MY GIRLFRIEND STAYS WITH ME FOREVER
By: Adah Johnzion

“Johnzion, you cannot tell me that you have never fallen in love all your life; come-on! Please tell me your love story, I’d really love to hear it…” she asked, and then I began to narrate…

Okay dear, there used to be this very intimate female friend I had. We eventually became besties and later lovers. As kids, we grew up in the same neighbourhood. We were classmates, and I was just a year older. Ahhh, as I write, I see her beautiful face smiling at me with her dimples curved in the shape of love. She was beyond beautiful.

Growing up, she always sneaked from her house to visit me in my room at odd hours. Most times very early in the morning before morning masses, and other times while I am in bed, after lights out, through the window, just shortly before I sleep and we usually had very long chats full of laughter, but we did this whispering.

Interestingly, she had this calm sweet voice and she always made her way into my room and knew how to quietly return back without being noticed. My parents caught her once and so tried to get me to sleep and warned her never to visit at odd hours again.

Ever since then, she promised to visit me only when I am confused and whenever I did anything wrong. All I needed to do to see her was to tell a lie or take something that was not mine and even if no one was there to see me or judge me wrong, immediately, she comes around and begins to condemn my action and as soon as I admit that I was wrong she gives me a peck on my left cheek and leaves.

I remember once, I refused to do my assignment, so I went to school very early and copied a friend’s assignment, luckily for me, I scored all correctly. Then my teacher asked everyone to clap for me. While they were all praising me, she stood by one corner, folding her hands and screaming, “It’s a lie! He copied Moses’ work! He does not deserve the accolades!” She was shouting at the top of her voice, loud enough for people in the next class to hear, but I discovered I was the only one hearing her.

Another time, I claimed to be sick and refused to do any work out of laziness. While I was shivering pretentiously in my room, she walked in quietly, looked at me, smiled and said, “Zion, you know nothing is wrong with you!” I was getting fed up gradually. I began to wonder, “How does she get to know all these? Could she be spying on me or is she a witch?” I thought.

I remember how I told her she was no more my friend again, for exposing my wrongs. But then she told me she was only helping me and that no one else knows what she tells me except me, and that I still have the choice to neglect whatever she says if it is a lie. We played together, walked back home together from school together, saved money together, acted King and Queen at all the plays and shared meals together during breaks in school. Everyone thought we were siblings or cousins.

One fateful day, we both went to the stream to swim and she took her hair tie and closed my eyes and asked me to follow her slowly while she held my hands and walked in front. She said that she had a surprise for me at one corner of the river bank. While we moved slowly with my eyes closed, we got this point where we stopped, with her holding my both hands, she faced me and asked me to repeat after her, then I voiced out slowly,

“HENCEFORTH”, I replied, “HENCEFORTH”,
“I WILL FOREVER BE CLOSEST TO YOUR HEART”, I replied, “YOU WILL FOREVER REMAIN CLOSEST TO MY HEART”,
“MY VOICE WILL RESOUND HEAVILY IN YOUR HEAD ALWAYS”, I repeated “YOUR VOICE WILL RESOUND HEAVILY IN MY HEART”,
“AND WHEN WE GROW YOU MUST MARRY ME NO MATTER WHAT!” the stupid me smiled and without hesitating replied, “I MUST DEFINITELY MARRY YOU WHEN WE GROW UP, COME WHAT MAY!”,
and finally she said, “AND NO VOICE WILL EVER TAKE MY PLACE IN YOUR HEART”, I replied, “AND NO VOICE WOULD EVER, EVER, EVER, TAKE YOUR PLACE IN MY HEART”.

Then she cut me with a small pin and cut herself and put her hands stained with blood on my chest and we hugged each other passionately. It meant nothing to me and we became closer and closer and closer.

Days after, some of my guys advised me to lie to my mum that we were asked to come along with some money to buy some poster-colours and art brush in school, just so we could intimidate others with the latest vanilla flavoured ice-cream from the school’s canteen. I did and they did as well. We all collected N1, 500.

When I got home, this my girlfriend started troubling me to report myself to my mum, which I did because her voice was irresistible. Then mum asked me to call the names of my friends, then I mentioned them all. She went and reported them to their parents. When they heard, these my friends were mad at me and asked why I revealed what happened to my mum. I told them my girlfriend pushed me to report. This was not the first time.

During break the next day, the both of us went to our usual Madam-koss-koss tree up the mountain. This time we were both in primary 3. We prayed. Then she opened her food, in her cheerful smile she took the first spoon, and then the second. Then she started coughing profusely. “Give me water fast!” She screamed! She drank, but then, it seemed to me like the pepper was abnormal. “What is it?” I asked in tears, then she said, “I have been poisoned by your evil friends who hate the truth. They want to kill me”. You would not believe what my friends did. They went to school early that day, took her lunchbox and poisoned her food with water-pia-pia (insecticide).

Then she said hastily, “give me a knife”, I shouted, “somebody heeeeeeelp!” But we were kilometres away from others. With her shakking and her head on my laps and her eyes fading slowly, she took a knife and sliced out her tongue. With the little portion of her tongue remaining in her mouth, she said, “you promised me to have my voice always within you, didn’t you?” and I, stuttering and shivered saying, “Ye-e-ye-yess”. “Then take and eat my tongue. Eat it fast! It will forever leave my voice of truth in your heart to guide you. Fast-fast before I die!”

Immediately, I ate it she died. I cried for weeks and months. I look at our childhood pictures and I remember those lovely moments we shared. In truth, she has lived within me ever since. I keep hearing her voice and it has kept me always in check. Oh, I wanted to keep her identity secret, but there is no need anymore. My girlfriend’s name is, ‘CONSCIENCE’ and she is not dead. She will forever be my girlfriend.

I hope you enjoyed my love story?
(Fiction)