The Day I Will never Forget

by Peace Eluchie

Everybody has a tale to tell about a special day in their lives that they can never forget even in ten or twenty years. It could be a bad memory they regret -wishing it never happened, or maybe a good one they long to re-live over and over again.

Let me tell you the story of a girl named Raya who was fond of holding her urine until the last minute when she could no longer bear it. Her friends have complained severally, warning her of the cons of holding urine that long.

“I know my body. I can hold my urine as long as I want because my body is used to it already." Raya would say brushing them off.

Despite all the warnings, Raya continued in her act. She would rush to the toilet whenever she felt she couldn’t hold it in any longer. If she was in a place where toilets were unavailable, she would run to a nearby bush to free herself.

“Imagine if I could break the Guinness World Record for ‘the longest urine held.’ After all, people are busy breaking records these days.” She does tell her friends jokingly.

“My dear, I pity you,” Lyra, one of her friends told her

“Aside from bladder damage, you could end up disgracing yourself in public.” Damian, another of her friends would chip in.

“A word is enough for the wise!” would be the closing remark. To these, Raya paid deaf ears.

Raya was a secondary school graduate who was busy preparing for her jamb examination. Some of her classmates took JAMB before writing WAEC, but her parents insisted she write WAEC before taking JAMB. They wanted her to be fully focused by taking each exam one at a time.

Raya was posted to a centre in Ogun state because all the centres in Lagos were occupied due to the increased number of people that registered. On the day of the exam, Raya’s dad drove her to the centre where she was posted to write. Her exam time was nine in the morning. While on the road, Raya ate so many junkies. She drank so much water and finished a big bottle of chilled mineral not minding the fact that she could get an outburst.

“Take it easy, dear.” Raya’s dad told her.

“Overdosage of liquids is bad for your bladder. You might not get a chance to free yourself later.”

“Daddy don’t worry about me. I’m your soon-to-be Guinness World Record Holder.”

“I have full control of my bladder,” Raya affirmed.

They got to the centre early enough for Raya to settle in nicely. She had enough time to read her book and do some last-minute freshen-up.

A few minutes to nine, Raya’s dad reminded her that she needed to pee before going in to write her exam. She refused, waiting patiently for her batch to be called upon. One of the representatives from the centre called on Raya’s batch when it was a few minutes past nine and ushered them inside. The students were instructed to start answering the questions on their system after wasting thirty minutes of their time waiting.

She felt like she was reading gibberish after answering a few questions out of the total questions in her system. She danced stylishly on her seat trying to avoid unnecessary attention. Her body started generating liquids known as sweets that became visible on her body.

“Psss… are you okay?” a voice whispered from her left.

“Huh?”

“Who? Me? Yeah, I’m good” she whispered back with a faint voice.

“Then why are you sweating so much? Even though it’s chilly in here.” Another voice whispered from her right.

“I’m feeling hot, that’s all. Besides, stop talking to me before you guys implicate me.” She responded. She began vibrating on her seat as she could no longer chest her plight like someone stranded at a “T” junction.

“I’m dead,” she wailed

“I’ll end up peeing on myself if I decide to finish up. I might have to retake jamb next year if I leave my questions unattended to.” She contemplated.

She stood up trying to get the attention of any of the investigators while wiggling her legs at the same time. Her two hands were in between her thighs as a way of holding in her urine. It ended up not working as droplets of urine escaped from her bladder and rained on the floor.

If she peed on herself back in primary school, all the students would gather around her singing the famous “wee wee wee wee for body how are you? -shame!” song for her which was a hit single for many that had a solid Nigerian upbringing. Maybe the Guinness World Record might one day consider her after successfully disgracing herself in public.

Trust Nigerians with their usual publicity thirst. Always ready to shame their fellow Nigerians as a way of gaining popularity on their social media pages, not minding how their victims feel. I’m sure Raya never forgot about that incident as she was the talk of the town. She had a story that would sell one day if she decided to write a book about her terrible experience for others to learn from.

To you reading this, never wait for the experience of a lifetime to teach or change you completely. I agree that 'experience is the best teacher’  but can leave you devastated because you have made yourself a scapegoat for others to learn from.

The world is becoming more digitalized than before. People have smartphones that can be used to shame a person rather than correct them. Even if people forget an event that happened, the Internet never forgets.

Raya could have changed her ways when she had the time. Her friends have corrected her several times yet she paid deaf ears.

So, what's your story?

What's that day you have vowed never to forget?