to bed. Within a few minutes, she was asleep, and I was struggling to find some sleep. I ended up switching on the TV and watched the news. The news my eyes landed on struck me. I couldn't believe the headlines that said Linx James was dead. He was my best friend since childhood. The one I trusted with the letter ten years back before running away from home. By all means, I was supposed to be present at his funeral.
#Remember this [Life's too short for distant friendships.]