The Day I Bought Something I Did Not Need

 

By Nightengale Ben-Onyeukwu

I went out that day to buy one thing. I already knew what I wanted and how much it would cost, so I also knew how much money I would have left after buying it. I was not planning to buy anything else because I did not have much money to spend. I only wanted to get what I needed and go home. I had no idea that I would return with something I never planned to buy.

When I got to the shop, I went straight to the seller and told her what I wanted. She brought it out and I checked it before paying. I was about to bring out my money when I noticed something on one of the shelves. I looked at it and then looked away. I knew I did not need it, so I tried to ignore it and pay for what I had come to buy. But after a few seconds, I looked at it again.

I asked the seller how much it was. She told me the price, and I started thinking about whether I should buy it. It was not very expensive, but it was not part of my plan either. I had enough money for what I came to buy, but if I bought this other thing, I would have less money left. I knew that, but I still kept looking at it. I started telling myself that I could buy it because I liked it and the price was not too high.

I picked it up and looked at it properly. I asked the seller a few questions, and she answered me. I checked it again and kept thinking about it. The funny thing was that I had entered the shop knowing exactly what I wanted, but now I was spending more time looking at something I had never planned to buy. After standing there for some time, I finally decided to buy it.

I paid for both things, collected my bag and left the shop. As I walked away, I was happy with what I had bought. I kept looking at the new thing and telling myself that I would use it. At that moment, I did not feel that I had made a bad decision. I was simply happy that I had seen something I liked and bought it.

After walking for a while, I remembered the money I had left. I brought out my wallet and counted it. I started thinking about what I had spent and what I still needed to pay for later. I still had enough to get home, but I had spent money I had not planned to spend. I looked at the things in my bag and laughed because I knew what had happened. I had gone to the shop for one thing, seen another thing I liked and allowed myself to buy it.

When I got home, I took the things out of the bag and looked at them again. I still liked the thing I had bought, but I also remembered that I had not needed it. I thought about how easy it was for me to change my plan. Before entering the shop, I had already decided what I was going to buy. I had even decided how much money I was going to spend. But seeing something I liked was enough to make me change my mind.

The next day, I passed the same shop again. I looked at the shelf and saw that the same item was still there. I remembered how I had stood in the shop the day before, looking at it and trying to decide whether to buy it. This time, I did not stop. I did not even go into the shop. I just looked at it and continued walking.

Since then, I have tried to be more careful when I go out to buy things. If I see something I like, I first ask myself if I really need it. If it was not part of my plan and I do not have extra money, I try to leave it. I do not always succeed, but I now think about it before spending the money.

I went to that shop that day knowing exactly what I wanted. I came back with what I needed and something I did not need. The funny part is that I was the one who made the decision to buy it, and I was also the one who later wondered why I had bought it in the first place.

 

The Day I Entered the Wrong Bus

 

By Nightengale Ben-Onyeukwu

I was in a hurry that morning. I had somewhere to be and I was already thinking about the time because I did not want to arrive late. When I got to the bus stop, it was busy as usual. Buses were coming and going, conductors were calling out the names of different places, passengers were getting down while others were trying to get in, and people were standing by the roadside waiting for the bus going to their different destinations. I was also looking around for one going my way. I had already started feeling that I was wasting time, so when I heard a conductor call the name of the place I was going to, I quickly moved towards the bus and entered.

I did not ask the conductor to repeat the name, and I did not even look properly at the writing on the bus. I simply heard the name, assumed it was my destination and got in. I found a seat by the window and sat down. The bus started moving almost immediately, and I felt relieved that I had finally got one. I looked outside as we moved along the road, but I was not really paying attention to where we were going. My mind was already on where I was headed and what I needed to do when I arrived. I was thinking more about getting there on time than anything else.

For the first few minutes, everything seemed fine. The bus stopped at a few places to pick up passengers and then continued. I was still looking outside, but most of the places did not mean anything to me because I was not familiar with that particular route. After some time, however, I started noticing that something was different. The road was not looking the way I expected it to look. I told myself that maybe the driver had taken another route because of traffic, so I did not worry about it immediately. I continued sitting quietly and looking outside, hoping that I would soon recognise somewhere.

