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.