Story: Like A Dream… Part 3

Giorgio stood still and closed his eyes, unable to bring himself
to look at Shade kneeling before him, he loved her still, but
letting her back into his life after she broke up with him without
any explanation would be illogical. He remembered sending her
countless text messages since she would not pick his call then,
pleading with her to tell him the reason why she was leaving or
just see him once to explain in person what really happened. He
remembered how he reacted to her leaving him, how he
contemplated suicide on two occasions but just couldn't go
through with it; how he cried many times and would refuse to
go out with his friends especially Benny, who was making things
more difficult for him as he could not understand why a grown
man would mourn the loss of a girl and refuse to move on.
Benny was always telling him he was wasting his energy and
time on one woman instead of redirecting his energy into
having plenty of fun and working hard, so that girls who were
better and finer than Shade would fight to have him. He
remembered one of their conversations when Benny walked in
on him one evening, lying in bed – sobbing.
"Guy, you are still crying over this stupid girl, abi? Let me tell
you; if you kill yourself over one girl, a thousand and one will
walk past your grave and some will even stop to pee on it"
"Benny, you are supposed to be saying things that will make me
feel better, and not things that will make me feel worse, you do
not understand what love is, do you?"
"Dude, I have always been telling you, love ceased to exist well
before Nigeria got her independence. What we have left in this
part of the world is merely trade by barter; in other words, you
use what you have to get what you want, and that goes both
ways. Shikena"
"Benny, you are wrong. True love does exist, and if I don't know
for sure from anyone else, I am very sure that I truly love
Shade. But you, you're a coward who says in his heart there is
no love, because standing in the shadows of the big, grand and
powerful existence of love; your small spirit is left feeling even
smaller and less significant. And so, you choose to deny the
existence of love altogether, because your spirit is too small to
have it."
"You don mad finish" Benny said sarcastically, "you don run
mad walahi, na me you dey form philosopher for, shebi?"
"It is not philosophy, it is the truth, we both loved each other
and even you knew it. The moment I met her, I knew deep
down in my heart there won't be anyone else for me. And even
now, there can't be any other woman for me, Shade is
irreplaceable and if not her; then it's nobody else"
"There can't be any other woman for you, but there can be
several other men for her right?" Benny asked rhetorically with
much seriousness and genuine concern in his eyes. "And even if
I do not understand love in its entirety, I understand the
reciprocity of love which states; you respond to kindness with
another act of kindness and you also respond to a negative act
with another negative act. If this babe loved you half as much
as you loved her, she wouldn't have left you like this – wouldn't
have hurt you like this…."
"Benny, you are wrong, the law of love and reciprocity states…."
Giorgio tried to cut Benny short, but he simply ignored him and
continued.
"I know you will turn it on its head, you always have an answer,
but the truth is; God is the only one capable of loving us even
when we do not love him back. We are humans, and when
someone treats us like trash, we should simply look elsewhere
for someone who will treat us like pearls. It defies logic to do
otherwise"
"You should know Benny, that true love is not logic; it is magic –
unexplainable"
"Hmmmmmm, I like the fact that you got ready answers for
everything. Now, let me ask you this, since Shade has seemingly
peered into a crystal ball and into your future, and discovered
you can never be rich in life, and has gone enjoying herself in
Dubai with her newfound rich boyfriend; let's say after 6
months, 1 year or thereabout, when the rich boyfriend must
have had his fill; she comes back to you begging because she
knows you love her too much regardless. What would you do?
Take her back and welcome her like the prodigal son or look
the other way?"
The silence was deafening as Giorgio got up from the bed and
paced around for a while. He was always having an answer or
two for every question thrown at him, but it was a different ball
game whenever it concerned Shade; he simply wouldn't be able
to put himself together, he loved her too much in spite of what
she did to him. And he wasn't sure what his reaction would be if
she came back, but he had secretly been praying for the break-
up to be a one long nightmare – a dream he would wake up
from.
"Benny, I loved Shade, I still love her. But I don't know what will
happen or what I would do if she came back to me in the next 6
months or 1 year. I truly don't know" he said with a tone of
resignation
"I thought so" Benny said casually as he left the room.
*********
"Giorgio please, Just look at me" Shade said through sobs, she
had remained in the same position since Giorgio opened the
door; looking up into his face as if searching for some hidden
answers, but Giorgio was just standing there, eyes firmly closed,
fighting back the tears welling up in his duct; he knew the tears
would come rushing if he dared open his eyes – if he dared look
at her. He was not expecting this, especially not at this time
when he was about to give someone else a chance.
"Shade, please leave" Giorgio said sharply still fighting back the
tears
"Giorgio, I can't leave. I am back and on my knees begging you
to please forgive me for everything I have done, for the way I
treated you. I was misled, I was confused, I was pushed into it,
but now I see my wrong and I am ready to do anything you
want just to be in your life again" Shade said amidst tears.
