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It’s December 31st night and the whole street is glowing with different colours and varieties of lighting, with glamorous excitement noticeable at all corners. Everywhere looks crowded with the young and old, and there seems to be a balanced equilibrium even between the poor and the rich as everyone wore the same mood of unlimited celebration. It’s 5 minutes past 6 pm and no one seems to be indoors for dinner; maybe they had dinner alongside with lunch – double meal, who knows. Malls and shops looks crowded than ever before; buyers and sellers kept the business atmosphere warmer than the heat of summer. The wave of happiness and joy that everyone was expressing made me feel the government have reduced the price of petrol by 50% which has been the demand of the community two weeks ago, which was also preceded by a national strike and protest. The whole scene kept me quite perturbed with much curiosity while the feeling that something new, which should be to everyone’s benefit, had just happened in the community without my knowledge, until it resounded to me that it’s December 31st night which means the year has come to an end, then I didn’t bother anymore to ask anyone what the uproar was all about.

Gradually I became consumed with the excitement that was all around me. The more I tried to get hold of myself, the more I found myself being swallowed up by this irresistible excitement. Then I discovered that I’ve been unconsciously initiated into what should ordinarily be part of me – the joy that comes with the compliment of a season! “Compliment of the season!” was the shout that echoed behind me. It’s Michael, our old family friend. I often call him by the nickname “Maiko” as a sign of respect instead of addressing him directly as Michael since he is 5 years older than I am. I responded by saying “compliment of the season” coupled with handshakes. He then shouted, “long time no see.” I also did replied him at each instance in same tone. While exchanging pleasantries, we barely completed a sentence without repeated handshakes – that’s the way we do it from where we came; we are used to multiple handshakes while exchanging pleasantries because handshakes have their own significant gesture, especially when we haven’t met each other for a long time. Maiko actually came over to see his parents so they could spend the last hours of the year together as they launch into the New Year together. That’s a nice gesture from Maiko.

“Compliment of the season”, that’s what we kept saying to each other with much expression of happiness as we kept the handshakes reverberating. As old friends, we wouldn’t keep the discussion ongoing without talking about our past, so I asked him “how has the year been with you?” He replied in a low tone, “it has been so-so, my bro. I wish the New Year will be better.” “Better? What do you mean by better?” was my response to him since I already felt somewhat fascinated by the “so-so” response he gave to me. During our discussion, Maiko told me he had some New Year resolutions which he made exactly same time last year but ...

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Written by: Sunday Okorie for Smartink Blog.
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