UWANA [MY NEW FOUND LOVE]

UWANA

My New Found Love Life

Written by: Gumewrites

CHAPTER ONE

Uwana is a Calabar name which means Bright. That was the name my dear parent gave to me and I liked it. I was a girl of nineteen years of age, not tall in height, slim, dark and quiet.

I am the third child in a family of seven children, six girls and a boy. I love my family very much even though they could be annoying sometimes, but like they say "blood is thicker than water"

I want to tell you guys small part of what happened to me in my new found love life. You see my 18th birthday was so special to me. Imagine being in a family where they don't count you as a matured person if you are not yet 18 years of age. Just imagine that! That was why I said my 18th birthday was so special to me.

Just imagine the freedom I would get, the opportunities. I would be like a bird, free to fly to any destination of my choice. This very thought landed me in a deep trouble that I could not come out of it.

On that day I found myself amongst friends and well wishers. Just as we entered into the sweetest part of the celebration I suddenly felt a tap on my back, when I turned it was Daniel.

Daniel was a guy who had done everything to woo me but all his effort was just nothing to me. I continued telling him I'm not ready to date anybody because my parents are against such, simply because I was less than 18 years of age.

There was a time he came to my house with flowers and some other gifts but he ran away only because of the kind of eyes he saw from my dad. My father was really that kind of a person.

So he took me by the hands and said "Bright" yea, he prefers calling me Bright because he usually finds it hard to call it the native way "I am here to let you know that I am so much in love with you. Now that you are 18 can today be the day I finally woo you to myself?'' I stood there looking at him like a confused element and I was thinking deep within me "how can this guy wait till I'm 18 just because he wants to date me? Is this true love or there is a hidden agenda?" "Bright" I heard him called my name again. "yes, Daniel" I responded with a shy voice "what say ya?" he asked and I just moved closer to him and planted a kiss on his cheek. He just stood there like a big Iroko tree.

So I ran away in pretence but he followed me and offered to take me somewhere. I reluctantly said no but he insisted, so I followed him. We drove off in his car. Actually the car belonged to his elder brother. We were just driving and suddenly he stopped the car. I looked at him and he said we should rest here and I asked "why? But this place look like a grave yard" the place was so quiet that you could possibly hear the sound of papers, birds singing in the thick forest but he told me he felt we could use a quiet atmosphere then I said ok.

We both sat in the car for sometime waiting for each other to break the silence but just as I was about to break the silence we heard a voice "Please help me, somebody help me" the voice continued repeating the same phrase so I suggested to Daniel that we should go check the person calling for help. He said it could be dangerous but I told him that we had to do something in order to save the person.

We both alighted from the car and we began following the voice "somebody help me" the voice shouted again, it's beginning to sound like the voice of a child. "Please whoever you are continue shouting so that we can trace where you are" said Daniel.

We continued walking deep into the forest not for once thinking of the step we were taking. Suddenly the voice stopped crying and after a lot of search we decided to head back to the car it was then we found out that we had already gone far into the forest and all our efforts to find our way back to the car looked like we were just moving in circles.

My heart began to beat faster than usual. I became so worried "Bright" Daniel called my name "yes" I answered "come over here" he said I went and right in front of us was a huge rock with lots of written alphabets and drawings, it looked like a message but we could not understand why we were able to read it because it was written in a strange way. Definitely not English language or any natural human language.

Just as we were reading it we came to understand that everything written there was coming to pass "a girl and a boy will be outside the forest in a car, they will hear the voice of a crying child, they will enter the forest to rescue the child but the ground will swallow them as long as they continued reading this piece of message" we tried to take our eyes off the rock but it looked as if we've been hypnotized. We could not take our eyes of it and suddenly the ground opened and I saw the ground covering Daniel. I shouted with tears rolling down from my eyes just as I was about to be swallowed by the ground, I heard a song in my ears "Happy Birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday, happy birthday happy birthday to you" I opened my eyes and saw the whole of my family in my room, singing the happy birthday song to me.

