The reality of life was scaring him. He was scared of what the future holds. He was scared of what will result from his father's ill health and was also scared of losing any of his parents.
Yes! That was his greatest fear. The fear of losing a loved one is devastating and can scar you for life.
He wished it will never happen. He wished he could escape experiencing the inevitable. But the reality was that it is inevitable.
That was his type of being, always worrying about what the future holds. He was sad about his parent's present situation and he wished there was something he could do. But his hands were tied.
His fears were numerous and he couldn't even start counting his fear. But he was ready to face whatsoever was to come, as a man.
Examinations were fast approaching and Saleem was trying hard to keep up with studying and working.
Fortunately, Mr. Ade gave him a break from work so he could concentrate well on his exams.
'What a considerate man, he said to himself after leaving his office.
He was grateful and was about to leave for school when he got a call from Salamat.
"Bighead, good morning", she greeted from the other side with a high-pitched voice.
Salamat was changing from a girl who could hardly say more than 10 words in a day into a troublemaker and talkative. He smiled.
"Small head, morning... how are you doing?" He asked back.
"I'm fine, please where are you?" Salamat inquired.
"Still at work. I'm about to start coming to school, so I can prepare for next tomorrow's paper."
"I need your help. I forgot my practical manual and my Abu Hanifah textbook at home. Will you be kind enough to get them for me on your way back to school?" She requested politely.
"Ok, I will do that. Guess what?"
"What?" She demanded with curiosity.
"I was given two weeks break from work because of my exams", he announced.
"Really? That's nice", she remarked.
"I will go and get the keys to the house from dad and be on my way now."
"Thanks, dear. The books are in my room. You will see them in my dressing mirror once you enter my room."
"Ok, see you soon."
"Thanks a lot, dear, you are a darling", she remarked with a smile.
"Small head, you better stop with the flattering me", he said and they said their goodbyes before he disconnected the call.
Saleem went back into the inner office to get the keys to the house before boarding a commercial bus to Emanto junction.
When he got to Emanto junction, he paid the conductor and quickly cross to the other side of the road to board a bike to Graceland. He got to the house 5 minutes after and used the key he was given to open the door.
He went straight into Salamat's bedroom and saw the textbook on the dressing mirror just like she had said.
He tried opening her drawer to search for the practice manual but it was locked. He looked around the room and his eyes fell on a book on her bed which was in between her 3 throw pillows
Thinking it was the manual, he moved closer to get it when he saw that it was a small notepad which has 'MY DIARY' written in bold letters on the front page.
He was contemplating on going along with it, perhaps she might need it but then, he dropped it. He went back to the dressing mirror to search for the manual among the piles of books that were there.
After searching everywhere thoroughly for 10 minutes, he gave up and decided to go with the textbook only. He was about to go out of the room when the thought of the diary jumped back into his mind and out of curiosity, he went back to the bed.
He opened the diary and saw Salamat's full name written on the first page.
"Salamat Omowunmi Ademola", he mused to himself.
He smiled and opened the next page. He saw a write-up about her father and read it out aloud still smiling to himself.
-I have a father
-The world most loving father
-The world most caring father
-The sweetest father in the whole of the universe
-Who cares, adores, and loves me unconditionally
-A father that is courageous and ambitious
-One who is kind, honest, intelligent, and generous
-My father is my hero and my king
-He is worth emulating.
-I am proud to have you, Mr. Ademola as a father.
-Thank you Lord for giving me someone like him.
He looked up at the date that was written at the top of the right-hand page. He saw the date and calculated the age she was when she wrote it.
"14 years? No wonder it sounds so childish", he said and smiled.
Then, he opened the next page. The more he read, the more interested and curious he became. He found out there and then, that her diary was what she used to motivate herself. Her diary was her place of solace when she was sad and her log of secrets that she pours out her heart to.
Reality dawned on him when he realized he was invading her privacy. He was about to stand up to go when his eyes caught something that was written on the next page which was half-open. He opened the page and saw the word 'STIGMA' written in capital letters.
'Stigma', he thought to himself and he unconsciously opened the page.
He opened the page and exclaimed "What?", as the diary fell to the ground.