Sweet Sixteen 17

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It’s quite natural he explained. “Cars, big houses, expensive jewelry or wrist watches, girlfriends or boyfriends…” He paused to point at me. Then he continued. “Sex, alcohol, drugs, designer clothing, expensive handbags and shoes, and so on. I doubt if anyone would consider most of these things as had in themselves. Except for drugs, and maybe alcohol for some people. Most of them are actually very good and naturally desirable.

However, they all come with huge price tags. And by this, I don’t mean the money alone. Sometimes, the price we may be required to pay for some of these goes beyond money. It may be our emotional balance. our self-respect, our integrity, our career, and sometimes, our very life itself. The question, therefore, is not whether you are willing to pay the price; the question is whether you fully understand the price you may be required to pay for the gratification and whether you can actually afford it. This may sound daunting, but you know what I have realized?”

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No.”I shook my head. “What I have realized is that for most of these things, the price you may be required to pay is just the time you have to wait. The time you have to wait, denying yourself these things until such a time that you can truly and honestly afford them, financially and emotionally. However, if you try to gratify yourself with any of these before you are ready and able to afford them, they may end up derailing you.

I pray that your life would never be a warning to others, but a good example.” “Amin, Papa. Thank you.” I got up and gave him a hug. I hardly called him that. But in situations like this, I realized he was more than just a father to me. He was my teacher and my BFF too. “One moment please,” he said, and went into his room.

He emerged a few minutes later with a pack of AA batteries. He picked up the remote control and replaced the batteries. Before replacing the cover, he pointed the remote control at the TV and it instantly came alive, filling the entire house with booming sound. He swiftly turned down the volume and returned to his seat as he fixed the cover back on the battery holder of the remote control. The TV was on Supersport 3N.

There was a live game on, but it was not the one he was waiting for. He left the TV on all the same. “Daddy. You know what happened in our school the last term?” “What? Tell.me.”He leaned towards me in eager anticipation. “I mean, many things happened,” I said, throwing up my hands to confirm that I knew what I just said was meaningless. “But there was a particular incident.” “Yes, what happened?” My father liked to hear stories.

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Maybe it had to do with his background as a journalist. We would be in the car; he would see something and just shout, “Can you see that? Now, that would make an interesting story.” Mummy would laugh and say, “Mr. Journalist, you are still looking for stories up and down.”He would pat her lovingly and say, “Well, see what looking for stories got me.”And they would both laugh heartily.

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