Alas! It was all a dream.

CHAPTER TWO

That day was just mixed feelings for me because in the mist of all the celebrations, I kept thinking of what I dreamt of. I became restless because Daniel promised to come for the celebration but the time is past 2pm already and he has not reached my house. I tried calling him but all his numbers were switched off.

I became so worried that I could hardly even notice people who kept saying "happy birthday to me" then suddenly I heard the sound of a car entering our large compound I became happy but only to see another friend of my father. My dad really kept to his promise he had invited all the top colleagues he had in his office but all I want to see is Daniel.

Just as I was about to sit down, lo and behold I saw Daniel coming down majestically from the car he borrowed from his elder brother. He was there smiling like someone that had won a lottery ticket.

I don't know why but I ran and gave him a big hug "thank God you are alive" I said he pulled away from me and gave me a quizzical look. I became shy "sorry about that I was not just myself" I said, just to not make me look desperate "it's ok and happy birthday to the most beautiful girl in the whole wide world" he said "awwn how sweet? Thanks a lot Daniel" he smiled and held my hands. I looked at him while we were walking and I was thinking deep within me "look at how we are holding hands like one couple, I haven't even said yes to his proposal" but deep within me I have said yes to him a thousand times already.

I stopped and held his hands "See, Daniel I had a terrible dream last night into this morning about the both of us. I was afraid previously because I thought something bad had happened to you but seeing you alive have given me great joy and it is with this joy that I say yes to your proposal. Yes Daniel I am ready to be your girlfriend"

I really don't know what to expect from him but I hope I wasn't too late. "Bright, I am really taken aback by what you said I have been waiting for this day for a while now" he stopped talking and was looking straight into my eyes and I can sense that there was so much love in his eyes, before I knew it he drew me closer and hugged me so tight that I felt like my bones will break.

We were to resume school the next day after a long holiday. I went to school that day feeling anxious about the whole situation between me and Daniel but I met Daniel in school already; he was actually standing outside the gate, when he saw me he flashed that his usual handsome smile at me, I felt a cold kind of sensation running through my veins. I really don't know if I should return the courtesy back to him but I just found myself smiling like an idiot to him.

He came close to me, planted a kiss on my forehead and said "Good morning my Bright Star" with that statement I could not look at him again. I felt so shy that I was turning, looking around whether people were watching us. Then he smiled and held my hands and we both walked into the school.

I began to hear some talks coming from left, right, up and down. "Are they now dating?" one side of the voices asked "she doesn't even have shame" another side said "who does she think she is to be holding his hands like that even inside the school?" I became so frustrated by the talks coming towards us or should I say talks coming to me, so I tried to remove my hands from his but he held it tight, I looked at him he was just smiling and going straight not really bordered about the gossips all around us.

The thing is, Daniel is, should I say, the most handsome guy in our school though we were in the same class and even though I am not inferior to him, you will naturally feel inferior as a lady if you are close to him or if you see him because of his beauty.

Most times in school girls wrote him letters attached with recharge cards, money, sometimes they send food to him and different kind of stuffs but I never did that after all I can't be intimidated by a mere human being.

The school I attended was divided into departments. I was in the Humanity department while Daniel was in Science department. That day he came into my department and went straight to me, he met me standing and conversing with one of my female friends. So he tapped me at the back, I turned and he hugged me suddenly I started hearing "wow" "hmmm" "this is serious" "awwwn" "hahahahahahahah" different kinds of serious sounds were coming out as if we've turned them to become animals.

While I was still in his warm embrace, a girl came in behind him and shouted "Daniel" he released me and turned facing the girl "what do you think you are doing?" she asked him. He turned facing me and said "Bright I am about to reveal something to the people around now so that they can take it to the others in the whole school but please forgive me for doing this" I looked into his eyes even though I had no idea of what he was about to reveal but fear came straight into my heart.

