The Chronicles of Bewa 102: Joy

I was unable to publish yesterday due to some health issues, I apologise for any inconvenience caused. Thank you for your understanding

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND TWO

Joy

As I walked toward the stage, my legs felt strangely weak, as though they no longer belonged to me. The distance between my chair and the stage, which had seemed so short a few moments ago, suddenly felt impossibly long. Every step felt heavier than the one before it. As I walked past the wedding guests, no one said a word. They simply watched me. I could feel their eyes following me, but I couldn't bring myself to look at any of them. My gaze remained fixed on the stage, even as the familiar heaviness in my chest began to return.

The ball.

It was still there and with every step, it seemed to grow heavier, pressing against my ribs and making it harder to breathe. It was a painful reminder of exactly why I had refused to come on this stage in the first place. The moment I reached the stage and Joy stepped away from the microphone with a smile, I knew I had made the right decision earlier. I should never have agreed to sing.

What was I thinking, letting Joy bully me into this?

I turned to leave, but Joy caught my hand.

“Bewa…” There was fear in her eyes now. I looked past her at the others, and they wore the same worried expressions.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I can’t do this.”

“Yes, you can,” she replied immediately. “You know what you’re feeling better than anyone. All you have to do is let it move through you. Don’t fight it, just pour it out.”

I looked at the others again. One by one, they gave me small, reassuring smiles and I tried to return one but I couldn’t.

 My eyes fell on the microphone in front of me and for a moment, I wondered if I could still sing. I had sung in rooms filled with people before. I had stood in front of microphones without fear. Music had once been one of the safest places in the world for me.

But that was before.

Before all of this mess

“I know this is hard” Marcus said from where he was seated “But please try and I want you to know you not alone anymore” I looked at him and I nodded once

Slowly, my fingers closed around the microphone. I drew it closer and took a shaky breath.

What I am feeling, I am feeling plenty at the moment, too much, if I was being honest. I had hoped for so many things. I had imagined how my life was supposed to turn out. I had plans, dreams, expectations. And now, sitting there with all of them scattered around me, all I could feel was disappointment.

So I let myself feel it.

The disappointment. The grief. The anger. The emptiness. Everything I had kept locked inside me for so long. I let it rise, I let it move through me and then I opened my mouth.

“Cold bones…” my voice cracked and I immediately held my throat, looking at Joy in fear that  I ruined it but she just smiled at me nodding

“Continue,” she mouthed “It does not have to be perfect” So, I closed my eyes and tried again

Cold bones, yeah, that's my love

She hides away, like a ghost

Does she know that we bleed the same?

Don't wanna cry but I break that way

Suddenly, I realized I was no longer in the garden, I was somewhere else, somewhere I not just imagine my future but planned toward it.

My nursery!

The room I had once dreamed of filling with laughter and tiny footsteps. The soft curtains. The little crib. The toys I had imagined scattered across the floor. The tiny clothes I had pictured hanging neatly in the wardrobe. Everything I had chosen with so much love, everything I had prepared for someone who was supposed to be there.

My chest tightened.

Cold sheets, but where's my love?

I am searching high

I'm searching low in the night

Does she know that we bleed the same?

Don't wanna cry but I break that way

 

Did she run away?

Did she run away, I don't know

If she ran away

If she ran away, come back home

Just come home

 

I had spent months in that room, preparing myself for motherhood. Preparing myself to love my daughter. Preparing for a life that I had been so excited to begin. And then, suddenly, she was gone.

Just like that.

Everything I had imagined for us had been taken away before I even got the chance to live it. I had plans, life-changing plans. Plans I had been so excited to make because, for the first time, they weren't just about me. They were about her, about us.

So, what was I supposed to do with those plans now? Where did they go when she did? And the love… All that love I had spent months preparing myself to give her. Where was I supposed to put it now? What was I supposed to do with all this love when the person I had saved it for was no longer here to receive it? 

