Creative writing contest- CARRYING ONE ANOTHER'S BURDEN. THAT IS WHAT MAKES US HUMAN!!

Strolling down the market street of a village in the northwest region called Belo was young me about 13years of age. I was so excited becuase I had just attended my first class in secondary school. yes! I had just passed to form one.
With enthusiasm and excitement I was returning home to share my amazing experience at school with family.

As I hurried down the market street I noticed a young boy ( I guess he was also about my age at that time) sitting besides the road selling bananas. He looked at me so intensely and I got stattled, my breathe cut for awhile. You could clearly see in his eyes he was longing for something but I couldnt figure out what it was. Well as normal child I just minded my own business and went home.
However at home does pitiful, longing and 'thirsty' eyes kept coming to my mind. The more I tried forgetting it the more I saw them the more.

About 7:30am the next day in the morning I was hurrying off to school. My mum had to stuff my bag with lots of food and I went running of to school with a smile. On my way to school I met that same boy again sitting at the same position as the day before. To me it felt abit creepy. So I rushed pass him. But I started wondering why would this boy be starring at me this much. So I made up my mind to find out.

I decided to stalk him around for awhile. After school I quickly went out searching for that boy. Fortunately I saw him at a distance going to his own home after selling all his bananas. I decided to follow him. I noticed he was going in the same direction as me. I patiently followed him to their house. Just for me to realise he was my neighbour just a house away from our house.

I felt so bad. Becuase I noticed the boy was just trying to connect with me becuase he knew me which explains his intense starring at me but I didnt give him a chance to. What made me felt bad the most was the fact that he live in my neigbourhood and had been my neighbour for a very long time but I didnt know him. Oh well! how could I know? when I lived in a well fenced and furnished house excluded from the rest of world an indoctrinated with phobic philosphies of "Am rich, we are rich", "everyone one who comes around is trying to beg" and religious taughts of "becareful with this children around they are demonic possess". That is how I was brought up. I never cared about others I taught only about myself. I but after realising that I was disconnected from the rest of the world I felt as if my heart had broken, for what reason?? I couldnt explain but I new that feeling wasnt right.

So I went home I could not sleep properly. Consequently made up my mind that I would get to know more about that guy, I had become curious about him and so I decidego close to him. Just this decision alone opened my eyes to see something I wasnt seeing before about the boy which is the fact that he was going to school during school time.

My self centeredness had blinded me. I did not even notice that it was school period and the boy was not going to school and instead he was selling bananas. I was so selfcentered and I taught that I deserved school and education more than anyone else since I was from a rich background. I didnt believe any problem existed out of my family house. I tuaght everyone was living happily like I did with my family.

The following day I was going to school I met him again, this time around I walked up to him with boldness. He saw me coming towards him and he started apologizing of a sudden becuase of his low esteem and lack of self confidence, I was like "its Ok!!! you havent done anything wrong to me. I just wanted to share my food with you, my mum made it for me this morning." With skepticism displayed on his face he tried refusing but I insisted and he took it and he ate with so much joy on his face. It was as if he had not eaten for days. I asked him what his name was and he said "Anchibom"

We started discussing and chatting together. And I asked him why he was not schooling. He paused for awhile! And his face turned automatically from happy to sorrowful, he couldnt eat anymore. I felt like I had offended him. So when I was about to apologize to him he said "It is Ok" then told me history. He said "My parents died when I was 7yrs old, in a car accident. Before then I used to go to school like you. I enjoyed the company of my parent like you too! But after they died my uncles decide to collect everything my parents owned and I was sent to live in this village with my aunty". tears filled my eyes as I listened to him speak! he continued "My auntie was very good to me at first but after awhile I became a burden to her and her family. She sent all her children to school except me, she told me she never had enough money to send me too. Every night I will cry becuase after a harsh day hawking and selling I would go home and still barely have something to eat." Then I understood the longing look I saw in his ears. He longed to be like me. He envied me. I didnt realise that.

I decide to become Anchi's friend so most often after school I would go spend my time with him. I gradually noticed his countenance was change the more I spend time with him. He looked more happy and confident than before eventhough he was still going through the torments from his Auntie. Infact oftenly he would come to the market alittlle earlier just so that he could meet on my way to school. I too became excited to see him, so oftenly I would leave the house early to meet him before going to school and I will come home late after school becuase I had to spend time with him.

I found so much joy being with him. The Joy of carrying another persons burden. So even when I was at home I would be thinking about him and bothered about how he was faring. The feeling had when I was with him was priceless. I had never experienced this kind of feeling before. The feeling of care and true love. I had become the The light in his dark lonely world and he had become The key that opened up my true humanity and purpose.

So much time has passed since then. Well to cut the long story short, today Anchi is my best friend and also my boss in the office. Funny enough but destiny doesn't favour the rich

LESSON TO LEARN

1. True love for ones self is expressed in our ability to love and care for others. You cant claim to truely care if you cant go an extra mile to reach out to others.

1. The true essence of humanity is expressed in community. the reason for 7billion people in the world is so that no one becomes and eyeland. Please care for the people around you becuase your doing good doesnt necessarily mean everyone around is find too.
2. BUILD RELATIONSHIPS NOT WALLS. True Relationships(friendships) are priceless and are not bound by social classes.

1. Be humble and kind to others the people might be despising might just ended having the leys to your help tomorrow.

Thank you for reading!! Am I want to specially thank @thegreens for creating this amazing opportunity to bless lives. And also thank you for the love you showed me in my last writeup am grateful🙏🙏. Thanks to @saxopedia for always kindly guiding me. Thanks to all the amazing leaders we have here taking their time to put all this contest together for us to express ourselves and as well as benefit financially. Lastly thank you to you!! For reading!!