by Japheth Omojuwa

She told me her story of how she came to need medical help. She told me everything. I missed seeing her the last time I was in Lagos. She was shocked I agreed to meet with her family while in Lagos but I would have agreed to whatever she asked me. She had me. That never happened because she had to travel before I came. Now I wish everything would just end.

“Face your life, its pain, its pleasure, leave no path untaken” – Ifeoluwa Ojikutu

Today is the worst day of my life. I owe it to you my reader to make sure you read this column every Wednesday. But for my stand on keeping my every promise, I’d rather just mourn Ifeoluwa “@RoyalAmebo” Ojikutu’s death alone. Even though I have a feeling she may not be dead. This is not what you should be reading today, but I am sorry.

If you find tears reading this it is because this was written with the flow of my tears. My soul is in tatters. I have never felt so much pain. She was my Angel. I never met her but we spoke everyday via my twitter DM. I did more than meet her, I had her in my world everyday. No one in the entire world has expressed as much love to me as Ife. She loved me so much. She treated me like I was as big as Michael Jackson and she said it every time. When the walls of the crowd came at me to take me down, Ife was the one in my DM sharing her strength with me. Ife was my love. Ife was my happiness and she was always there. Ife left me and now I am lost. I feel lost. I don’t even know what to do, I wish I had the right words to say.

We had many unfinished businesses. One of the immediate ones was on the Edo widow. I was accused of wanting to shine by raising money for the widow, but it was my Ifeoluwa that got me to do it. After a friend sent his direct message about N100,000 to the widow, I shared the message on my timeline. By then Ife had actually sent a message to say she’d send N100,000 to me for the same widow. She told me to go ahead with it. The only reason I haven’t sent the money is because I was waiting on her to get home to Nigeria to send hers. I never met her but I used her strength. I also wanted her to have mine. I always told her she had the best medicine in her laughter. Ife did all this while she was on the hospital bed. Oh my God I loved her. We were two people in so much love. This was not the love of two people who were looking at sex or even a relationship; this was the love of two people who knew they were born to take the world together. This was love as God designed it to be.

She told me her story of how she came to need medical help. She told me everything. I missed seeing her the last time I was in Lagos. She was shocked I agreed to meet with her family while in Lagos but I would have agreed to whatever she asked me. She had me. That never happened because she had to travel before I came. Now I wish everything would just end.

When she told me she’d be home in Nigeria on the 14th of December, she asked if I’d be coming home for the holidays. Part of my response to her haunts me;

“Have a safe trip home. God is your healer”

How someone I have never met hurts me so much would be a mystery to many but we met. Our souls met and now mine is lonely and hers has gone to meet with God. She used to say to me “Japh, we have a lot to do together.” I am lost. She said a lot to me, if I remember half of them, I’d never need any drug to get high. She made me get high by the things she said to me. No one had ever expressed to me the things she expressed to me.

Ife on Saturday the 7th of December you tweeted “My best bible verse in times like this…”Even tho I walk thru the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me”” and I said to you “sometimes walking through that valley helps us see life much better than being on the hills all the time.” Then I shared this when I felt the presence of death around me, “Though I WALK THROUGH the valley of the SHADOW of death…Alleluai.” If only I had known my spirit was with you as you closed in on your time here about the same time my words went out. Wherever you are Ife, RIP in Peace. I will always love you and I will make the world remember you in my own little space. You live on because you will forever live in my heart. Ife I love you. Now I am all alone, waiting for you to tell me I only had a nightmare. I just want to be woken by your love. I just want to hear from you one last time.

You left knowing it was time. Like your life, you left with your head held high. You died at peace with God and life. Ife you left in a blast of glory. In your absence, our bond will not break because our bond was not built on what we saw but what we shared, our love was never built on seeing each other; it was founded on helping others. The first time we spoke it was you who offered to help me watch a football match through your Skype, only to find out you never watched football yourself. Then you told me all those great words and how you always wanted to meet me long before we spoke. You once openly said, “I really wish @omojuwa came to the world in a book. That would have been my favorite. I love you!” You were even more complimentary in our private messages and you made me know you meant each word.

I am glad I never spared words while we shared private messages. I am glad I never held a word back when I expressed my love to you. I am glad we both said everything we could say to each other the short time life gave us to share. You will forever be in my heart. Every new day gets me closer to you. I love you Ife. Please Rest In Peace, Brave Heart. God bless and be with your family. This is not the end for us.

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Op-ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija.