Chapter 3, Episode 5

Last updated on December 16th, 2023 at 10:23 am

Tochi had been coming to my department every day after lectures. He already knew my timetable and by an unspoken agreement, I expected him to show up once I was almost done with my lectures for the day. We had not talked about my parents since the day I snapped at him. I wanted to talk to him about it and apologise for snapping at him but I also wanted to keep my issues private just as he did his.

Getting Tochi to say anything about himself was a difficult task, he would keep evading it and joking about it until you got tired and dropped it. It’s fine if he did not want to talk about himself as such but he was into my affairs, it only made sense for him to reciprocate.

I really liked him coming around after my classes though. Even on some days when we didn’t chat all through, I could still count on him to show up. 

***

It was a cool Friday evening and we were taking a stroll. He had come to drag me out of my room insisting I did something different. I hesitantly left my room but after almost twenty minutes of strolling, I was glad he insisted—it was a very calming evening.

“My father is a pastor.” He said as we stopped under a tree within the campus. I was confused until I understood what he was trying to do. He was opening up! Without looking at me, he continued.

“My father is a pastor and he owns a church. My mother also works within the church. I have three younger sisters and two older brothers.” He stopped talking and looked at me.

“Why are you telling me this?” I asked.

“Just because I want to.”

“I won’t tell you about my family.”

“I don’t expect you to.” Okay, I did not expect that reply from him. It sounded like he did not care. As if on cue, he looked at me and held my hand, “Angel, hope you didn’t misunderstand me. I meant that I am fine with you not telling me… with you taking your time. You can talk to me anytime, you are my friend-”

“It’s fine, I understand you.” He seemed to be rambling so I interrupted him.

“Oh, okay.” He visibly exhaled. “It’s just that I don’t want you getting mad at me. The other time, it broke me.” It broke him? He was still holding me and I expected him to release my hand upon realizing what he just said, but he held me. I cleared my throat and thought of what to say.

“Let’s continue walking, lazy boy!” I replied with my voice sounding a bit more high-pitched than normal.

***

Tochi did not say more about his family after that day and I was fine with it. After what he said about our fight breaking him though, I could not think of anything meaningful to say. He did not seem particularly interested in talking too, but he held my hand until we got back to my hostel.

“ Can I get a hug?” he asked.

“Sure,” I replied and hugged him. “Good night,” I said as I went into my hostel. I looked back and saw that he was waiting, looking at me with his hands in his pockets. I felt a twitch in my throat… and somewhere in my chest. 

…

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