The Wait

- August 25, 2019

"Wait, it's not yet time!"

I walked into the air conditioned office. A pleasant looking receptionist ushered me to the settee. My feet rejoiced at the release to sit. My already aching ankles screamed for joy.
My eyes wandered and settled on several faces in the reception arena.

A lady was ushered into the conference room and not too long after, she was done with her appointment. Same thing was the case with some others two.

Of a sudden, a superfluously dressed woman walked in and was immediately showed into the office we all waited to enter. The facial reactions that seeped from the faces of people seated was priceless.

As an avid reader, my eyes began scanning the environment searching for what to keep my mind occupied. It took note of several ads that were placed around the reception arena.

Several faces emitted hisses and disgruntled remarks. I studied the puzzled glances that escaped the faces of people waiting and shook my head.

"Na wa o!" A heavily built man clad in Agbada finally spoke up.
As though awaiting a mouthpiece, several comments exuded from every corner concerning the lengthy period of time they had to wait before they were attended to.
I watched as a woman exchanged words with the receptionist who earlier on had kept on pleading with us for a fresh dose of patience after being called in from the office countless times.

It was during the wait, I continued reading Dee Henderson's The Witness. I had a good read and by the time I was through, this lady had still not yet come out.
My patience seemed to wear out eventually but my mouth was strangely sealed as though a heavy latch had been put in place.
I exchanged glances with the receptionist and saw tears streaking her cheeks as though she caused our woes. She had been told several things today she would never forget in a long while.

Eventually, after three long hours, this woman emanated from the office. Beside her stood the man we all waited to see.
Several eyes eyed the woman up and down and smirked. Some man uttered something obscene that got me irritated.
We expected the man to bid her goodbye right there but instead, he walked her to the parking lot and made sure she was well settled and had driven off before he walked back towards the reception.

He called the attention of the receptionist and ordered her to release everyone to go home.
She got on her knees and pleaded our case before her boss but I guess his mind was already made up.

In annoyance and irritation, some people spoke rather too loudly and this drew the attention of the boss who had already walked into his office.
He waltzed back into the reception area and spoke softly to the receptionist again.

While several feet were clambering down the steps, the receptionist weaved her way to a few people including me who had kept their cool amidst the situation of the day.

We were all ushered into the conference room at the same time. Our interview wasn't as formal as expected because we had passed the major exam- The Wait.

What we do with our waiting period is what determines our relevance.
Our period of waiting differs so does our level of relevance.
We are peculiar and unique.

However, it is necessary we possess the ingredient called patience. Often times, we get consumed with our present circumstances and find murmurings seeping out of our buccal cavities.
What is our disposition when we are delayed?
We even wish to be other people with varied lives, but how unique would you be? In whose shadow would we live when the sky has enough space to accommodate our ingenuity?