The Last Dance

I still remember the words of the woman who birthed me. “Don’t skate beyond this compound.” “You know how dangerous this thing is. Don’t take it outside. The road is not so good.” She’d always say. The funny thing is no one actually taught me how to skate. I didn't have a skating instructor. However, I had a pair of skating shoes which I received as a birthday gift from one of my favorite uncles. I started practicing in the compound, and before I knew it, I became an expert. It made me realize that if you have the resources, you don’t have to wait for someone to teach you. It works like magic. All you need is determination, dedication and consistency.

I wanted more. I got tired of skating in my compound. Despite my mum’s warning, something inside me wanted to explore beyond the confines of my compound. Heaven knows I tried my best to fend off the voice in my head telling me to disobey my mother’s warnings. Soon enough, I got tired of fighting the voice and decided to give in. I remember the details like it happened yesterday. It was a Saturday morning and my parents weren't around. I was alone with my siblings. My siblings were so focused on their phones that they didn't care where I was or what I was doing. Just as I expected, the little voice in my head came in a rush telling me to take the skating shoes outside the compound. This time, I obeyed it without hesitation. I peeked outside and seeing that my parents were not in sight, I took the skating shoes out and started gliding. It was one of my best days ever. After about 1 hour, I got tired and took the skating shoes back inside like nothing ever happened.

Soon, it became a tradition to skate outside my compound- on the streets every Saturday while my parents were away. Yes, I know I was going against my parents' warnings. But, on the brighter side, I learnt new and amazing skills- I learnt how to reverse, drift and do some other cool skills. You know the famous saying that goes “everyday is for the thief and one day is for the owner.” Well, I hate to break it to you, but sometimes, every day is for the thief. In this context, I was the thief while the mum was the owner. I never got caught. I got away with it every Saturday. I don’t want to give off the impression that I was proud of going against my mum’s warning. I was a young lad and I wanted to explore.

Four years ago, I left my parent's shed for the first time. I got admission into a program called JUPEB, but it was in a state far from my parents. I took my skating shoes along with me. I stayed in an area where students lived, and we would often gather on Saturdays to show off our skating skills. It was so nice. I belonged there. My life was going well until something terrible happened on a Saturday. Our head captain suggested an intense training where we would hold onto bikes while skating. The road was wide and smooth

We were all experts so no one expected that anything would go wrong. We all felt confident. The bike which I held on to started going too fast. I yelled for him to stop, but he didn't listen. I lost my grip and fell down hard. I broke my left leg and ended up with some scratches on my arms. That was the last dance. The last lap. That was the last time I ever skated. It was a tough and rough day to say goodbye to something I loved.

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