I Still Call Her Number Even Though She Changed It Two Years Ago

I was 27, living in Benin City, working as a driver for a transport company. She was a customer , always taking the 6am bus to Lagos every Friday. I noticed her because she always sat in the front seat, near me, and she never complained about the heat or the potholes like the other passengers.

We started talking. Small things at first , her name was Funmi, she was a trader at Oba Market, she had a daughter back in the village. I was not looking for anything serious, but something about her made me want to drive that route every Friday just to see her face. Omo, I cannot explain it.

We dated for eight months. She was married , separated from her husband, she said. I knew it was trouble, but I did not care. The way she laughed, the way she held my hand when I was driving, the way she would say "you try" after a long trip. I felt like a king when I was with her.

Then one day she stopped coming. Her number was changed. I found out from her friend that her husband had taken her back and moved her to Port Harcourt. That was two years ago. I still call her old number sometimes, just to hear the automated voice say "this number does not exist." It is the only part of her I still have.

I have met other women since then, but none of them make me feel the way she did. Maybe it is because she was the first person who saw me as more than just a driver. Or maybe I am just a fool who cannot let go. Either way, I am still here, still driving the same route, still looking at the front seat every Friday morning.

Naija, if you love someone and they leave, let them go. Holding on will only break you more. I am learning that now, slowly.