In 2021, I had my laundry business running, although not so well but it was catering for my daily expenses, and all my clients loved my work to the heart. Some of them made it mandatory that I must be the one to give their clothes that special treat.
There was one Mr. Paul by name, he used to bring his boss's clothes to me, and he loved my special treats on the clothes. He would drive a long distance, skipping laundry shops on the way to give me work.
One day, he came to collect clothes and as we were talking, he brought up a discussion that looks like a warning, "In case anybody asks you about me and the clothes that I bring here, please don't open up to anyone." That's exactly what he said.
I stylishly asked him the reason he said such, and he told me that those clothes are his boss's, and due to the boss high profile, the clothes are not to be disclosed anyhow.
Yeah, the boss is a high-profile politician in town.
We became very close because of our customer relationships.
In the middle of the year 2021, I stopped the laundry business for a better job offer. Although I never wanted to quit the business, but my boss insisted that we must shut down the laundry business to go to a better place he manages.(a company that he works as the manager).
When I told Mr. Paul about the shutdown of the laundry business, he felt bad about it, but he had to let it go because there was no means for me to work in my new place and still be attending to him.
I started the new job, and I wasn't communicating with Mr. Paul again because there was no major reason for that. But this doesn't mean that we don't greet whenever we see. Infant, anytime he sees me in town, he usually stops his bike for us to greet.
Sometimes if I'm coming back to work, he usually gives me a lift on his bike to my house. This happened oftentimes.
After spending one year in the new job, a shortcoming affected the company and led to its shutdown.
By then, I wasn't feeling the eagerness to work for anybody or any company again unless it was for $1,000 or more, so I went back to my laundry business.
I restructured and kicked off the business, I reached out to some of my old customers and amazingly, a good percentage of them returned.
Then, it was remaining Mr. Paul for me to call. His number was still on my phone but each time I made an attempt to call, a situation would just occur and I'd forget, so I kept postponing calling him.
One day around 2:00 p.m. while ironing clothes, a man walked in with a bag of clothes in his hands.
"Bro, you've resumed your business, and you didn't inform me," the man said.
His face looks so familiar, but I couldn't figure out where we've met.
"Sorry boss, I just started and I'm yet to reach out to all my old customers." I just said that to cover up my fault for not informing him of my resumption, even though I was yet to recall his face.
"It seems you don't remember me," he said surprisingly with a smiling face.
Immediately I heard that, my brain got a quick reset and I recalled his face instantly.
"Oh! Boss! Please forgive me. I've been planning to call your friend to inform him of my resumption, but I kept forgetting," I said with excitement written all over my face.
He's the friend of Mr. Paul(my old time customer), He used to come with Mr. Paul to drop and collect clothes.
"You mean, Mr. Paul?" he asked.
"Yeah, Mr. Paul". I replied to him.
"Hmmm, you didn't hear. He died two months ago," he said as he reached out to the empty chair close to him to have a seat.
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"Don't say that, someone that carried me on a bike a month ago, it's not possible. Maybe you don't know whom I'm talking about. It can't be him! Someone I've been planning to call" I poured out my shocked mind to him.
He laughed at me before replying, "Come and see these photos and videos." He got up from his seat to show me his phone, and I saw the photos and videos taken during Mr. Paul's burial.
Mehn, I became very shocked and surprised.
"Someone I met few weeks ago is gone just the like that. Someone I've been planning to call to remind him of the resumption of my business, haaa!"
I thought of a lot of things because a part of me was very sure that I saw him the previous month and he carried me on his bike on my way coming back from work, which is to say that, if actually he died two months ago, that means it was his ghost that carried me on the bike. OMG!
I was told that he died of a severe illness, a week after taking poison when he went out to drink with friends.
This is life for us.
Thanks for reading.
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