“ She's not replying, I have messaged her countless times, called her line, even tried having a conversation with her during the days, but it's as if things have changed, she's no longer there, she's no longer the Rose that always wants me around, it feels as if I did something wrong, something I have to apologize about, it's making me uncomfortable and I don't like it, I have even gone to an extent of writing her a note of apologizing later, yet I haven't gotten any feedback yet and it's eating me up ”.
     I tried explaining the situation to Steve who was sitting beside me, eyes fixed on me with a smile on his face as if he wasn't finding my words serious, was it a mistake sharing my situation with him?, Or should I proceed?, Because at this point, I feel like I need someone to validate me that this is just something normal, someone who will encourage me and give me new advices on how to gain back her full attention like before, what if Deborah was behind this?, Maybe she told her something, a lie or something I might have done wrong in the past.
     “ If you can remember Ben, and I also want you to relate this current situation to the one you went through with Deborah in the past before you lost her to me...... Don't you think you are repeating same mistake twice?”.
What does he mean by that?, I can't actually relate, I know it was a painful memory watching the way Deborah drifted away, but this one feels different, this one feels totally different than that of Deborah's.
“ I can't seem to understand what you mean Steve, highlight me more on what you are trying to say ”.
     There was a brief pause between us, I kind of wondered what was running inside his head, but I have to remain patient enough and allow his put together the informations in his mind which he was trying to relay to me.
“ Here is something I want you to learn, know and understand bro, my Dad never taught me this by himself intentionally, but I learnt it from him after all..... You are the prize, you are the leader, you are the gem, don't devalue your worth and you would be cherished, but when you start looking down on yourself, finding fault in what you do, punishing yourself with negative emotions all because of someone else's mistake, then I am sorry for you, because you will turn miserable, you will hate yourself, you will make mistakes which you will try to correct, yet continue increasing it in the process ”.
     Between Mr Peter and Steve, there's totally no difference between them, they speak the same way, using proverbs while they lecture you, I am trying as much as I can to process the information he is relaying to me, but, it felt foreign inside my head and I can't seem to bring meaning into his points.
“ How can I be a gem and yet, the one who's supposed to chase after me turns out to be the one running from me while I chase after her?”.
He had this wide smile on his lips, giggling a bit and trying not to laugh, he gently calmed himself down, and spoke again.
     “ Thank you Ben...... You seem to understand way more than you think, honey is sweet, but when you eat too much of it, it will be sweet in the taste but bad in the stomach, she can't chase after you when you are chasing her, instead I advice you to back off..... Give her some space because she needs it, turn the negativity into positivity, use this opportunity where she needs her space, use it to give yourself some space too, improve your life with this opportunity and I promise you, she's always watching, she will see a young man who focus on chasing after his dreams than pleasure, she will see a rock solid responsible man who doesn't have to change his direction just to impress others, she will see a man who doesn't need the validation of others to stand tall, and lastly, she will see a confident man who is comfortable in his own skin, who can handle pressure when they arise, she will see that man in you ”.
     Now I can swear with my life that when they say nobody is perfect, then that means that the Mr Peter's family are the nobodies, because they are made with perfection right into their skin and I am honored to be able to get to be close to this high value men, at this point, I am regretting why I had already filled up her phone with texts.