It all started from a text after we exchanged some conversations at the church entrance and since then I've regretted attending service that day.
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I have always been the quiet guy who loves attending the first service, worshiping God, and after the service was done, I would be on my way home without waiting to say hi to anyone in church. I just wanted my peace and since the church is very big, no one would notice you. So I thought until Patricia came to me one Sunday after the service was over.
"Why are you always rushing home? Don't you know waiting behind and saying hi to your church members helps build a godly community?" I was at the church entrance when I heard the voice of a lady. It was so soft and feminine I had to look back to see who was talking even though I wasn't the only one standing there. I turned around and I saw this lady with a blue blouse, bright brown eyes, and smooth skin. She was staring at me, then I asked
"Are you talking to me?" pointing at myself.
"If not you, then who else?" she fired back with a casual smile on her face. At that moment, I dropped my guard because she was pretty.
"I'm not rushing home; the service is over and I'm on my way home," I answered her with a casual smile too.
"I have noticed you for a while now. You're always the first to stand up and leave after the grace has been shared. Don't you have friends in the church you talk to?" She asked as she walked close to me and at this point we are standing facing each other.
"No, I don't have any..."
"Then I'll be your friend," she cut me off. "Besides, my name is Patricia and you're?"
"My name is Tioluwa, but you can call me Fash," I answered.
After exchanging more words with each other, asking if I leave around, if my place was far, and what unit I would like to join in the church. She was this churchy girl type and I felt she was doing it to help the church community. That evening, I got a text on WhatsApp.
"Hello, it is I, Patrica"
I was a bit surprised because I remembered not giving her my number so how did she get the number? I responded like a good person and we started chatting. From chatting, she started calling me, which felt normal at first but then this call became more frequent than normal.
Are people this nice? I asked myself because I saw it as being nice until one morning I got a text on WhatsApp saying,.
"What do you think about me?"
What do I think about you? I didn't understand the question so I replied, "I think you're a human being."
Then she replied, "No, no, I mean, do you like me?"
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I paused. My fingers hovered over the keypad. This wasn’t where I expected this conversation to go. I read her message again, hoping the meaning would change, but it didn’t. She liked me. It was now obvious.
I sighed and typed slowly, carefully. “I think you’re a good person, Patricia. But I have a girlfriend. Someone I love very much. I’m in a serious relationship, and I plan on marrying her.”
I added that last part so she could understand the depth of things. So she could see clearly where she stood and where I stood. I hit send and waited.
A few minutes later, her reply came in: “Oh… I see.”
I thought that was the end. I thought we had reached an understanding. And for a few days, it seemed that way. The messages reduced. She didn’t call. I even smiled one night thinking maybe she was truly a mature person. Maybe she just got carried away and now she’s respecting herself.
But I was wrong.
One morning, around 4:30 a.m., my phone rang. I jumped out of sleep, heart racing, thinking it was an emergency. It was Patricia. I didn’t pick. Ten minutes later, another call. I ignored it again. Then came a message
“I’m sorry for disturbing you. I just couldn’t sleep. I was thinking about you.”
My peace began to crack from that moment. What does she mean “thinking about you? At 4:30 a.m”
During the day, she would send paragraphs upon paragraphs, telling me how much she liked me, how I was different, how she dreamt of me. One message read, “Even though you have someone, I can’t help how I feel. I wish things were different.”
At first, I replied kindly. I reminded her again that I was in a relationship and didn’t want anything beyond friendship. I thought maybe clarity would help.
But it didn’t.
The calls continued, early morning, late night. Sometimes, back to back. I began to hate the sound of my phone ring. I started keeping it on silent. There was this tightness in my chest every time I saw her name pop up on my screen. One night, I had enough and I sent her a text
“Please, I don’t think this is appropriate anymore. I’ve tried to be polite, but this is affecting me. I need you to stop calling and texting me like this.”
She replied, “I understand. I’m sorry. I won’t disturb you again. Since you can accept me as a girlfriend, how about a little sister. At least I can be close to you like a sister”
A little sister?
It sounded innocent. And honestly, I didn’t want to be harsh. So I agreed. I told her she could be like a sister. That way, maybe things would be normal again because things was already awkward between us. I never knew being a sister would be worse and it was all a trap
The texts didn’t stop. The calls continued. Only now, she started calling me “Big bro” with a heart emoji. She’d say things like, “I just miss talking to you,” “Are you busy, youre not replying me” and “I wish my real brother was like you.”
At that point, I realized she wasn’t going to stop. She was already a thorn in my flesh.
The final straw came when she showed up at my house without informing me. “How did she know my house?” This was an information I have never shared with her before so i asked her and the response she gave scared me.
Image gotten from Meta AI*
“I followed you one Sunday without you knowing and thats how i know your house”
That night, I blocked her. Not just on WhatsApp. I blocked her line entirely. I sent a harsh message warning her never to contact me or visit my house again because I was so angry.
Sometimes, I still check my blocked list just to confirm she’s still there. That’s how one innocent conversation after church became the beginning of my torment. I don’t know if I could have handled that differently or not but she became a thorn in my flesh I had to remove by all means.
Since then, we act like we dont know each other anytime we see. I feel at peace with that and I am okay with thst result.
The End.
Thanks for reading, My name is Fashtioluwa.