Giorgio opened his eyes, they were red and glassy "You were
misled; you were confused, you were pushed; everything was
you, you, and you; where was I in all these?" he said while still
trying to control the tears streaming down his face effortlessly.
Joan who had been sitting on the couch all along looked on, she
felt so many things at the same time; anger, jealousy, contempt
and more for Shade, the effect she was having on Giorgio was
very obvious. Deep down, she knew the pair loved each other
and Giorgio was probably still in love with Shade; she, on the
other hand didn't stand a chance and she knew it. But she
decided to stay calm, watch the drama, and later go home
never to see Giorgio again.
"I ask you, where was I when you were being misled, when you
were being pushed? You decided to cut me off, you never
returned my calls or replied my sms, you eventually changed
your number so I wouldn't be able to reach you, but you are
here now claiming you were pushed. I don't think you were
pushed, and if there was any pushing at all, you are the one
who pushed yourself" Giorgio's voice was rising at the extreme
of an octave as he attempted to control his emotion.
"Please Giorgio, remember when you always tell me the reason
we were both put on this earth was for our paths to cross,
remember the good times we shared and the promises we
made, I know I made a huge mistake treating you the way I did
and I regret it now, please forgive me"
"You want me to remember the good times? Well, I have news
for you; those good times are gone and good fucking riddance
to them. You must really think the whole world revolves around
you, well maybe my whole world revolved around you and it
came to a halt when you walked out of it. But you must be
hallucinating if you believe, or your friend Monica made you
believe that you can just waltz back into my life and we just kiss
and make up. You know, two years ago, Monica advised me to
move on but I didn't take to that advice until this morning" he
stepped back from the door, moved towards Joan, pulled her
up and planted a long kiss on her lips, still holding her, he
turned to Shade.
"If you had come yesterday, maybe just maybe I could have
considered listening to more of your explanations but sorry,
you are late. But before you go, please meet Joan, the woman in
my life"
Turning to Joan, he continued "Dearie, pardon my manners;
this is Shade, my Ex-girlfriend and she is about leaving"
*********
3 MONTHS LATER
Thunder tapped Giorgio on the shoulder and moved close to
him "What is wrong with you?" the music was so loud; he was
practically screaming into his ears. It was Thunder's birthday
and he had organized a shindig for his colleagues in a club on
the island, Benny was out of town but Giorgio was there though
half-heartedly.
"I am fine" Giorgio shouted back, the music blaring from the
loudspeakers successfully drowning his voice.
"Let's go to the car, I need to talk to you" Thunder said,
gesticulating they move outside where they wouldn't have to
scream to hear each other properly. Giorgio followed
sheepishly, his mood in the last three days had been
melancholic at best, though he tried to shake himself out of it
or simply hide it from everybody; he hadn't been doing a very
good job of it.
"Dude, what is wrong with you?" Thunder asked again as they
both settled in his car.
"Thunder, I am fine maybe I am having a headache or just
some mood swing, but I am good"
"Is it because Benny and Joan are not here? Oh! And that
reminds me, I haven't been seeing that girl with you lately.
What's up with her? Are you falling out of love or what?"
"Thunder, I was never in love" Giorgio replied flatly
"Hmmm, I knew something was not right; I just couldn't place
my finger on it. So, why is that affecting your mood?"
"Thunder, I told you Shade came to beg me three months ago,
right?"
"Yes you did, and you chose Joan over her"
"Yes, because I felt I was going to love Joan gradually and I
would forget everything about Shade. But Shade has been
begging me via sms since then, though I never replied any of
them because I felt ignoring her sms while putting all my focus
on Joan would make me forget Shade. Three days ago, she
stopped sending sms, and I have subconsciously been checking
my phone since then; hoping she would send a message but she
hasn't, Thunder, I am worried and I don't know why I am."
"Then, reply her sms, or better still, give her a call" Thunder said
casually.
"You mean………"
"Just pick your phone right now and call her, it's not that late
for a girl to pick her phone, alright? Come look for me inside
when you are done" Thunder said as he stepped out of the car.
Giorgio brought out his phone, clicked on the message icon and
scrolling to inbox menu, he read her last text message to him.
"Saying 'I'M SORRY' may have become just another word to you,
and there is nothing I can say or do that will wash away the hurt
I caused you and the tears I made you shed. But I can't go on
living without you. I CAN'T"
He had wanted to reply the sms that day but he somehow
didn't. He scrolled to 'call number option' on his phone and hit
the green button. He held his breath in anticipation as the call
connected, then picked at the first ring.
"Hello, hello, thank God you called, I wasn't sure if I should call
you or not; please you have to come and help me please,
please. She is dying; please hurry, I am at the general
hospital………."
WATCH OUT FOR PART 4