I decided to braid my hair in a roadside salon and while waiting for my turn as a few others came in before me, I noticed a woman loosing hers; the one helping her to undo the old braids was carefully keeping the attachment on a side desk.
I wondered why and what use the old attachments would be because I know they are usually thrown away.
They were done with loosing the client's hair and the other stylist asked her, "e go reach?" She replied, "I fit manage am". The owner of the beauty shop asked her, "Did you get permission from her?" (the client). She replied, "Yes ma". Another stylist interjected at once, " But your hair long na, you for just braid your hair".
The woman replied with a smile, "a new teaching job wey I manage get and dem say I must appear neat, how you want make I carry braid for one month before I see salary do better hair? Abeg e no good". Then she went in to wash the client's hair.
Well, I concluded that she was a new teacher on the job who couldn't afford a new attachment to make her hair so she decided to beg a customer to allow her to use her used attachment, and I found this funny, very funny indeed. I've never heard of such. I am used to the 'loose and throw away' practice but in this regard, what do I know? I learn every day.
The beauty shop owner was done with her customer and the customer left making it now my turn and we needed more than two hands to pep me up. The hair-making started at once and I tapped the woman making my hair and asked, "I'm sorry for disturbing but it seems your customer forgot to throw her attachment away". With a smile, she replied, "No ma she didn't, I pleaded with her to give it to me so I can use it to make mine". I was like, 😲😒😔 "oh, ok but sorry again, it is already used". "Yes ma", she replied, "it is and that's because I can't afford new ones for myself".
Drawn by compassion I took out some money from my bag and gave her to buy two packs of attachment for herself and make her hair.
She ran to her madam to tell her and came back kneeling in front of me in appreciation.
"Please don't kneel for me, I'm not God."
"You're welcome", she kept saying repeatedly, and, "You are embarrassing me", I said, jostling her to stop and be herself. She quickly ran off to buy the artificial hair and returned still genuflecting the more in a show of more appreciation.
I dozed off intermittently while still under the 'manipulating' hands of the stylists and once they were done putting my hair into a new look the other woman who came with her daughter to braid her school hair, asked me, "Sorry ma, are you a parent with ......... school?"
I replied, "Hope no problem?"😁. She said, "None at all but when you walked in my daughter said she recognized you as the woman I've been looking for".
I was curious but replied, "Ok, I'm a businesswoman and a caterer what do you need me to sell to you?"
"Nothing," she said as she continued, "I sent my nanny to pick up my kids from school and I don't know how they fixed the eraser of a pencil into the nose of my toddler. I was told the nanny panicked and she tried her best to take it off but it stuck there. The driver tried and no way. She then ran into the school to the headmistress's office and she too was panicking and crying but a certain parent took my baby, calmed her down then sucked the item out of my baby's nose with her mouth".
She continued, "I have told the headmistress several times that I want to see this woman but I was told you traveled and that your nanny takes your kids. I requested your contact which they declined giving me with a reason that they needed to seek your permission before giving it to me. Later, I was told you instructed them not to give it to me and that they should tell me not to bother because you did what any mother would do. I was shocked because I am their mother and I can't suck my kid's nose. I prayed for you, oh, and when you walked in, my daughter shouted, 'mommy she's the one.'
"Please if you don't mind, let me pay for your hairdo, please, and today you must give me your contact. Please, God! So good people exist? Madam, I'm so grateful. Thank you!"
I was awe-stricken. This thing happened some two years ago...2016 to be exact.
The memory of the curious event played back as I stood looking into space.
I saw everyone at the office crying and shaking and shouting 'the blood of Jesus!'
"What happened?" I asked a teacher, "She was playing and put a pencil eraser in her nose", she said.
"Can I see her? I quipped. "Yes ma", replied the visibly shaken staff.
I took the baby from them and observed her closely. I saw what it was, and noticed it was deep into her nostril.
"Well", I found myself saying as I asked for some pieces of wipes which I used to wipe my lipstick then placed my mouth on her nose and sucked out the eraser.
Did it come out the first time? It didn't, but just some salty sticky semi-liquid substance. I sucked again and again and there seemed to be a shift and at the third time, it was out, into my mouth.
The onlookers were so happy that it sounded like a celebration of a sort.
Two years later I'm now friends with the mother who happened to be a wealthy successful business merchant. 😎.
Why am I relaying all these?
It costs us nothing to be kind. Keep sowing the seed of kindness and one day you'll reap it. Every day you go out, make one person smile.
The reason why by God's grace I am where I am even though I'm still hustling, is spreading and planting seeds of kindness. I used to be a nice person but I became addicted to being nicer after surviving a coma.
When you face death and win, then you will know there is nothing in this life. When we die, we go with nothing and only your good name will speak for you and your generations.
Being kind isn't expensive. Try selling it.
●Azubuike Chinenye