I got a fear, oh, in my blood

She was carried up into the clouds, high above

If you've bled, I bleed the same

If you're scared, I'm on my way

 

Did you run away?

Did you run away, I don't need to know

If you ran away

If you ran away, come back home

Just come home

But she was never going to come home.

They had carried her up into the clouds, far beyond my reach, to a place where I could never follow. And I was still here, standing beneath the same sky, carrying all this love with nowhere to put it. I still had so much love for her. So much tenderness. So many things I wanted to give her—arms that wanted to hold her, lips that wanted to kiss her, a heart that still had so much to say. What was I supposed to do with all of it now?

The sudden roar of applause pulled me from my thoughts. I blinked, opening my eyes, and found myself staring straight into Joy’s tearful eyes. She was clapping, smiling at me, her expression filled with something I couldn't quite name—pride, relief, love.

Slowly, I looked beyond her toward the audience. They were on their feet, clapping. Some were smiling. Others had tears in their eyes. No one looked disappointed. No one looked like I had ruined the moment. Maybe I hadn't ruined it after all.

But whatever relief I had felt quickly disappeared. My shoulders heaved, and my breath broke. The tears came harder, spilling down my cheeks as I struggled to hold myself together.

“Hey!” Joy called softly and I looked at her

“I told you I was going to ruin it”

“No, you have not” She shook her head “But if you cannot continue, that is okay. All I wanted you to do is try”

I swallowed against the ache in my throat.  “I will continue”

She beamed up “That is good, I was hoping you would say that”

I turned back to the microphone. I didn’t just lost my baby but also, my future with her. The love and the plans I have for her, I should say goodbye to them but I can’t. I can’t bring myself to say goodbye to them

Five steps in the front door
I feel you all around
One look to the left and
I see you

I closed my eyes and I could see her. The baby I had spent months imagining. The tiny hands I had never held. The face I had never seen. The little voice I had waited so desperately to hear. My bottom lip trembled and my voice shook. I tried to steady it, taking a slow breath before the next line, but the moment the words came out, something inside me cracked and the tears flowed out.

I wiped them away quickly with the back of my hand and continued singing, forcing the words past the lump in my throat but my voice broke halfway through the next line. So, I had no choice but to stop. The music continued softly behind me, I lowered my head, breathing through the ache that had suddenly become too large for my chest.

Smile as bright as sunlight
Eyes that see my soul
Standing frozen in time
I need you, I miss you

Can't I play pretend
Go back to when
I never cried

Then I heard Joy's voice beside me, soft and steady, carrying the next line. I looked at her, she wasn't smiling anymore. She was simply looking at me, waiting for me to pull myself together and continue. I took another breath, then I continued

Here I am still drowning
In the tears you left behind
Seven years mean nothing
Now that you're gone, now that you're gone

Here I am still singing
I'm writing you this song
I'm praying that you hear me
Now that you're gone, now that you're gone
I just need more time
'Cause I can't say goodbye

Ask a million questions
Around and round I go
Trying to remember
Would it be different if I'd known (if I'd known)

Can't I play pretend
Go back to when
I never cried

Here I am still drowning
In the tears you left behind
Seven years mean nothing
Now that you're gone, now that you're gone

Here I am still singing
I'm writing you this song
Praying that you hear me
Now that you're gone, now that you're gone
I just need more time
'Cause I can't say goodbye

Should never come this soon
Just one more day to spend with you
I need a chance to hit redo
Do all the things I promised you
I'd tell you you can talk to me
Take all the pain and set you free
From everything I couldn't see
I'm begging not to leave

Here I am still drowning
In the tears you left behind
Seven years mean nothing
Now that you're gone, and now that you're gone

I looked upward, my tear-filled eyes searching the ceiling as though the clouds were just beyond it. Because she wasn't coming back and that was the one truth I still couldn't make myself accept. I lowered my gaze again and let the music carry me forward. So, I sang through the tears, through the ache, I sang for the little girl I never got to hold, never get to meet, never hear her cry and never watch her grow

Here I am still singing (singing)
I'm writing you this song (singing you my song)
I'm praying that you hear me
Now that you're gone, now that you're gone
I just need more time
'Cause I can't say goodbye

No, no
I can't say goodbye
Oh-oh
I can't say

There was no applause this time when I finished the song. For a moment, I stood there, staring into the silence, and my heart sank. I guess I had finally done it. I had ruined the festive atmosphere. I had taken something that was supposed to be joyful and filled it with my grief.

