One thing about trust is that it takes days, weeks, months, or even years to build, but only seconds to break. Building trust is like constructing a skyscraper. It is one of the hardest things to do and the easiest to destroy. Have you ever been in a situation where you spent weeks building trust and strengthening the bond between you and a friend or a partner, only for that bond to be shattered by something as little as a mustard seed? I won’t sit here and pretend I'm innocent. I’ve been in situations where my friends placed their trust in me, and I let them down. Like many people, I have made mistakes that broke bonds that were once unshakable. Similarly, I have also been stabbed in the back by someone I trusted deeply. For day 23 of the INLEO prompt, we are asked to share the one time we got disappointed by someone we trust.
We didn’t start talking until my second year at the university. Of course, I knew he existed- he’d always make contributions in class, which made him one of the popular students and also the lecturers’ favorite students. Our paths never crossed until my second year when we were grouped for a presentation. It was a Saturday. I’m not good with remembering days and dates, but I vividly remember this day because it was the only day we didn’t have classes. Back then, we had classes from Monday to Friday. We had just Saturday and Sunday to ourselves. We were tasked with analyzing a lengthy poem and presenting it in class on Monday, so we decided to come to school on Saturday to work on the analysis. Then, we’d revise it on Sunday, and come to school to present it on Monday.
I realized we had something in common- our love for poetry. I love analyzing poems- digging deep, exploring all angles, and discovering new meanings. After reading the poem, each of us shared our opinions about it. He went first. His analysis was beautiful. He touched on angels I didn’t take note of and that interested me to learn from him. I could see that he was also interested in the way I analyzed my poems. That was my first encounter with him. Our presentation on Monday went very well. We presented so well that the lecturer clapped for us.
After that day, we became friends. Not close friends, just two people who had each other’s contact and would view each other’s statuses and pass without saying anything. With time, we got close. We got closer during exams. We started reading together and pulling all nighters, which really helped us during those periods. We became so close to the extent that he felt comfortable coming over to my place, and I also got comfortable having him around. In our third year, we’d go to school together around 8 pm, then read till 4 am. After we were done reading, we’d pack our bags and head home. Then jump on the bed and sleep till whenever we felt like waking up.
Fast forward to our third year, when he did something that really disappointed me. I realized he had joined a tutorial group without telling me. I discovered this on a Sunday morning when one of our lecturers unexpectedly announced that we'd be having a test the next day. It caught everyone off guard, especially me, as I had to read and understand the entire course in just a day. To make matters worse, I didn't even have notes. So, I started running helter-skelter. Then, one of my friends told me about the tutorial, saying they had just started an hour ago and hadn't covered much. I rushed to school to join them and was surprised to see my friend in the class. Our eyes locked, and I sat down, feeling hurt. I was disappointed and pained that he had never mentioned the tutorial to me. I'm not sure what his reasons were, but I didn't bring it up with him. In that moment, I wanted to stop talking to him forever, but somehow, I let it go.
Here’s my entry to the INLEO prompts for day 24. The topic is; Share with the Sci-Fi community a time where you were disappointed by someone you trust.
Thanks for reading.
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