14/08/2026
ARE WE FRIENDS?
The Heavens' Dew Choir of the Mercy of God Church had come into the international spotlight after it unearthed and produced two Grammy award-winning gospel musicians. It was therefore a great privilege to be a member of the prestigious choir. Ivy and Estelle had successfully passed the auditioning process which lasted over nine months. They had completed the four phases, and finally passed the Choir School final exams. They were now minstrels of the Heavens' Dew Choir.
So you could imagine Ivy's excitement when she spotted Estelle shopping with some friends at the mall. She rushed to her end to exchange pleasantries and remind her of their rehearsals the following day.
To her utter dismay, Estelle stopped her right in her tracks and asked,
''Excuse me, are we friends?''
Shocked and wondering if she had mistakened her for someone else, she exclaimed,
"Are you not Estelle Osei, Mercy of God Church, member of the Heavens' Dew Choir?"
"Yes! But what has all that got to do with this?" Estelle replied. "You are still not my friend."
Having said that, she walked away, unperturbed, with her friends. Who were at that moment laughing their hearts out.
Suddenly Ivy felt numb, motionless and hoped the earth would just open and swallow her up. She turned around to be sure no one had witnessed the most embarrassing moment of her life. She could not believe what had just happened.
Ivy had no idea how she managed to exit the mall and join a Bolt driver. It wasn't till the driver asked her if he could start the journey that she remembered she didn't order a Bolt.
Confused, she asked him how he stopped to pick her if she hadn't ordered the ride. He informed her of how she had waved for him to stop after his passenger alighted where he had picked her. She gave him the address and they commenced their journey.
Halfway through the journey, memories of all that had transpired earlier flashed before her. She burst into tears, wondering if she had ever wronged Estelle.
Truth be told, they hardly spoke except when they had to do a song together. Estelle's boyfriend stayed in London so it wasn't like she was trying to date her guy. She was simply at a loss, unable to fathom the reason behind Estelle's behavior.
Ebo had been a Bolt driver for 3 years. He had just one rule in life; "Mind your business." This he believed had helped him do his job for all these years. But for once, he just wanted to help. He wondered why a pretty damsel would burst into tears unconcerned of her current surrounding.
"Madam is everything okay?" he asked.
Ivy muttered, "Who is a friend? Is it possible to be in the same church, same ministry with someone and still not be friends?"
Looking completely at sea, Ebo wondered why this fine lady would ask such a question. He had expected to be asked questions on why men cheat or why a beautiful lady like her would be dumped for something lesser. Never in his wildest dreams did he anticipate this.
Glancing at the lady through his rear view mirror, and thinking through the question, he replied, "In my opinion, I think a friend is someone who satisfies a need in your life. Anyone who satisfies your physical, social, emotional, intellectual, financial or spiritual need is your friend."
"Could you please explain?" Ivy asked.
Ebo dosed her with more insight:
"Your neighbor has a car, the two of you work in the same neighborhood, and he picks and drops you at work every morning or when you call your pastor in the middle of the night because a family member has an attack or that radio presenter who relieves you of boredom and stress after a tiresome day at work. Yes, all these people are satisfying a need in your life as at that point, so they are your friends. But they might not see you as their friends since you are not satisfying any need of theirs."
"So yes, you can be in the same church, same ministry even be in the same neighborhood but be only familiar with each other. Till a need is met, you might never be friends."
"Sometimes you ask a daft question hoping to get a daft answer but when you end up receiving an answer that shows how daft you are then....."
Ebo honked his horn signaling that they had reached their destination. With her thoughts interrupted, she turned around to be sure she had reached her home. Alighting from the car, still pondering about what Ebo had said, she asked, "Are we friends?"
"Can I please have your number so I know what need I can satisfy in your life," Ebo replied.
They both burst into laughter.