I didn’t have a smartphone, which meant we could only communicate via phone calls. I was here in Ghana while he was overseas. We all know how expensive these international calls are. My babe didn’t mind that I was far away. He would still call me and we would talk. Even if we only got a few minutes to talk, he would say; “Now that I have heard your voice, my day is complete.
That’s all that matters. Hopefully, we will talk more tomorrow.” It was beautiful, the way he made me feel. The taste of our new love left sweet flavours in my heart the way fresh palm wine feels to the tongue. Yes, I was in heaven. When we first met in my hometown, he had come to visit his parents who also live here. He told me he worked in the city but he had come to be with his parents for a while. He was warm. That’s the one word that captures his presence and personality. I didn’t stand a chance. I didn’t fall in love with him. I plummeted into love with him, head first, feet up.
The feeling was ecstatic. We didn’t do the talking stage. Not really. We started a relationship and learned about each other as we went along. A month into the relationship, his work sent him on an assignment to another country. Before he left, he wanted us to do it. I was crazy about him but it was too soon. I wanted our connection to grow roots before we would start undressing each other. He accepted my decision with grace, and he said he would wait.
Before he left, he introduced me to his brother. I was happy to meet a member of his family. It made what we had feel more serious. And he called every single day until I finally got a smartphone. Then we started alternating between, calls and text messages. The communication was solid. See, you would have to be something otherworldly to mess it up for us. We were the kind of couple that would even sicken you. This guy could tell me, “I love you,” ten times a day. He didn’t care.
Since WhatsApp calls were cheaper than the regular ones, he could call me more than five times before the day ended. All this combined with texts o. I told myself, “This is it. I have found a man who is not holding back his love for me.” I waited for him till he returned home. He spent ten months. As soon as he got to the airport he called to tell me, “Babe, I’m here but I am not coming straight to see you. I have to go to my workstation first and put a few things in order.
As soon as all that is sorted, I will see you.” I understood him. Even when the regular calling and texting stopped, I assumed he was busy. After all, he had been away for long so he must have a lot to sort out. Those were the excuses I made for him. It took a week before he finally came to our town to see his parents. He told me he was around alright, but he didn’t ask to see me.
I was the one who requested that we meet. The day we met, I didn’t hold anything back. By then my love for him had grown stronger, and I was convinced I knew him well enough to let him have all of me. And he did have me as much as I had him. I thought things went well. I was sure, our bond would only grow stronger. Wishful thinking, all of it.
Since that day, the communication has gotten worse. It is as if he no longer knows my number. He doesn’t call me anymore. I would call him like five times and he would respond to only one. We would talk for about two minutes and he would find an excuse to hang up. As for text messages, forget it. He responded to them in business days.
Even those ones, he only gives straight answers. I have not heard one single, “I love you,” either. At this point, he doesn’t need to tell me it’s over. I already know. What is troubling is that what changed? We were fated lovers when he was away but now that he’s back home we are estranged? If my heart wasn’t so torn right now, I would have found the irony laughable.
What could cause a man to change like this? With the way he is behaving, I know there’s no point in seeking closure from him. So I am here, hoping another man here would tell me what I could have possibly done wrong to kill his interest so fast.
