K AND K STORY
A couple of years ago, Google’s Valentine’s Day doodle depicted two stick figures playing together on a playground. The bottom-line was that life is like a playground, and all any of us want is a friend to play with. Life is indeed like a playground. There are bullies and friends, authority figures and rules, things that bring you oh so much joy, and obstacles you may not be brave enough to try on your own but will get through with a friend holding your hand, cheering you on, and there to comfort should you fall.
The mandate for love and friendship is so simple for a child on the playground - Someone to play with. Once we outgrow the school playground, however, our criteria usually evolves into a formula clouded with mind games, peer pressure, a desire to fit in, and a consideration of what we can get from the other person. Our purest friendships and love are therefore the ones we find in our childhood and innocence.
How great is it then when a childhood friend sticks with you through the changing scenes of life? And how wonderful is it when a childhood sweetheart becomes a forever love?Such is the story of Kobby and Kukua, a love story that resonated with many and broke the proverbial internet. Kukua, blogger extraordinaire, recounted her version of the story here.
Below, we hear Kobby’s version, and reconsider our Ghanaian men aren’t romantic rhetoric
My family relocated to the United Kingdom when I was nine. While I didn't really understand the whys and wherefores of the move at the time, I remember that I left a crush that was roughly my age behind without having ever mentioned the crush to her. I have many memories of watching Kukua from a distance as she came over to play with my sister, and several fond memories of playing house with her cast as my wife.
I always thought she was beautiful. And I remember the sight of her taking my breath away when I saw her singing in the teen’s chapel on my first trip back to Ghana. "She wouldn't be interested in me," I thought. So as young people did with objects of their affection they estimated were out of their league, I admired her from a distance.
Fortunately for us and any future kids, my hand was forced when I went to her house to see her brother before my trip ended and met his absence. We had the chance to properly catch up, and eventually told each other know how we felt. I was surprised and ecstatic to learn she felt the same way. But all too soon the trip was over and I had to head back to the UK. "I'll be back…" I remember saying "…just wait for me.”
We tried to keep in touch when I got back, but the distance took its toll with time. When I first found out that she was in a relationship with someone, I couldn't help but feel hurt and jealous about it all. Further, I reckoned I had lost her forever as no man would willingly ever let go the gem that was my Kukua.
My feelings of hurt and jealousy caused more of a rift in the long run. However, despite going our separate ways, and my insistence that I was over her; every time I chanced upon a picture of her, or heard her name come up in conversation; I knew deep inside that I wasn't, and would probably never be over her.
Years later, we found ourselves talking to each other again. And while the feelings lingered on both sides, there were complications on both sides that threatened to keep us apart once again. As we kept talking and getting to know each other, however, what seemed complicated began to simplify itself. When I came back to Ghana in 2015, I had a simple statement I wanted to make, "I love you, and I want to be with you forever".
Life has changed a lot for both of us through the journey from playing house to being bona-fide husband and wife; from the complicated to the simple. But one thing never changed through it all. Kukua has always stood out to me as the one I wanted to be with, forever and a day.
Photography by PK Hazel