Penfield's Greatest Swimmer

🌊~48

The next day

Sometimes, we humans forget how fragile we are until death strikes. And when that cold bloody monster strikes, it strikes hard. So hard, that your entire life comes to a complete standstill, and you're forced to ask yourself when in the world did things go wrong?

That was the question I kept asking myself for the past twenty-four hours.

When did things take such a terrible turn?

Surrounding me was a sea of black and yellow. Yellow for the flickering candles, black for the mourning attire, and the dark heavy clouds the night sky held.

In the middle of it, all was my roommate's casket and a framed picture of him, displaying that cheeky smile I used to see every day.

Now all that was left of it was this fake copy, encased in glass and rubber. However, the fake copy didn't fail to remind me that for the next months, years, and decades, these printed pictures were all that I had left to remember my university roommate.

I would never get to see Akunna smile or laugh ever again.

The thought made my hands tremble, and the only reason I didn't drop the candle I was holding, was because Shola gave me the steadiness I needed with just a simple touch.

She and Deon were the only reasons I was out here tonight, attending Akunna's candlelight vigil. If I had my own way, I would be under my bed by now, with the cobwebs and spiders, trying my best to escape reality.

Because everything else hurt too much.

"I know you don't want to be here," Shola whispered beside me. Her touch, warm and tender on my skin. "But this might be your last chance to bid Akunna farewell before his parents take him to the Eastern Region for the burial."

That last word made me tense up and Shola must've felt it because she gave me a gentle squeeze of assurance. "Everything will be fine, ok? I'm right here beside you."

Her utterance filled me with comfort, but not enough to take away the stinging pain, which only grew worse when the reverend minister led us through another depressing hymn.

Desperate for a distraction so I wouldn't end up bawling like a baby, I let my eyes flicker around, observing the huge number of students, lecturers, and staff that had assembled here for the vigil.

Akunna wasn't really a popular guy. But when the news broke out that a promising biochemistry student had passed away due to a terrible seizure, all of Penfield was plunged into a state of sorrow and despair. Half of the people standing here didn't know Akunna personally, but the fact that they'd carved out the time to come and wish him good luck on the other side was commendable.

At least I thought it was until my eyes landed on someone, whose tear-streaked face was illuminated by the candle. I wouldn't have had a problem with her presence here if she wasn't forcing out crocodile tears like a fountain.

My eyebrows dipped into a frown. The last thing I wanted to see here were fakers. Princess barely knew Akunna, so why the fuck was she crying as if she knew him better than I did?

She lifted a hand to brush away her tears, and that was when her eyes landed on me. They almost looked fearful, as if she was afraid of something. But I couldn't tell what it was because, in the next minute, she broke the trance, sending her vision to the old reverend standing next to Akunna's casket.

"Dearly beloved," the old man began, "We're gathered here today to pay our respects to our son, brother, friend, and confidante, Theodore Akunna Williams, whose sudden departure left us all in a state of shock and sadness. But as the word of the Lord says in 1 Thessalonians 4:14; for we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him." He closed the bible in his hands. "Our brother Theodore is merely a..."