Chances

I needed to go. The thought made me scared because I had no idea what awaited me, it seemed like the right thing to do at the time. In retrospect, I guess I was right.

Alphonsus had never shared the story before but the worried look on his granddaughter’s face prompted the flow of a story long forgotten.

It was a tough decision to leave our village and become an apprentice in my Uncle’s electronic store in the North. The North? I had never been, but stories of a culture different from ours were all I knew. Unfortunately, I had a bias.

On arriving at the last bus stop up North on my first trip there, I had to ask for directions to get to my uncle’s. It was dark and of course, I was scared. I spoke to this middle-aged man. Him sef no know road. To my surprise, he took me to someone who helped me with the directions. Then I realized, I had left my money at the last food stop.  I approached the man from before. He paid for my cab fare and gave me his contact details. The friendship you know today was planted that day. 

Our friendship has shown me that stereotypes do not mean much when someone is genuinely good. Their personality shines through.  I also made many other genuinely good friends there. That doesn’t mean all the people I met there were good to me. Some were bad, but the majority were good. It is their personality that makes them terrible people not where they are from.

Don’t be too quick to judge, open your heart nne. He might not be from our place, but you care about him and he is a good person. That’s all that matters.

Give him a chance.