Picture generated by me using BingAi
When I first met Tony in school through Michael, he was always quiet, calm, and reserved. He only smiles when needs arise and just replies to almost every joke we make about ourselves with "life."
I would always marvel at how cool, calm, and calculated he was. But then here's what amazed me the most about Tony: the way he holds friendship dear to his heart. The way he puts people first, he cares about their well-being more than himself.
Tony doesn't take care of your tribe; he does not care about your stature or status. He's just there and willing to lend a helping hand.
To top it all up, Tony is a giver. For the past few months left for us in school, I've never seen Tony let any of us, his friends, pay for lunch in school. Nor our transport home; sometimes he gets a gift for us while coming to school.
If we were still in the days when our parents would warn us against rejecting gifts from people because we might get initiated unknowingly into a secret cult, I would have believed that Tony was one of them. But no, it was just Tony being a selfless guy, putting the needs of others first.
I can boldly tell you that, on several occasions, I've gone against him trying to pay and pushed that I pay instead of him, but all I hear is him say it.
"Bro, don't worry, I'll pay. Don't let it bother you; it's not a competition; it's not me trying to insult that you can't take care of your needs. It's just who I am. Please just let me do it."
I still didn't fancy that idea. One day I walked up to Michael, from whom I got to know Tony. He was seated at the school pavilion, watching students play football. Out of curiosity, and since Tony wasn't in sight, I asked to know what he felt about Tony's kind of lifestyle. I couldn't help it; at that point, I wanted to know how, with all the economic situation in the country, Tony still finds joy in helping others. It wasn't jealousy; I was just being careful; I was making sure Tony wasn't spending fraud money on us.
"How far, bro? How are you?" I asked, extending my hands for a shake.
"I dey boss (I'm okay boss)" Michael received my hands in a firm grip, shaking them vigorously.
"Ehh, pull it out of it's socket." I implied to my hands Michael was shaking vigorously while retracting from his firm grip and sitting close to him.
"Boss man," he hailed me, apparently feeling himself and his mischief.
"Guy, no vex, I want to ask you something. You know I got to know Tony through you, and from what I've seen, the way he spends money, dude... "
"I know what you want to ask. Trust me, I've asked those questions too, and to him directly." He tapped my arms. "Wait till you hear his story. Guy, people are really suffering."
I pushed further to understand what he meant, but Michael wouldn't bulge. He insisted that I needed to hear from the horse's mouth.
That piqued my interest even more. But I didn't have the courage to ask Tony directly.
One sunny day in a hot classroom, the lecturer kept talking about the poor economic situation and how it's affecting the citizens of the country. He stressed that citizens are not able to get proper healthcare because of the high cost of living and poverty in the country. Suddenly, my eye drifted from the lecturer to Tony, who was seated beside me. Tony was emotional, and as someone who understood countenance a lot, I could tell he was almost in tears.
"Bro, are you good?" I asked, tapping him.
Tony smiled and adjusted in his seat.
"What's wrong?" I asked again.
He picked up his pen and started sketching nervously in his book. "This was my situation years ago."
"What do you mean?"
He paused for a few seconds. "My kidney got infected a few years ago. I was still too young. My daddy,who was a government worker, was owed, and so he couldn't provide the money required for my surgery then. Unfortunately for me, it got so bad that when my dad got the cash, the only option to save me was to remove one of my kidneys," he said, dropping a tear.
"I'm so sorry, bro." I said, trying to console him.
"You've always wondered why I'm always helping people financially. Well, this is why. Somehow, dad got a better job after, and things turned around for the better for us. I get a good amount of my monthly allowance from him. Enough to take care of a family of four. So I decided that I wouldn't let people suffer my fate at all. Why waste all the money on myself when I can put smiles on people's faces? With the allowance I get monthly, I try to help people. At least, for now, that's what gives me purpose to love the next day."
Immediately, I felt bad. I felt bad that I had actually thought Tony was into fraud, and that was why he could afford to spend so much on people. I felt bad for profiling him without knowing the truth behind his act of giving.
This prompt actually came at the wrong time for me because, for days now, Tony hasn't been in school because he's sick. I punch through my writing pad with tears in my eyes and prayers in my heart that he gets well soon.