INHIBITIONS.

About eight years ago, I was at my step-brother's bachelor party and then across the pool, I saw a girl who looked very familiar. A few seconds of a squint and a memory scan, and then I realized this was Uche (not real name), a friend of my own friend, Onome (real name).

So I walked up to her to introduce myself and ... you know...say hello (as you do when you've seen so many photos of someone, and heard so many fun stories that you feel like you have an unspoken right to finally bond). 

She completely ignored me. She acted like I was a housefly hovering on her hot plate of food. I smiled and tried to make a gracious exit, expecting her to call out and apologize and give the standard "oh sorry, I didn't mean to act like that...I've just had a really exhausting day" sort of excuse. But she was Rosa Parks adamant in her steely behavior. Except unlike Rosa, she had no obvious good cause.

Till today I will never understand why. What I however understand is that I became unwilling to make {unnecessarily positive} assumptions about a person's persona, just off photographs and anecdotes.

And then last Sunday I met Theladds (hybrid of real names) at the ShopMaju event.  And just like steely Uche, Theladds  is a friend of a friend. When she walked in, I wasn't quite certain whether or not I knew her. But I wasn't going to make any moves to find out.  

{Abeg dem no born me to dey chop isho left right and centre biko.}

But then, she walked up to me and introduced herself and gave me a warm hug. We had a giggly chat and an altogether great, even if brief time. Good vibes flowed. Effortlessly.

Previous inhibitions dropped. Faith restored in mutual-friend-humanity.

I like this one. I really do.