My Journey With V

It was not, until March of 2015 I decided to embark on that journey. As I walked I could feel I was there, a mere spectactor, no special interest in the miles, no special interest and no notion that any business relating to the destination had anything to do with me. It was the longest journey with the most brilliant and shrewdest friend. However, it was undeniable that something more than unusual importance was expected to transpire at the end, with the weight of anticipation growing heavier with footfall.

Our conversation during the trip was mostly concerning family affairs. V spoke to me all the way down about father in the most endearing and nostalgic way. He spoke about the old man and related some amusing incidents about the old man, how they were attacked by a hyena one night and how he ran away leaving him behind. I then began to like his stories, anxious to know what transpired later. He had a habit of starting a story and abandoning it midway. My friend was plain, homely, and kind. Sometimes he could become unconscious of my existence on the road, stalked on, absorbed in his own reflections.

As he moved silently, abstracted, his thoughts dimly reflected on his sharp face. This unusual expression always got me so scared. He knew the road probably scared to tell me that he would only go with me half way and leave me to find my way back alone. I couldn't help but wonder why my friend was acting so strangely. I asked myself, "Was V hiding something from me?" I couldn't shake off the feeling of unease that his unusual expression brought upon me. Nevertheless, I trusted V enough as we trod along unfamiliar path, hoping that he would eventually open up and share his secrets with me.

The thought of this had tears struggle in my eyes, while my pride was struggling to keep them back. When he spoke to me, his speech struck me, enticing so I was willing to continue. Later one night, the moon was high and it's light dim, I tried looking back and front and my friend wasn't there. Scared of the dark I shouted, "V!" I shivered, embarking on this journey with my friend was the most great misfortune of my life, and I realised the mistake too late. And when I got to face the reality that my friend wasn't there anymore, the lies he had enacted and the wrong he had done both to an innocent woman and himself, I got sick, deranged and on the verge of giving up on life.

It would be very difficult to put together all the reasons for my friend's disappearance along the way. That it was partly owing to physical causes there can be no doubt. In some respects he was totally unlike other people and was a mystery but whatever reasons, history or all of these combined, V was a dear friend of mine. When he left me there alone, I suffered much. In that moment, I knew that I had to face the challenges ahead on my own and find a way to redeem myself from the gripping sense of loss and disappointment.

Gradually I gathered strength and courage and continued with the journey heading to a place I did not know. At the end of the road, I saw my friend holding hands with a pretty woman. To me it was fate and there was no escape of defence. It was clear, as perfect, as any image conveyed by the senses. All doubts had faded. "V."