Then we got to a junction I knew very well. I knew that if I was going to my destination, the driver should turn there. I watched the road, expecting him to turn, but he continued straight. I looked outside again and then looked ahead at the road. For a few seconds, I was not sure what to think. I started remembering what the conductor had called when I entered the bus, and that was when it occurred to me that perhaps I had heard him wrongly.

I turned to the woman sitting beside me and asked, 'Please, where is this bus going?' She told me the name of the place, and as soon as she said it, I knew I had made a mistake. That was not where I was going. I had entered the wrong bus.

I did not know whether to laugh or be annoyed with myself. I had been in such a hurry that I had not listened properly or checked the bus before entering. I had heard a name that sounded like my destination and immediately assumed I was in the right place. Now I was sitting in a bus going in a completely different direction. I told the woman that I wanted to get down, but she told me to wait until the next stop because the bus was already moving. I had no choice, so I stayed in my seat and waited.

As the bus continued, I kept thinking about how easily I could have avoided the whole problem. I only needed to ask the conductor one simple question before getting in. Even if I had spent another few seconds checking the destination, I would have known that I was about to enter the wrong bus. Instead, I had been too focused on leaving quickly because I did not want to waste time. Now I was sitting there knowing that I had already wasted even more time.

When the bus finally stopped, I got down and stood by the roadside for a moment. I looked around, trying to decide what to do next. I knew the general area, but I had not planned to come there that morning, and I was now farther away from my destination than I had been before. I checked the time and shook my head when I realised how late I had become. For a moment, I was annoyed with myself, but then I started laughing because the whole thing was almost funny. There was no point standing there blaming myself. I had made the mistake, and I just needed to find the right bus.

I crossed the road and waited. This time, I was not going to rush into anything. When another bus came, I looked carefully at the destination before getting close to it. I asked the conductor where the bus was going and listened to his answer. I even asked another passenger who was nearby just to make sure I had heard correctly. Only after I was certain that it was the right bus did I enter. I found a seat and sat down, this time paying much more attention to the road.

As the second bus moved, I began recognising the places along the way. I knew I was finally going in the right direction, and I felt more relaxed. I could not help thinking about the first bus and how such a simple mistake had changed my whole morning. I had left home worried about being late, rushed into a bus because I did not want to waste time, and ended up spending even more time going in the wrong direction. It was one of those mistakes that could have been avoided if I had simply slowed down for a few seconds.

By the time I finally got to my destination, I was already late. There was nothing I could do about that anymore. I had spent part of the morning going in the wrong direction and then finding my way back. I just had to accept it and continue with what I had come to do.

Since that day, I have become more careful whenever I am taking a bus, especially when I am in a hurry. I check the destination properly, listen to the conductor and ask questions if I am not sure. I would rather spend a few extra seconds making sure I am entering the right bus than enter quickly and later discover that I am going somewhere completely different.

That morning, I thought I was saving time by rushing into the first bus. In the end, I only rushed myself in the wrong direction.

 

The Woman Who Always Said 'Take Care'

 

By Nightengale Ben-Onyeukwu

There was a woman I used to see often. We were not close friends, and we did not have long conversations. Most of the time, we only exchanged a few words whenever we met. But there was one thing she always said whenever I was leaving. She would look at me and say, 'Take care.' Sometimes she said it while she was busy with something else, and sometimes she looked at me with a smile. It was only two simple words, so I did not think much about them at first.

After some time, I noticed that I had started waiting to hear those words before I left. I do not know when it happened. Maybe I had become used to hearing them. Maybe I simply liked the way she said them. She did not know everything that was happening in my life. She did not know if I was having a good day or a difficult one. She did not know what I was thinking about when I walked away. But she still told me to take care, as if she wanted me to be safe.

It made me think about the simple words we use when we care about people. Sometimes we say, 'I love you.' Sometimes we ask, 'Have you eaten?' We ask, 'How are you?' or 'Are you feeling better?' When someone is going somewhere, we say, 'Take care.' These words may sound ordinary because we hear them so often, but they can carry a lot of love. Sometimes, asking someone if they have eaten is another way of saying, 'I care about you.'

We often remember the big moments in our lives. We remember birthdays, weddings, celebrations, gifts and important events. But there are also small moments that stay in our minds for a long time. We may remember the person who called to check on us. We may remember the friend who asked if we had eaten when we were having a difficult day. We may remember someone who noticed that we were not ourselves and simply asked, 'Are you okay?' These things may look small, but they can mean a lot to the person receiving them.

