Destiny

Destiny

I can still remember the first day I set my eyes on Bella. The lecturer was trying to illustrate an example and had beckoned on her. As he held her hand and walked in his signature gait while speaking in a deep baritone tone, my eyes were glued to the pretty lady wearing a blue short, short-sleeved dress. 

Suddenly, the entire noise in the hall disappeared into the background. It was only me and her in my world. Gosh! Why have I never met her before? Was she new?

I laughed at my question. I mean, we were in 300 level; how could she be new? God! Where had she been all these two years? I was popular in school. I knew nearly every girl in the department. How come I was only seeing her face now?

The lectures ended after what seemed like an eternity and my eyes followed the pretty angel as she gathered her things into her tote bag. This was my chance. I wasted no time in approaching her. After all, I might not be the only guy whose eyes was glued on her all through the rest of the class. 

“Hi.”

She looked up almost immediately, looking behind her to see if I was talking to some other person. I found her reaction cute; like a pure white lotus that has never seen the darkness of the world. “Hello.”

Her treble voice shook me off guard. She had a voice just as beautiful as her looks. 

“My name is Caleb. We are from the same department.”

She nodded her head. “I know you.”

For the first time, I felt being popular wasn’t much of a bad thing. “What’s your name?”

“Bella.” She looked uncomfortable as she  my head. There was no need to rush. “Sure. Can we meet again?”

She shrugged. “It’s inevitable. We are in the same department.”

Ah! Did I forget that? “Yes, we are.” I laughed to cover up the awkward situation. “See you soon, then.”

My eyes followed her as she walked away, I was hooked! I couldn’t take my eyes off her. She had barely taken three steps when another girl walked up to meet her. My ears quickly picked up on their conversation. They were talking about a famous church crusade that was starting that day.

A smile spread across my lips. I knew just where to get her.

Just then, Josh walked up to meet me. He was my man. “Hey, is that your new fish?”

I glared at him. Bella was no fish. She was the real deal!

He ignored the sour expression on my face. “Don’t forget, Mide’s party is tonight. Remember we have been impatiently waiting for this party.”

I turned to look at him, “I’m sorry. I have some things to do tonight. Party for two.” I didn’t give him the chance to express his surprise. I walked out.

By evening, I found myself sitting in the crowd for the church crusade. I can’t believe I actually went to church because of a damsel. Well, she was worth it. My eyes roamed around the large crowd, unwilling to give up but I didn’t find her. Did she not come?

The program began with a worship session and just as my eyes landed on the large projection screen, I found the reason I had come for the crusade. She was dressed in a white beautiful dress and was among the five ladies standing behind the lead singer, each with a microphone in her hand. For the rest of the service, my eyes never left her despite the semi-large crowd of choir. 

The next day in school, I rushed to meet Bella. “I didn’t know you were a good singer.”

“So, it was really you! I was beginning to think my eyes were deceiving me.”

Wait! She saw me?

We became friends and I was okay being in the friend zone despite the fact that I knew she could tell I had feelings for her. When I finally had the balls to come clean with my feelings for her, she smiled and told me she was wondering if I still didn’t plan to open up.

It was a shocker to me when I found out she has never dated anyone before. Like, for real?!

She decided to give ‘us’ a chance after nearly two months of a pending reply. I didn’t give up. I joined her fellowship and soon found myself loving the Sunday fellowships because of one person.

Indeed, love makes you do crazy things.

We had our first fight three months into our relationship. Becky, my ex, groped my phallus right in front of Bella and the stupid little man actually reacted! I could see the disappointment in Bella’s face as she walked out on the both of us. It was my fault. I should have tried to stop Becky but I didn’t know why I didn’t. I was only trying to prove to Bella that I had no more feelings for Becky, or for any of the girls in our department.

It took one entire week to get my Bella back. It was the toughest week I had ever known. I couldn’t concentrate in class or even in fellowship. I was a shadow of myself. It made me realize how much this girl had occupied my soul and even my entire being. I cried like a baby; anything, except give up on her. When we finally came back together, the bond was tighter than before. 

Sex meant nothing to me anymore. There were times I was aroused just by looking at her pretty face but I didn’t want to taint her. Bella had the perfect, untainted love for Jesus and it would break me to pieces if I was the one to taint that pure love.

We graduated from school and were posted to different places for our Youth Service. I was in the far North while Bella was in the South. We kept each other company with constant calls and texts but it was never enough. It was a hell of a long year. Then, I realized how much I wanted to be a part of her life for the rest of mine. It was beyond infatuation. She was my life.

I decided to visit her one day and just at the airport as she ran into my arms, I got down on one knee and asked her to be my wife. It was the best decision I had ever made. Even after our first son came four years later, I was still infatuated by this beauty; just like years ago when our lecturer pulled her out in front of the class.

And oh! I bought that lecturer a car. He sure deserved it for bringing to me my wife.

Writer Details:Nnamni Rita

Location:University Of Nigeria,Enugu State,Nigeria🇳🇬