They called me ‘Carrot’ because they attributed my height to
eating plenty of carrots, especially after they tried eating beans and it
didn't work out for them. The name changed to ‘NEPA bill’ because of a silly
joke I made during an English class.
I graduated thinking I had left the nicknames behind, only
to realise differently. The nickname became ‘Easy’, which sort of came from the
Supa Strikas Goalkeeper, Easy Okola. It was sometimes ‘Eazy’ because of my
actual name. I liked either name depending on who was calling it.
A new nickname was born when a lecturer adopted the habit of
always asking for me in a funny way during his classes. As much as I tried to
reject it, it seemed to have stuck; worse, it became generally accepted by my
course mates.
As I warmed up to the nickname, I decided to make an
addition to it and fell in love with it thereafter. It became more than a
nickname; it became a different persona that I had previously hid away in the
dark, away from the eyes of critics and ridicule.
A new me was born, one not too distinct from the original
but one that freed itself a lot more from the unknown thoughts of others. I
lived life through a different name, a different being that existed in the
chemistry that only ink and paper could understand.
The alternate persona created the anonymity that I craved. The
alternate lived life in a fantastical utopia, where perfection wasn't the aim
but rather perfection in the discovery of middle grounds.
I had intended for the alternate to have a life separate
from the original but seen only in words. However, the original became a little
jealous and being the neutral party, I allowed the original and the alternate
to merge in some places. Places where the original would take on more of the
alternate’s persona.
However, the alternate will never be discarded despite this
occasional merger, rather live its own life and be called upon to be of service
in the moments when the original could not act. The alternate will never have a
happily ever after because it was never created to live within the Cycle of
Life.
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