I looked at Joy and the others on stage. None of them looked uncomfortable. None of them looked disappointed. They were my friends, of course. They would stay beside me, no matter how messy my grief became. Still, I turned toward the audience, certain I had frightened them away with my sadness. But to my surprise, they were still there. No one had left.

They sat quietly, simply looking at me. Some had tears in their eyes. Others wore expressions I couldn't quite understand. They looked... captivated. As though my grief had somehow held them there.

I turned back to Joy. “See, this was what I was happy of. I didn’t want to drag anyone into my misery” Joy studied me for a moment.

“Is that what you see?” Joy asked and I frowned “Because to me, I see people being comforted”

Comfort! The word felt strange coming from her. I looked at the audience and strangely enough, I think she was right

“Why will they be comforted by my grief”

“Because, you are not the only one that have lost a loved one.” Her voice softened “Bad things happen to everyone, everyone loses someone, everyone grieves”

But why?

The question rose inside me before I could stop it. Why did bad things have to happen to everyone? Why did people have to lose the people they loved? Why did grief have to exist at all? Why did I have to lose my baby? Why did I have to lose my womb too? Why had everything I had ever dreamed of been taken from me in a single moment?

I held the microphone again and closed my eyes. This time around, I felt a surge of anger course through me…. hot, raw, furious anger. Anger at the world. At fate. At God. At everything I couldn't understand and couldn't change. My chest burned as I drew in a deep breath, then I opened my mouth and sang.

I wish I had the why
The why for every woe...
'Cause we're all chasing ghosts
Something we loved the most
Lost along the way
Looking for a reason why
Why the dark comes out some days?
Why it takes your peace away
And it breaks you down inside?

As I sang, the questions I have had for months screamed in my head. The questions I asked God, my doctors, myself and nobody could answer.

When your peace like a river
Runs dry like the desert land
I've seen the darkness fall
And rise up from the sand
From the sand

Why me? Why my baby? Why did this happen to me?

I wish I had the words
The words to make it alright
But we're all looking for
A reason for our wars
Words can't justify
When your peace like a river
Runs dry like the desert land
I've seen the darkness fall
And rise up from the sand
From the sand

I want answers to my questions, I need someone to explain why this happened to me. I want someone to give me a reason that will make my loss bearable and justified

I wish I had the why
When your peace like a river
Runs dry like the desert land
I've seen the darkness fall
And rise up from the sand
From the sand

But I got nothing, not then, not now and maybe not even

When your peace like a river
Runs dry like the desert land
I've seen the darkness fall
And rise up from the sand
From the sand

I wish I had the why
I wish I had the why

I just wanted to know why. But there would never be an answer for me, would there? At that realization, something inside me gave way. The anger drained from my body, leaving only an unbearable emptiness. Suddenly, I was tired. Tired of the questions. Tired of the pain. Tired of fighting what I could never change.

I felt tired to my bones.

When you try your best, but you don't succeed
When you get what you want, but not what you need
When you feel so tired, but you can't sleep
Stuck in reverse

And the tears come streaming down your face
When you lose something you can't replace
When you love someone, but it goes to waste
Could it be worse?

Nobody can undo the loss, nobody can bring my baby back and nothing can erase what happened.