Since I am not really used to this kind of situation, I didn't know what to expect from him. Would he say something bad against me? I was left with only myself to answer.

CHAPTER THREE

Daniel began "Listen everyone in this department today" he was actually shouting at the top of his voice. You might wonder where the teachers are that we were able to do what we like in the school but don't worry, that was my school for you. So Daniel said "there is something I must tell you guys and please do me a favour by telling the rest of your friends who are not in this department" I became so scared of what he might revealed "hope he is not trying to dump me because of this girl" I said to myself.

Daniel turned, looked at me again, smiled and then faced the rest of the class again and this time he said and did something shocking . . .

"Guys, I want to reveal something today to you guys all" Daniel continued then he turned and faced me "from today this is the girl I want to love, this is the girl want to protect" then he turned and faced them "Bright didn't fall for me, I actually fell for her" suddenly there were random discussions in the class. I looked around some where rolling their eyes against me; some were pointing their fingers towards me, while some were staring at me.

Seriously, was I supposed to feel shy or to blush or to just walk out of the class?

I don't think I was the first girl that a guy had publicly revealed his love for her. Daniel continued "I know you guys are surprised, seriously, I don't know why it is that way but what I've said is the truth" he then turned and faced me again this time he was smiling and I began to smile also "Uwana" wow!!! Daniel called my native name and he called that name only for the first time. It didn't really sound as bad as I thought it would be. Then he continued but my eyes were fixed in his "I want to love you for the rest of my life, if God makes it possible I want to marry you, I want you to be my partner in everything. I am so much in love with you" then, suddenly, he knelt down. I became so shocked "Uwana I would like to ask you out in the presence of everybody here. Please Uwana would you be my baby girl?"

Sincerely, I can swear on the fact that I became so shy again that I felt the ground should open and swallow me. I looked at Daniel and I could see just true love in his eyes, his eyes suggested that he was really not joking.

Then I said "Yes Daniel, I want to be your baby girl" suddenly there were shouts and claps and whistles all around us. Daniel got up and straight away without given me a heads up he locked his lips on mine and just like that we were kissing in front of all the class and after that he hugged me so tight that I remembered the way he hugged me during my birthday celebration.

Most of the girls immediately went out of the class with faces that suggested I should better watch my back but I don't think I have the time to care about that because right now I am the happiest girl in the whole wide world.

We released each other and immediately it was time for break he held my hand and we went out of the class to get our food.

We were walking and everybody were just staring at us like we were the ones that killed their grandfathers but Daniel did not even turn left or right, he was just looking straight and was smiling towards some of his male friends playing football on the field.

We went and ate our food together. We actually ate the same kind of food. Then we went back to our separate departments with hugs and kisses in between our separation to our classes.

"Wow! Finally I am in a relationship with the most handsome guy in the whole school." I knew so well that I would have obstacles to face in the school because not all the girls were in support of the fact that UWANA was dating the most handsome guy in the school.

So I knew I had to watch out and be very careful. Although, I really wished I said yes to him much earlier on but that wasn't my fault, I had to follow the rules in my family.

The thing was, my father was a true disciplinarian, especially to the girls in the family. He is a man that believes no guy is trust worthy. We were only allowed to walk or come home with female friends only. The most annoying part was that he constantly went through our phones to check how whether we have disobeyed him at one point or the other.

My elder sister came home one time with her secret boyfriend. My father was in his room when it was as if he installed a spiritual camera in the house. He just came out and asked me where my sister was, I began to stammer, so he just pushed me aside. By that time, he was so furious. You could actually see how angry he was. The whole thing looked like he had figured out something was not going his way in the house. If you ask me how that was possible, my answer would be "I really don't know."

He went straight up to my sister's room, I followed him only for us to push the door open and the room was empty. I was sure they were in the room. How they managed to escape without him knowing was what I could not explain at all. He looked around the room and then he turned and went out.

I was happy, because I can't really imagine what would have happened to the both of them. My father would have messed them up.