Sphere Of Time

I was not always alone; I once had friends. Lots of friends. Friends that I played with, talked with and joked with. Friends that I got into trouble and got punished with. Friends that I grew with, laughed with and cried with.
I had tons of friends.

We grew up together and were as close as the petals of a rose. We’d play lots of childish games; we’d chase the chickens around the house, we’d race to climb mango trees, we’d even play hide-and-seek.

But something- a great rift- broke us apart. A great big chasm that neither of us could cross appeared between us, with me on one side, and my friends on the other. My friends grew up while I remained trapped in a sphere of time. I watched as Annie’s parents died and she stopped playing with us. I watched as Abena stopped watching cartoons and reading comics because Annie had stopped doing those things.

Kofi, Danny, Maame and Trisha remained, but they were not with me in the sphere. Kofi grew to be very handsome and he suddenly had no time for us average girls. It embarrassed him to be seen playing with us and when he finally started acting, he left us in the dust.

Danny –who had always loved to learn- decided to focus even more on his books. He became a dull boy and played with us no longer. <em>There is no time to play when I have so much to learn</em>, he said. Danny-boy became a big shot in the field of science with all his ground breaking theories and still I remained trapped in the sphere.

Puberty was kind to Maame and her body developed splendidly. She had as many suitors as the sands of the beach and could not spend time with us single-folks. With kids who knew nothing about the touch of a man. Eventually some guy got her pregnant and she had no choice but to grow up.

Trisha was the last one left, but I knew she would go too, for I was still trapped in that sphere, never ageing, never maturing. Still a child, still frozen in time. I watched as my best friend went to college and I stared after her as she drifted away. I watched as she grew up and the cords that bound us snapped. She no longer read books or watched anime. She no longer laughed at my jokes or played my video games. I knew she was tired of me, but I could not grow up. Try as I may, I could not destroy the sphere. I was still trapped when she told me she was travelling for work and I watched helplessly as she faded away. She never returned and here I remained. Alone and lonely in my eternal cage. Frozen still in my sphere of time.

I was not always alone.