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you

And high up above or down below
When you're too in love to let it go
But if you never try, you'll never know
Just what you're worth

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you

Nothing can fix me, not therapy, not my friends, not even music. Only time can fix me and time is taking its sweet little time with that. I opened my eyes and looked at my friends as I sang. Joy and Fatima sang back up to me while the guys played their instrument.

Tears stream down your face
When you lose something you cannot replace
Tears stream down your face, and I

I am too tired, I am too tired to continue alone. While time takes its sweet time, can I lean on these people carry me? Can I do that? Will that be okay?

Tears stream down your face
I promise you I will learn from my mistakes
Tears stream down your face, and I

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you

 

A resounding wave of applause erupted as the song ended. My friends joined in immediately. Adebayo and Abdul gave me thumbs-up. Marcus smiled at me, while Joy and Fatima clapped with bright, encouraging smiles. Then, something unexpected moved through me…. a small, gentle warmth.

Relief.

Maybe I could lean on them. Maybe I didn't have to carry all of this alone. Maybe, for now, I didn't need to be strong. Maybe I just needed people willing to hold me until I found the strength to stand on my own again. I drew in a deep breath and for the first time in what felt like forever, my lungs filled completely. There was so much air and somehow, for one fragile moment, it felt like there was room for me to breathe again.

So, I held the mic again and took advantage of the air moving in my lungs again

I'm trying but I keep falling down
I cry out but nothing comes now
I'm giving my all and I know peace will come
I never wanted to need someone

Yeah, I wanted to play tough, thought I could do all this on my own
But even Superwoman sometimes needed Superman's soul

Help me out of this hell
Your love lifts me up like helium
Your love lifts me up when I'm down, down, down, when I've hit the ground
You're all I need

Something has shifted inside me, I felt lighter and relaxed, so, I closed my eyes and I sang my heart out

And if you let go, I'll float towards the sun
I'm stronger 'cause you fill me up
But when the fear comes and I drift towards the ground
I am lucky that you're around

Yeah, I wanted to play tough, thought I could do all this on my own
But even Superwoman sometimes needed Superman's soul

Help me out of this hell
Your love lifts me up like helium
Your love lifts me up when I'm down, down, down, when I've hit the ground
You're all I need
'Cause your love lifts me up like helium
Your love lifts me up like helium

You lift me up and I am found
You lift me up before I hit the ground
You lift me up when I am down, down, down
You lift me up before I hit the ground
You lift me up and I am found
You lift me up before I hit the ground
You lift me up when I'm down, down, down
You lift me up before I hit the ground

And somewhere between one note and another, I realized the ball in my chest wasn't crushing me quite as hard. It was still there but I could breathe around it. I took another deep breath, longer this time, followed by another and another. Then, I felt my body swaying slightly

Your love lifts me up like helium
Your love lifts me up when I'm down, down, down, when I've hit the ground
You're all I need
'Cause your love lifts me up like helium
Your love lifts me up like helium
Your love lifts me up like helium
Your love lifts me up like helium

I turned to my friends and looking at me weirdly. Joy had tears in her eyes and I looked at her and my friends in surprise.

“What is it?”

“You are smiling”

“What?” at that moment, I realized that I had a small movement at the corner of my mouth. I almost stopped it but instead a chuckle escaped through my mouth, followed by tears and I laughed loudly for the first time in months through my tears. I was surprised at the sound of my laughter, I had forgotten how it sounded

I am standing

I am breathing

Can I breathe and grieve at the same time without collapsing in my grief

Is that possible?

