Life as Fjizzle: More Life, My Star Boy

During the bonfire festival of my National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) program in Katsina, I watched as the firewood that Corp members arranged all afternoon and into the late evening gradually burned to ashes.

As the woods burnt, the night surreptitiously transcended from bright light to absolute darkness, as the magnitude of the fire reached a frightening latitude.

The Police Sheriff badge.

I stared at everything with amusement as my contemporaries sipped their palm wine and gyrated to the festival's energetic celebration on this wild night. It was fascinating, I savoured the moment as the positive energy gave me an interesting perspective on life. I was amused as my fellow Corp members disclosed some of their flexibility skills on this evening as they leaped and hopped over the fire.

Some of my contemporaries came out unscathed, aha, you flexible bastard. Oh, some didn’t, though; they burnt themselves. “You seem not to have a praying mother?” I say to myself.

Arranging planks for the bonfire

In my stealth corner, I quietly sipped my gin and juice, accompanied by suya, and I was soaked in what is inarguably the most worthwhile moment in NYSC camp. I enjoyed the night at my own pace, I stared as the smoke swirled in the air and the evening described the happiness that comes with living for the moment. Simply enjoying things for what they are, a bonfire night.

After all, bonfire nights don’t come every day. Before the 2017 experience in Dutsina, Katsina, I had only seen the activity once in my life, which was during my active years as a Red Cross member in 2010. It was an interesting experience as well; however, I only drank malt and cheese balls on this night as I was a teenager at the time.

Now, what does this narrative about bonfire and brimstone have to do with you and me?

Staring as the fire erupts

I’ll go straight to the point.

Like fire, our time here on earth is ephemeral, and the objective of fire is to either refine or destroy. In the same way, if you meet long enough as a human being, you’ll meet someone who would either refine you or destroy you; either way, the average human experience is intertwined.

Some people would go through us and leave us refined, make us better than we could have ever imagined. They would teach us valuable lessons and become a mainstay in our hearts, regardless of the time frame that they spent connecting with our spirits.

On the flipside, some people are arsonists- they set our world on fire with their nefarious character, leaving a bitter taste in our mouths.

a fire-breathing performance

Several things in life might be ephemeral; however, the consequences of fire would always leave its trail. It ignites gradually, then consumes its subject of interest to a state of obliteration. We never forget those who set our hearts on fire and transformed us into treasure, in the end, a pressure-burst pipe.

In conclusion, I hope you find someone who sets your heart on fire so that you can believe in pursuing your ability to pursue everything that you’ve always desired and admired. The type of fire that urges you to chase the genuine burning desires in your heart.

Above all, this fire still burns for you.