Memories

Memory cheats.

In this game called life, memory knows it has the upper hand. And so it waits till a couple of months later; when you think you are healing nicely and the dull ache where your heart used to be is gone. 

Memory bides its time till laughter is your friend again and your happy days are no more few and far between.

Memory waits like a thief lurking in the shadows; waiting for the perfect moment to strike and steal what you thought was here to stay.

It is a beautiful day. You drive and sing along to the radio. You marvel at the leaves turning red, gold and all the colours of a new season. You step out of your car and continue to whistle the tune stuck in your head. The sun is shining and there is a rainbow in your heart. You walk with a  jaunt in your steps and smile at the litle girl skipping her way to school. You take a few more steps and that's when memory plays its trump card. It reminds you of hours spent on the beach, holding her in your arms and dreaming up little girls with her smile and your eyes. 

You stop walking and turn to watch the little girl go. The dull ache in your heart has returned. The clouds have caught up with your rainbow. While your memory was at it, it stole the tune you had in your head as well.

You watch her skip away from you and wonder what more you could have said, done, to make her stay.

Memory cheats. In this already unfair game of life. It waits till you think you have a winning hand. And that is when it reveals all its aces. Today it was the little girl. Tomorrow it will be the old man that sweeps your building. He will be singing her song. Next month it will be the smell of new rain that washes Lagos away and leaves behind a city beautiful and unparelled in its resolve. It will remind you of how much she loved her city.

There is plenty you can run away from in this race called life. There is one that will always match you pace for pace. Memory...

Song of the day: (this one is for you Ohj) The Script- For the first time