I’m an introvert. This means that I love to stay indoors, enjoy my own company a little too much, and so simply inviting me out is not enough. You need to convince me that it’s in my best interest to leave my house. That’s why when my best friend Sonia calls to tell me that the Easter event I had promised to attend with her starts in a few hours, I pretend not to remember.
To be fair, it isn’t a complete lie. Just like most invitations to go out, I had chucked it into my memory folder of things to forget. So before she mentioned it during her call, I had forgotten. Even now, I only have a vague memory of agreeing to go to the event with her a month ago.
“You promised that you would go with me!” She screeches when I don’t reply to her inquiry about what I am wearing to the event. She knows me, so she is aware of what the silence means.
“I know, but I kind of forgot,” I admit. “You should have reminded me earlier.”
She scoffs. “So that I can give you time to find an excuse to back out? Hell, no.”
Her response has me smiling because she knows me very well. That’s why she enquired about my day before asking about my outfit for the evening. So I can’t even claim to be too busy to attend. I have already admitted that I am free.
“I wouldn’t have found an excuse to back out,” I lie shamelessly.
She ignores the lie.
“Babe, you need to go out occasionally. How are you going to meet new people if you’re always at home?” she asks, exasperated.
I’m not really that interested in meeting new people, but I don’t tell her that. She already knows.
“Nina, this is the first time I’m getting such a big gig. You have to come and support me,” she cajoles, changing tactics.
That approach works, and I relent. “Fine, I’m coming. Let me just find something to wear.”
She squeals at my acquiescence. “Yaayyy!! You’ll love it, I promise.”
Sonia is a photographer, and since she found her passion two years ago, she has been getting a steady stream of photography gigs, mostly through referrals. However, this is the first time she’s getting the opportunity to cover a premium event like Rest Hour. Rest Hour is from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.; a wellness event filled with music, dance, different forms of meditation, and other fun stuff. The event is being organised by Wholesome Waves, one of the best wellness companies in Ghana.
I make a noncommittal sound, which makes her laugh.
“Yes, there will be many people there, which I know you don’t care for, but you’ll love the atmosphere. Besides, Nana K. and Benji are coming so you can hang with them while I work.”
That perks me up. Nana K and Benji are two of our closest friends. They’re also cool, enjoyable people to be around, and they get me. They don’t expect too much energy from me and understand when I just need to chill out.
“You should have said that earlier,” I tell her, and she laughs again, which makes me smile. Sonia is such an extroverted ball of happy energy, and it’s no wonder we are actually best friends.
“Oh!” she suddenly exclaims. “I forgot to tell you the best part of the whole thing.”
“What is it? Free drinks?” I joke.
“Nooo, even better! There’s going to be a resting room that will be quiet and away from the main activities and noise. When you get tired, you can go and relax over there. You can even sleep if you like.”
She is right. That is much better than free drinks.
“Okay, I’m completely sold! I’m coming.”
“Great! You don’t have to come so early since it’s an overnight event. You can get here between 8 and 9 pm.”
“Really?” I ask doubtfully.
“The fireworks are at midnight, and I want you to be here for it. If you come early, you might leave before the bonfire.”
She is right. And the fireworks are something I would love.
“Okay, babes. See you at 9 pm!”
We hang up after she blows me kisses over the phone, Sonia style.
I arrive in an Uber fifteen minutes before 9 pm, strangely excited. I’m wearing one of my favourite cutoff shorts, a white top with rhinestone straps, and a kimono for protection from the chill. With my gold-dyed locs in a half-part and minimal makeup, I look and feel gorgeous.
I love that the venue is a beach resort. There’s something about the ocean that calms me, and the beach is one of the few places I love to go to.
Sonia is delighted when I arrive, and she hugs me like she hasn’t seen me in years.
“You came!” she exclaims.
I laugh. “I promised I would, didn’t I?”
She calls another photographer to cover for her and takes a break to show me around. She gets us two virgin piña colada slushies and leads me to a booth to get my face painted. I’m wary of paint on my sensitive face, so I settle for hand-painting instead. The guys arrive while my left hand is almost finished, and the four of us wander around the event, enjoying the music and performances from different groups of dancers. The atmosphere is fun and casual, and we join the shamanic drum meditation before Sonia has to return to work. Before she does, she shows me the relaxing room she had mentioned earlier. It is fairly quiet and away from the activities, as promised, and it overlooks the sea. I love it.
The guys go to the massage area for massages, but I opt out and return to watch Sonia work from a distance while sipping some coconut water.
When my social battery is drained to 10%, I know it is time to find a quiet spot to be by myself. I wait until the three ladies Sonia is photographing leave before approaching her.
“You can’t leave now,” she declares immediately when I walk up to her. ”The fireworks are in an hour.”
Laughing, I give her a quick hug. “I’m not leaving, just going to relax in that resting room you showed me earlier.”
“Oh!”
Assured that I’m not leaving, she smiles. “Okay, that’s good. Go and recharge your battery. I’ll introduce you to a few people when you return, and we can go sit around the bonfire,” she says, moving away to take pictures of a couple who just came to the booth.
With a last wave at her, I leave and make a beeline for the resting room. The noise reduces as I near my quarry, becoming just soft and faint.
I’m greeted by a blast of cool air from the air conditioning when I enter the room. It is semi-dark, with the only light inside coming from outside through the glass windows and door. A few people are sleeping on the yoga mats in one corner, and a group of people in the middle of the room is having a muted conversation.
I curl myself into one of the two single sofa chairs in the empty corner close to the window, watching the sea waves through the glass and listening to the soft music seeping into the room. Having created a little corner for myself, I feel content and relaxed in a way most people wouldn’t understand. I stay there for about two hours, reading a book from my tablet and drifting in and out of naps. In between, my friends come over to check up on me and bring me drinks. I end up watching the fireworks from my cosy perch when we realise that I will be able to see it clearly from there.
After it’s over, I drift off into another nap and wake up to find a stranger approaching the other sofa chair. When he shifts it closer to me, I instinctively make to move my chair, thinking he wants to move away from the window.
“Please, don’t move away,” he pleads, and I realise he deliberately moved his seat closer to me.
I pause my movement to regard him. He is of medium height, a few inches taller than me, and a little broader as well. He has a small smile on his very handsome face that has me relenting.
“Okay.”
