Dashed Dreams

"How many African countries have you visited?" My girlfriend kept bringing up the conversation I dreaded the most simply because she was a globetrotter and I was just a lady who had visited just one neighboring country aside from mine.
"Just one?" I still responded like the question had nothing to do with me.

"Would you love to tour Ghana with me?" My ears stood in excitement at the sound of her question. "Yes," I responded without a second thought. "I'll sponsor most of the bills for the trip, but then you'll have to save up some money too to support me, okay?" Tee concluded.

With high hopes, I began setting some money aside for the trip I've longed for for over a year now. My dreams are gradually turning into reality.

"2020 will be my year!" I would excitedly remind myself in front of my mirror that the date slated for the tour was February 29th, 2020, since Tee would be occupied until then.

A week before our trip, I and Tee were seated in my living room one Saturday evening watching television when we saw the breaking news: "Coronavirus outbreak in Nigeria; all airports and public centers have been closed until further notice." Waves of sadness washed over me as I was dissatisfied with the news.

Tee noticed how bad I must have felt, so she fixed her gaze at me. "Let's be hopeful, girl." She managed to utter to keep my hope alive, but then a heavy sigh escaped my lips. My countenance changed immediately as I realized that my hope and dreams of visiting Ghana had now been dashed. "Until further notice?" I whispered again.

I kept hoping that the restrictions would be lifted soon, but it was far from reality as every day a high rate of the virus emerged in the state, which led to a total lockdown. More to that, my business began to suffer since no one could walk into my office to order clothes or ask me to make them. I became financially unstable, so I began to spend out of the money I had saved for the trip.

I bought drugs, foodstuffs, and the necessities I would need for a month before the lockdown was lifted, and even after the lockdown was lifted, it wasn't safe to travel as we would need to be vaccinated and only health workers were allowed to travel at that time.

Every night, I would dream about how I and Tee were already in Ghana having fun, but when I woke up each morning, it was all a dream.

"Don't worry, girlfriend, we'll plan another trip when the world is at peace. For now, let's take care of our health and stay safe, okay?" Tee would always remind me, as she could see that my hopes of visiting Ghana were already shattered and I needed a new mindset to restore my hopes.