Listen To Your Heart.

I got the inspiration to write this after reading @Princessbusayo 's story. You can catch up with it here and I find it interesting too.

My dad shared a story with us back then many years before he passed away. I already shared a story of how we lost our only sister and dad told us that we still have another sister who is way older in Ghana.

He was a footballer back then in Ghana and he was pretty good at it too which is why I don't understand why he kicked against my dream of being a footballer hahaha. Maybe because they don't get paid in huge figures back then and he felt I shouldn't have to live that life all over again. He shared a story of how he was so tired during a match and because he was so good the coach wouldn't substitute him. He went for a header and he faked injury 🤣🤣🤣😂 so the coach had no choice but to substitute him.

Back to the story... So, he told us of how he found love with a lady and she got pregnant. The mother of the lady kicked against her marrying a Nigerian. She agreed that they should keep the baby but they won't marry. I think it had to do with the issue of Nigerians kicking Ghana out of Nigeria many years ago which birthed the phrase: "Ghana Must Go". I guessed many Ghanaians packed their bags in these bags which we still called Ghana Must Go till today.

Image Source.

My dad eventually left Ghana and came back to Nigeria and few years down the line, he met my mum and explained situations of things with the daughter in Ghana. He went to Ghana and brought the girl (my sister) to Nigeria and she lived with them for 4 years before she said she missed Ghana and she left again. Ever since then, they have lost touch. My dad even placed an advert in Ghana's radio station back then after I helped him look for one of her old pictures but nothing came out of it. We just left it and hoped for the best.

On a beautiful Sunday, I saw my aunty as she visited us with someone looking exactly the female version of my dad. I knew that was her and the interesting part of the story was when my mum started crying and she was crying too while they were hugging each other uncontrollably. I was super happy because that was the first time I would see her but I think my eldest brother from my mum briefly lived with her back then too.

Dad was called because he went somewhere after service and the speed he used in coming back home was alarming hahaha. He couldn't help but cry too as he held his daughter in his arms. They had a lot of catching up to do and she was so sweet and warm. She came to where I was playing games and was asking me wonderful questions.

She scared us a bit when a week after we got back from Church, we were looking for her 😂😂😂. She took a stroll down the street and was now discussing with the hairdresser she saw down the road. We all took different routes looking for her but he didn't see her until she came back home herself and I was angry 😂😂😂. She had to pacify me and said she just wanted to familiarize herself with our vicinity and that's understandable.

She used two weeks and she went back. The funny thing is, she went to our home time and that was how she located my aunty who brought her. She knew if she got to Nigeria, she would locate our home town and she used the old picture they took back then to locate my home town. The signature on the picture was what she used to locate the photographer who was now old and no longer in business. He identified my aunty in the picture and took her to her place and immediately my aunty recognized her and brought her to us in our place in another City.

She said she felt the promptings in her heart to find my dad asap and she shouldn't delay, that was why she embarked on the journey blindly and I am glad she did because a year after she visited, that was when we lost my dad. I am glad she listened to her heart and that's how most of us miss opportunities. We give excuses to delay until we end up living in regrets. It's true what they say that:
"When readiness meets opportunity, success is inevitable" - Anonymous.

She had every opportunity to delay and give excuses because this is a place she hadn't been since she was little, so if she didn't want to come, her reasons would have been legit. I am glad she was brave enough to come because dad left but he gave us the gift of her with the striking resemblance. O do video chats with her once in a while and of course, she has 3 wonderful children already and they are all done with school. As young as I am, I am already having nieces 😂😂🤣😂🤣. The youngest uncle in town 🤣🤣😂🤣.

Most of the time we ignore the promptings in our hearts but there is a thin line between bravery and fear. Nothing good comes easy and it's better to try and fail at things rather than live in regrets about it. I am glad we exhausted every option in looking for her too and she did everything possible to find us too. I am thinking of having a journey to Ghana, hopefully soon too. We might lose something in life but we still gain something back if we look at it critically.

Thank you for your time.