THE BALCONY

“Hey Mister”, he heard the little voice call out to him from the other side of the balcony. David ignored the little voice and the owner, and concentrated on rolling his joint.

“Didn’t your doctor tell you smoking is not good for your health?” the little voice reached out again, upsetting David and causing him to stop rolling his joint, and focus on the little frail child sitting at a side of the balcony, staring at him with little starry eyes.

David knew the kid around. He didn’t know too many people in his barrack-like building because he always kept to himself.

Since he moved into the apartment three years ago, he had lived like a hermit. Always indoor typing away on his  laptop. He only came out to the balcony during afternoons like this when he was sure most of his neighbors weren’t home.


David didn’t know many of his  neighbors, but he sure knew this child and his mother, because the child was an inquisitive one who asked lots of questions a lot of the times, and David usually heard the mom and child bickering jovially as they walked pass his door to their apartment or from their apartment.


“And didn’t your mother tell you to mind your business?” David replied, scowling at the child.

“Not when it concerns the person’s health” the child retorted.

David paused and took his time to have a good look at the child for the first time. the child was barely eight years old, with a cute round face which featured a small nose, cute sparkly eyes and a smallish mouth.
The rest of the body was equally small and he wore a funny looking outfit that was quite bigger than him.

“And why are you not at school anyway, health officer?” David drawled the last two words causing a giggle from the child, and David saw that he had cute dimples too.

“I cant go to school, something about doctor’s prescription, Momma said.”

The child replied as he shrugged as he pulled his oversized shirt up his neck.

“Oh!!” David said and looked away as he continued to wrap the weed.

A long silence took place between both individuals, with each person in deep thought. David was thinking of the unfinished manuscript and how he was to meet his publisher’s deadline, while the child was thinking about what eight years old thought about.

“Will you be my friend?” the little voice came out again, this time a bit subdued, low and fragile.

“No, I don’t do friendships” and with that he lit the joint and walked away from the balcony back to his room where he can smoke his weed in peace, without any eight-year-old getting on his nerves.

David spent the next few days in his room, he didn’t want to run into any eight year old asking him to be his friend.

David sucked at interacting with humans, and this was the reason he lost the most important people in his life, his mother especially. 

He had been so engrossed in being successful and famous that he didn’t know he was reaching out to people less, he stopped communicating with people; all he was focused on was his writing.

He wanted to be a world famous author.
And while he started publishing and receiving accolades and awards; little did he know life was seeping out of his mother. The only call he got was the one breaking the news of her death to him and instructing him not to come for the funeral.


It broke him. He stopped writing.  He became a shadow of himself. He blamed himself for her death, he blamed himself for his failed engagement to Emily. He blamed himself for his friends’ departure from his life. He blamed himself for everything and this made retreat into his space. Moved out of his mansion and relocated to a faraway city.


He picked up writing again under a pseudo name, and lived a solo life. How was he supposed to be friends with an eight-year-old when his life was in shamble? He had nothing to offer the child.

He still overheard the child pummeling his mother with questions every other day in that frail little voice of his, and something in him always wanted to leave his room and talk to the child, but everything in him held back. He convinced himself the child was better without him.

Then the day came when he heard only the voice of the mother, he strained his ears to catch that of the child but he didn’t hear his, only the mother talking to someone on the phone as she walked by his door.

David quickly rose from his writing table and rushed to the door just in time to catch the mother at the elevator.

“Good afternoon, Ma’am” David greeted her as he tried not to make the dialogue awkward. He knew he sucked at making conversations too.

“Good afternoon, Mr. David” She replied with a little smile on her face.

“ I didn’t know you knew my name. “David stammered in shock of this discovery. He had no idea anyone knew him in the building.

“I do. Ethan talked about you a lot. Ethan is the name of my son” She explained at the confused look on his face.

“Oh! He is such a cool kid. Where is he by the way, I didn’t hear him today and that is why I came to ask you.”

At his question, her face fell and he saw tears forming in her eyes before she spoke.

“He is dead. Ethan died yesterday. He was sick of a heart disease, and before we could get medical help, he had gotten worse and there was nothing we could do about it. We will bury him tomorrow.”

David’s knees buckled beneath him in pain and anguish. He felt his heart beating against his chest in pain.

“He was a nice kid.” David’s voice croaked as the words left his mouth.

“Yes, and he spoke well of you too. He called you his friend, and that is why I have been meaning to ask if you’d like to attend his funeral tomorrow?’’

Her words felt like a punch to his guts. David felt terrible. Now he knew he was the shittiest human in the world. If only he had accepted the child’s friendship that day, if only. And yet the child still thought him a friend.

The tears dropped and he did nothing to stop them.

“I’d be there. Just keep me updated of the time and venue. Can I say a few words at the funeral?” That was the least he could do.

“His father and I would really appreciate that. Thank you so much, I’d keep you updated. I’d have to run now, there are few preparations to be made. Have a wonderful day, Mr. David.”

And with those words, she pressed the button of the elevator and got in as a tearful David walked back to his room on feeble legs.

He was going to treasure that day on the balcony and keep remembering it for a very long time.

Aderonke Adeyeye 2019