“She’s dead, Muna. There’s nothing any of us can do about it” 

Muna stands over her lifeless body with tears pouring down his cheeks onto her face. This is the first time he’s experiencing actual loss. He feels it’s too much for a 16-year-old boy to take, that it’s unfair. It’s even harder on him because this is not the death of a church member, or a distant relative, this is the death of his first love. It still feels awkward to talk about love at the age of sixteen but that’s what he felt for Adisa and he knows she felt the same way. He can’t bear to see her lying in state anymore so he leaves the room and sits on one of the chairs in the hospital’s hallway. The emotions flood in and the only way to escape was to drown in the memories, how it all began. 

“Hey, I’m Adisa and it’s so nice to finally be here” 

That was the first time he heard her voice, when she was introducing herself to the class. A new student in final year is a rarity so he already knew there was something about her. He remembers how he spent the rest of that day tilting his neck just to steal glances at her. She was beautiful, golden, angelic. She braided her hair into these tiny braids that looked so sexy, especially when they fell on her shoulders. She was tall, had deep eyes, and kissable lips but the thing that amazed Muna every single time was the “sweetness” of her voice. He was contented to admire from a distance, he didn’t think that a beauty like her would be attracted to his type. The classism in high school was at its peak and Muna belonged to the middle class in the hierarchy. Angels like Adisa were taken by the cool kids with rich parents who hosted parties every weekend. However, Muna wasn’t destined to look from afar, fate had other plans.

That day after school, the first time they had a conversation, he remembers it like his favorite clip from his favorite movie. He was walking towards the school gate when he heard footsteps behind him, like someone was running after him, it was Adisa. He convinced himself immediately that she wasn’t running towards him, because why would she? She eventually called his name, “Muna!!! Could you slow down a bit?” 
“Hey Adisa, what’s up?” 
“Hey, you make good use of those long legs” 
“I’m sorry, I didn’t realize someone was trying to reach me” 
“It’s no problem. You could make it up to me by telling me how you got so good at poetry” She flashes a smile afterwards and this is the type of smile that leaves a man weak in the knees.

That’s how it all began. That evening walk turned into many more evening walks. It gave birth to conversations about the future, dates that went into the night, prom dates, and even several naïve and inexperienced kisses on the lips. Adisa made Muna forget about all the issues he had. She made him forget the issues he had with low self-esteem. Adisa reminded him of all the good things about himself, his smile, his poetry, and his equally “sweet” voice. This girl with the sweet lips, actually saved him. 

Presently, she’s lying lifeless in the ward and he cannot do anything about it. She didn’t tell him about this rare illness that eventually claimed her life. He feels regret because he could do nothing to save the life of this girl, who saved his life. This pain he feels in his chest will stay with him for life, a constant reminder of his first love.