From Grumpy to Happy: The Balcony Escape

It is not an uncommon thing to wake up on the wrong side of the bed as a lot of people will surely relate to this situation. It has happened to me many times, some of which I know what caused it and others, I would rack my brain to find the root cause/problem that made me wake up this way but I wouldn't be able to figure it out. It usually makes me sad and feel unproductive except I try hard to discard the worries that accompany such moments so my day would not end up a bad one.

At that moment, I would feel weak, tired and grumpy making me drag myself around the house. Things I used to do in a lively manner would turn sour all of a sudden and the vibe to be active would disappear. Sometimes I would force myself to watch a movie or perhaps stay outside for a while but the emotion would take a bad toll on me and I would be like, "What really happened? Why am I this way today? I can't even smile?"

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On one of such days, it was a bad one for me. I couldn't point out the good stuff I was able to do other than roaming the whole house, pacing up and down, standing at the balcony to watch the trees swerving left and right, goats bleating as the younger ones ran around their mothers for milk, fowls jumping onto each other trying to catch up with the junks being thrown at them on the dump site etc. I was just standing with my arms folded around each other, placed on the balcony pavement.

As I stood there trying to grasp everything that had happened the previous day/night, I felt anger within me the more. I tried to point to one thing that was causing me discomfort since I woke up. My constant tutting and worried state about why I wouldn't be able to do anything if I didn't find a solution kept hitting my chest and all of a sudden, I was feeling unrest.

I remembered how I went to get my power bank the previous day, in the evening where I was charging it with money, I was extremely vexed when I realised it wasn't fully charged after dropping it off for them for 2 days. Normally, my power bank should get fully charged at approximately 8 hours with the light on, but I left it at a charging centre for 2 days and a few hours before going to get it.

I was hopeful it would have charged since they always put on the generator the whole day. I had the second one which I was using for the time being and when it was almost going low, I decided to take it to the charging centre and drop it to charge while I took the other one that was with them.

"Sir, you didn't charge this? It hasn't full na", I said and angrily gave a silent tut, got annoyed as I felt disappointed. I was happy while going to get it knowing I would have a lot to do on my phone but the happiness quickly faded away with the shock of knowing how I would be limited on my phone.

"Aunty, ema binu (Don't be offended) I think it is the charger we used. I am sorry, please", the owner said pitifully when he noticed how disappointed I was.

I couldn't continue venting my anger when I saw how apologetic he was. "He's a good person", I thought to myself.

"No problem (even though it didn't sit well with me). Bring it and take this one. Please, make sure it charges oo" I pleaded with a strong emphasis on the statement and I turned back to leave.

On my way home, I was thinking of how I would manage my phone with such a low per cent on my power bank. I felt unhappy and the whole thing destabilised me, that I didn't think of charging at my pastor's apartment when they put on the generator that night. I was too carried away with how hurt I was.

The whole thing infuriated me and I went straight to bed as I got inside. I couldn't do anything else that night. I just wanted to sleep and forget the whole incident.

"If not for this nonsense nepa that refused to bring the light," I vented my anger on them for what happened to me with a crack in my voice and teary eyes.

I intentionally didn't wake up until past 7 am. I was feeling peevish and was not ready for my morning devotion as I didn't want to do that in such a bad mood. After more than an hour of lying in bed doing nothing, I stood up and started pacing up and down, moving from the kitchen to the room, standing by the window, then finally left for the balcony, stood while watching the trees, goats, kids playing and I wished the light would come since it's been days since they brought it last. I was still on the balcony with my phone swiping left and right, and I decided to listen to music, perhaps it would take away the sadness that had evaded my mind.

Some minutes later, I heard a sound like a signal that light had come. The kids that were playing ball downstairs screamed, "Up Nepa" as they were running around. I quickly rushed inside to confirm by putting on the switch and yes, there was light. "Wow" I screamed, "there is light. Thank God" with a smile that landed on my face.

I went straight to the wall socket where my extension was fixed, plugged in my phone, torchlight and power bank, and then started dancing in the room. Instantly, my mood changed. The anger subsided and I was back to my happy state.

"Light is good," I excitedly pronounced and started doing activities I thought would be paused for the day.

The light stayed for longer hours till the night and my power bank got charged at 100%. I felt the peace in me that washed away the sadness and brought joy to my heart. In the end, I felt productive.

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^{Both images were imagined with Meta AI}