Loving can hurt, loving can hurt sometimes
But it's the only thing that I know
When it gets hard, you know it can get hard sometimes
It is the only thing makes us feel alive

We keep this love in a photograph
We made these memories for ourselves
Where our eyes are never closing
Hearts are never broken
And time's forever frozen still

So you can keep me
Inside the pocket of your ripped jeans
Holding me closer 'til our eyes meet
You won't ever be alone, wait for me to come home

Loving can heal, loving can mend your soul
And it's the only thing that I know, know
I swear it will get easier
Remember that with every piece of ya
Hmm, and it's the only thing we take with us when we die

Hmm, we keep this love in this photograph
We made these memories for ourselves
Where our eyes are never closing
Hearts were never broken
And time's forever frozen, still

So you can keep me
Inside the pocket of your ripped jeans
Holding me closer 'til our eyes meet
You won't ever be alone

And if you hurt me
That's okay, baby, only words bleed
Inside these pages, you just hold me
And I won't ever let you go
Wait for me to come home
Wait for me to come home
Wait for me to come home
Wait for me to come home

Oh, you can fit me
Inside the necklace you got when you were sixteen
Next to your heartbeat where I should be
Keep it deep within your soul

I remembered when I found out about her, the sound of her heartbeat, her kicks, her movement. She existed and she was loved. She was wanted and she was part of my life. I smiled as I imagined how beautiful she would have been

And if you hurt me
Well, that's okay, baby, only words bleed
Inside these pages, you just hold me
And I won't ever let you go

When I'm away, I will remember how you kissed me
Under the lamppost back on Sixth street
Hearing you whisper through the phone
"Wait for me to come home"

Maybe I can love her, grieve her, remember her, without been destroyed. I held chest and realized that the ball in my chest has gone smaller and suddenly I felt hope. Maybe there is a light at the end of this every dark tunnel

Here comes the sun, doo-doo-doo
Here comes the sun
And I say, "It's all right"

Little darlin'
It's been a long, cold, lonely winter
Little darlin'
It feels like years since it's been here

Here comes the sun, doo-doo-do
Here comes the sun
And I say, "It's all right"

Little darlin'
The smile's returning to the faces
Little darlin'
It seems like years since it's been here

Here comes the sun
Here comes the sun
And I say, "It's all right"

Sun, sun, sun, here it comes
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes

 

I looked into the audience and noted that the most of the audience are up on their feet and dancing. I knew I was in a wedding earlier but now, I could feel the beauty, the love and happiness in the air. I could feel the warmth of the sun on my skin and only one thought came to my mind as I sang

Little darlin'
I feel that ice is slowly melting
Little darlin'
It seems like years since it's been clear

Here comes the sun, doo-doo-doo
Here comes the sun
And I say, "It's all right"

Here comes the sun, doo-doo-doo
Here comes the sun
It's all right
It's all right

This was beautiful

Painfully, beautiful

And I feel beautiful

I am not okay but maybe there could still be good days again

Maybe

“Lights are turned off, music is on”  I sang

“What?” Joy questioned in bafflement “That is how you are feeling”

I smiled “Yeah, that is how I feel” The kind of joy I am feeling at the moment is that only kind of joy I feel when I had just finished lying with my husband

Minds are unlocked
This feeling is amazing
Hands on your waist
Liquor is all that we taste
Your freckles lead the way
I trace your constellations

I see it in your eyes
The wind blows west where the sun don't rise, yes
You've got a darker side
You know it's a mess but you don't need to hide, yes
The sweat is dripping down
Caresses your skin 'til it hits the ground, uh
You're digging deeper now
You're biting your lip so you don't make a sound

Lights are turned off
Music is on
Minds are unlocked
This feeling is amazing
Hands on your waist
Liquor is all that we taste
Your freckles lead the way
I trace your constellations

Now we're four shots in
Slowly getting sober from the taste of your skin, uh
We bring the light to the sin
You pull my head up as you're dripping down my chin, uh
I feel your heart start to beat
When I hit the spot you know I hit it perfectly, yeah
And you taste so sweet
Leave me wanting more soon as we get out the sheets

 

We had a baby, a daughter

Yes, we had a baby

But, she died

Yes, she did, we lost her

Where did I go wrong? I should have stopped it

You did nothing wrong. It was not your fault, it was not my fault, it was nobody’s fault. It is just… fate. Bad things happen to good people sometimes. We did everything right

 

Wait, a minute, my inner voice was back

 

I am sorry for bailing out on you

My heart leapt at the realization. After months of silence, she was finally here again. I wasn't alone anymore.

