There is always a light at the end of the tunnel. That is what her mother told her. Her sister likewise said after every rain, there is a sunshine. Her father also reassured her that her efforts will all pay off once she doesn’t stop putting in her best. But did all those sink in? Did Eriola allowed all those enthusiastic parables get the best of her? I doubt it!
I have known Eriola for close to a decade. With that, I mean almost ten years. You and I know ten years is more than enough to get the true picture of a person’s character. Perhaps that is just a belief that is susceptible to changes. So, I wasn’t caught unawares when Eriola changed the philosophy. Now, I know better that human behaviours are like colours. They come in different shades. We are not chameleons but that is one of those things peculiar to us.
She had all she could ever ask for: money, beauty, intelligence and a good shape, you know what I mean. But she never had a good image of herself. That was her weakness which resulted to her untimely downfall. In school, she was one of the best students in her department. She had her apartment all to herself on campus. She also had a handsome and rich guy who deeply loved her.
One day, hurriedly, my dear friend came knocking on my door crying. Believe me, that day, I was surprised. She narrated her grief to me. In summary, she felt she was not among. She said “I have it all yet I’m empty.” After her story, I just wanted to slap the stupidity out of her. However, I told her not to care much about that but rather focus on her career path towards having a better life. Like her family, I reassured her.
Months later, I learnt that Eriola has become mentally incapacitated; she has gone mad. I was shocked. Weeks after I advised her, Eriola met Tessa on campus. They became friends. She knew Tessa was a bad girl who only moved with her counterparts. She was very frequent at clubs and notorious places. In fact, her boyfriend engages in cyber-crimes. She also smoked heavily and was addicted to hard drugs and drinks.
As the popular aphorism goes ‘ Show me your friends and I will tell you who you are’, Eriola also joined the group. She began to consume hard drugs and smoke as well. She derived a lot of pleasure in them as her sorrows wiped off the moment she held the pipe to start smoking or the bottle to gulp the content down to her throat. She felt relieved.
Little did she know that she was using her feeble hands to dig deeply her own grave. Then, I remember the maxim, “as you lay your bed so shall you lie on it.” The generality of her body system could not tolerate her insensible behaviours. She was addicted more than her body could take. So her body fought back and at the end of the contest, Eriola lost and madness was what she bargained.
After her psychiatrist told me everything Eriola did wrong, I no longer felt her pain like I did months ago. Even with her inexplicable urge to feel among and be more, she could have resorted to therapeutical treatment, move with people with intelligent mind or engage in every other thing but not drugs, not hard drinks and not everything that could damage her, I said with tears in my eyes and anger in my mind.
After I left the hospital, I prayed for her to get well and at the same time, I wrote a short piece on all my social media handles. It goes those:
‘Ladies and Gentlemen, today, my friend lost it all; her dreams, her being and her future. She ended it all to her greediness. She destroyed everything due to her impatience. So, in all you do, in all situation that you find yourself, first of all be appreciative. While there should be quest to be better, do not condemn yourself. Remember, have a top-notch self-esteem. Thank you!’