I think many people need these small acts of care more than we realise. There are days when someone may not need advice or a long conversation. They may only need to know that somebody noticed them. A simple 'How are you?' can mean something when it comes from a person who really wants to know. 'Have you eaten?' can make someone feel remembered. 'I love you' can give comfort. And 'Take care' can remind someone that there is a person who wants them to be safe.

As I have grown older, I have started to notice these little things more. Life can be busy. We wake up thinking about work, school, money, family and the many things we need to do. We move from one place to another without paying much attention to the people around us. Sometimes, we are so busy that we forget to ask the people we love how they are doing. We may think the words are too simple to matter, but sometimes simple words are exactly what a person needs to hear.

The woman who always said 'Take care' probably never knew how much I noticed those words. She may have said them to many other people. For her, it may have been nothing more than a normal way of saying goodbye. But for me, those two words became something I remembered. They reminded me that kindness and care do not always have to come in big ways. Sometimes, they come through the smallest words.

Sometimes, love is asking, 'Have you eaten?' Sometimes, it is saying, 'How are you?' when you can see that something is wrong. Sometimes, it is saying, 'I love you' even when you have said it many times before. Sometimes, it is checking on someone when you have not heard from them. And sometimes, it is simply saying, 'Take care,' before someone walks away.

We may not know what a person is going through, and we may never know what our words mean to them. We may forget that we said them, while the other person carries them in their heart for a long time.

That is why I now try to be more careful with the little things I say and do. I do not want to think that a kind word is too small to matter. We may forget the words we said, but the person who heard them may remember them for a long time.

So whenever someone is leaving, I try not to say goodbye carelessly. I say, 'Take care.' And when someone I care about tells me they have not eaten, I ask again, 'Have you eaten?' Maybe these are only simple words, but sometimes simple words are how we tell people that they matter to us.

 

Why I Keep Writing Stories About Ordinary People

 

By Nightengale Ben-Onyeukwu

I have always liked stories about ordinary people. People who wake up every morning and face life as it comes. People who have dreams but may not have enough money, support or opportunity to achieve them easily. I like the mother who wakes up early to prepare food for her children, the student who keeps trying even when school is difficult, the young person who has a dream but does not know how to begin, and the person who goes through a hard day and still finds a reason to smile. These people may not be famous, but their lives are full of stories.

Growing up and living in Nigeria has made me notice many of these stories. You can find them almost everywhere. They are in the streets, schools, markets, buses, offices and homes. Sometimes, all it takes is paying attention. A woman selling food by the roadside may be doing more than just selling food. She may be working hard to take care of her children. A young boy walking home from school may be thinking about the kind of person he wants to become. A father sitting quietly after work may be thinking about how to provide for his family. We may pass these people every day without knowing what they are carrying in their hearts.

That is one reason I write. I want to tell stories that people can recognise. I want my readers to meet characters who feel real and situations that do not seem far from their own lives. I want someone to read one of my stories and remember a person they know, a place they have been or something they have experienced. Sometimes, a story does not have to be about something very big to mean something to someone. A small moment can stay with a person for a long time.

I also believe that every person has a story worth telling. We often celebrate people after they become successful, but we do not always talk about the years when they were struggling, making mistakes and trying to find their way. Those parts of life matter too. I enjoy writing about people who are still becoming who they want to be. They may fall, make wrong choices, lose hope for a while and then try again. To me, there is something beautiful about that kind of story because it is close to real life.

I write because I believe ordinary lives deserve attention too. Not every story needs a famous person, a rich family or a big event. Sometimes, a story about a girl trying to help her mother, a boy chasing a dream, a family facing a difficult time or two people meeting at the right moment can say something important about life. These are the stories that interest me, and they are the stories I want to keep telling.

As a journalist and writer, I am still learning. Every story teaches me something new about people and about myself. I may not have all the answers, and I know I still have a lot to learn, but I know why I write. I write for people whose stories may never appear in the newspaper or on television. I write for people who are trying, hoping, failing and starting again. Most of all, I write because I believe that the story of an ordinary person can touch someone's heart.