 

It is good to have you back

And it is good to be back, it is good to see you feeling like yourself again

Lights are turned off
Music is on
Minds are unlocked
This feeling is amazing
Hands on your waist
Liquor is all that we taste
Your freckles lead the way
I trace your constellations

Now you're gone in the blink of an eye
I try to remember what you look like
Orion's Belt in the sky
Closest thing to you other than my mind
Now you're gone in the blink of an eye
I try to remember what you taste like
Replaying in my head
The smell of your body still in my bed

Lights are turned off
Music is on
Minds are unlocked
This feeling is amazing
Hands on your waist
Liquor is all that we taste
Your freckles lead the way
I trace your constellations

I trace your constellations

 

I can still miss my daughter, I can still have bad days where the pain of losing her might almost choke me but I can keep going because I am no longer alone and I want tomorrow. Right now, though, I felt almost giddy. A strange lightness had settled over me, and I wasn't ready to let it go. It was time to turn it all the way up. I turned toward my friends, a smile tugging at my lips.

“I want to dance with somebody.”

“Okay!” Marcus shouted, his enthusiasm infectious. The tempo changed immediately. The drums kicked in, followed by the guitar and keyboard, filling the room with a completely different energy. And this time, I didn't think about grief, I just let the music take me.

 

Aah
Yeah
Woo
Hey yeah
Haa
Ooh yeah
Ah-ha
Yeah
I wanna dance

Clock strikes upon the hour
And the sun begins to fade
Still enough time to figure out
How to chase my blues away

I've done alright up 'till now
It's the light of day that shows me how
And when the night fals, loneliness calls

Oh, I wanna dance with somebody
I wanna feel the heat with somebody
Yeah, I wanna dance with somebody
With somebody who loves me

 

I removed the microphone from its stand and started dancing. Joy stepped away from the microphone, laughing as she moved to the rhythm, deliberately making her movements exaggerated enough to make me laugh. Then Fatima joined, She caught Joy's hand and spun her around, both of them laughing as the music filled the garden.

Adebayo couldn't stay still behind his guitar either. He kept playing, but his shoulders began moving with the beat. Abdul looked at him, laughed, and started nodding along behind the piano. Marcus danced with his head as he beat the drumset.

I looked into the audience and the whole garden seemed to move with us. The wedding guests clapped, stomped their feet, laughed and danced beneath the fading Parisian sunlight. The newlyweds had even left their table by then. They stood together in the middle of the crowd, laughing as their friends pulled them into the dancing. The bride threw her head back, laughing while her husband held her hand and spun her around.

Oh, I wanna dance with somebody
I wanna feel the heat with somebody
Yeah, I wanna dance with somebody
With somebody who loves me

I've been in love and lost my senses
Spinning through the town
Sooner or later, the fever ends
And I wind up feeling down

I need a man who'll take the chance
On a love that burns hot enough to last
So when the night falls
My lonely heart calls

When the chorus started again, the entire garden sang along, I couldn't hear myself sing any longer and I didn't need to. For once, I was part of something bigger than my pain and grief. I danced as the people around and in front of me danced with me.

Oh, I wanna dance with somebody
I wanna feel the heat with somebody
Yeah, I wanna dance with somebody
With somebody who loves me
Oh, I wanna dance with somebody
I wanna feel the heat
Yeah, I wanna dance with somebody
With somebody who loves me

Somebody who, somebody who
Somebody who loves me yeah
Somebody who, somebody who
To hold me in his arms oh

I need a man who'll take the chance
On a love that burns hot enough to last
So when the night falls
My lonely heart calls

Oh, I wanna dance with somebody
I wanna feel the heat with somebody
Yeah, I wanna dance with somebody
With somebody who loves me
Oh, I wanna dance with somebody
I wanna feel the heat with somebody
Yeah, I wanna dance with somebody
With somebody who loves me
Ooh ooh (dance)
Come on baby (dance)
Ooh, yeah (dance)
Now get with this
Whoah!

Don'tcha wanna dance with me baby?
Don'tcha wanna dance with me boy?
Hey don'tcha wanna dance with me baby?
With somebody who loves me?
Don'tcha wanna dance, say you wanna dance, don'tcha wanna dance
Don'tcha wanna dance, say you wanna dance, don'tcha wanna dance
Don'tcha wanna dance, say you wanna dance, ah-ha
With somebody who loves me
Dance, dance, dance (hey baby!)

 

When the music finally stopped, the room erupted in applause. Everyone was smiling, their faces bright with the joy of the moment.

“Please, let us all sit down.” Slowly, the guests returned to their seats. I glanced at my friends. They looked confused, wondering what I was about to do, but I simply smiled at them.

“I want to use this opportunity to appreciate my friends for their kindness. I am truly grateful for what they have done for me.” I lowered the microphone and carefully stepped down from the stage.

“About nine months ago, I lost my baby, and it has been hard...” I closed my eyes briefly, steadying myself as I made my way toward the bride and groom. “Actually, hard is an understatement. It has been hell on earth.” I opened my eyes and looked at the couple.

“But today is not about me. Today is about these two beautiful people who found love with each other in this cruel world.” I stepped aside, giving them the attention they deserved.

“So, with a standing ovation, let us welcome the newest couple in Paris for their first dance!” The room exploded.

Cheers, whistles, and thunderous applause filled the hall as I walked back toward the stage. Behind me, the newlyweds made their way to the centre of the floor, wrapped their arms around each other, and held each other close.

And as I watched them, I smiled. For once, my heart wasn't aching over what I had lost, it was celebrating what someone else had found.

Wise men say
Only fools rush in
But I can't help falling in love with you
Shall I stay?
Would it be a sin
If I can't help falling in love with you?

Like a river flows
Surely to the sea
Darling, so it goes
Some things are meant to be

Take my hand
Take my whole life, too
For I can't help falling in love with you

Like a river flows
Surely to the sea
Darling, so it goes
Some things are meant to be

Take my hand
Take my whole life, too
For I can't help falling in love with you
For I can't help falling in love with you

 

I smiled softly as I watched the two lovers sway together, completely wrapped up in each other. And all I could feel was gratitude, gratitude that I had been there to witness this moment, to see love still finding its way through a world that had once felt so cruel. 

And then I realized—

This was joy.

Finally, I could feel joy.

TO BE CONTINUED NEXT SATURDAY, 9.00 PM WAT 

MUSIC CREDITS

This chapter references the following musical works:

“Where's My Love” — written by Brian Leseney Fennell

“I can't Say Goodbye” — written by Nicolas Farmakalidis and Kelsie Brits

“Wish I had the Why?” — written by Shelly Marie Fraley

“Fix you” — written by Christopher Anthony John Martin, Guy Rupert Berryman, William Champion and Jonathan Mark Buckland

“Helium” — written by Christopher Braide and Sia Furler

“Photograph” — written by Edward Christopher Sheeran, Johnny McDaid, Martin Peter Harrington and Thomas E. Leonard

“Here Comes The Sun” — written by George Harrison

“Constellations” — written by Jade Le MacPhail

“I Wanna Dance with Somebody” — written by Shannon Rubicam and George Robert Merrill

“Can't Help Falling in Love” — written by George Weiss, Hugo Peretti and Luigi Creatore

All rights to the songs and their lyrics belong to their respective songwriters, artists, publishers, and copyright holders. The songs are referenced solely for storytelling and thematic purposes. No ownership or copyright claim is made over the musical works.

 

Other Series 

Why?

The Black Lady in Paris 

My Name is....

On the road from Lagos 

Rere Sha