I once read a meme that read ;”ever walked with someone who greets the whole world?”. Boy !was I quick to think of people who do so ,”people” is my immediate oldest brother ..Ohw no !I didn’t really mean to put it out there but well … I just forgot that even if I was pointing at him in my head ,three other fingers were pointing right back at me .Me is “people who greet the whole world”…if not the whole universe .

After exchanging greetings with Mr B and handing him my pair of shoes that I needed his magical hands to work on ,I went about my day minding my own business .Business that day was me setting one or two things I needed in place for my travel .It was interesting that most of the time during that day I thought of the shoes I had left with Mr B..I didn’t need to forget them with him .More-so,I needed them worked on in good time so that I have them picked up on my way home . The heels were a souvenir, someone had gifted them to me ..there was no way I was going to trash them all because of a simple opening ..Aibo! Maybe it was a sign that they were abused .The point is ;whether I had abused them or not ,I was still going to keep them .The shoe repair was going to do his job and that’s what mattered .

Time went by faster than a cheater takes time to catch its prey .I looked at the time after boarding the Chelston bus and It was already 5pm . “Mr B should be done by now “,I thought to myself .
I suddenly began seeing showers as the bus moved ..before I knew it ,I was in a world that seemed more serene than the one I am usually found in . I only snapped out of it when the bus passed on humps and knew I was almost reaching my destination .

“Mmmmh you are not done fixing my shoes ?”I said after seeing that the work wasn’t fully done .
“Ahh ..I will be done in a few ,just come later”.. Mr B said as he grabbed his needle ..

I didn’t have any other option than to wait even if displeasure was the expression of my face as I went off ..An hour down the line I went back to him ..whether he was done or not didn’t matter this time ,it was 7pm already ..I couldn’t wait anymore .
“Your bill is k15”,Mr Banda said with a smile .
“Wow really ?”I said excitedly .I liked Mr B for his warm atmosphere .There was no way I was going to begin going to another shoe repairer after I had noticed another one start business along the same road.. he seemed to have a frowny face often times . Moreover ,Mr Banda’s charges were always fair .I knew I would have been charged double the price elsewhere .If I am to be honest ,even if Mr B happened to have high charges compared to other people in the same business ,I would still choose his services .His aura won my heart .This girl is loyal ! SMEs better be taking notes .People buy into the person before they buy the product .

After handing in my payment ,he went on to say ; “ All this is going to my daughter at the University”..he said it with so much pride that I couldn’t help but recognize what a proud father he was .
“Ohw you have a daughter at uni?”,I asked like he wasn’t just from saying what I asked..
“Yes I do .”..He responded while counting all the money he had probably made that day .
My heart was swollen with joy and sadness at the same time . Joy,because I was happy to hear he is educating his daughter with what he does .C’mon!! a girl child better get some brains amen ? Sad ,I was moved at the amount of sacrifices he makes compared to the amounts he probably makes ..Obviously it’s common sense to approximate the total revenue of someone who repairs shoes in a location like he is in ..I always found Mr B at his office made of a few wooden materials at 8a.m every time I was going somewhere in the morning ..He worked overtime ..I mean ,I was collecting my shoes at 7pm . I was sad because if I was in a place to do something ,I would have done something about his daughter’s school fees ..My eyes weren’t co-operating ,something was pushing itself to roll over my cheek..I looked elsewhere and blinked quickly .I didn’t want people asking me if I had a bereavement . Clearly ,they weren’t going to comprehend why this was emotional for me .

“Ohw wow ,that’s amazing.” I said with a smile .
Can I have your line ? Is all I could say after that .
After exchanging numbers and collecting my shoes which looked like they didn’t have a fault before ,I headed home ..through out the way I began thinking just the kind of heart Mr B has towards his daughter . All I hoped was that his daughter knew just how much his father treasures her and speaks of her . Off course some African fathers never show what their daughters mean to them ..I cancer-worm that needs to be eliminated .. Scratch that !Mr Banda always seemed sweet ..I didn’t have much doubt about his affection towards his daughter .

I remembered the “all men are trash” spoken of by society ..often by women who have encountered ruthless men ;cheats ,rapists ,thieves ,liars and worse off in relation to this post “bad fathers”. ..surely ,Mr B was definitely not one of them . With this crazy world where most people have “daddy issues”, Mr B was playing the card differently .He was playing Superman (only it wasn’t End Game)by repairing every shoe his hands could grab so he could make her daughter’s dream come true .His life didn’t matter much ,his daughter’s welfare meant more to him .A unique avenger he is .

I likened this to how God has the same heart towards his children that he gave up his only son so that we have fellowship with him ..I felt it in the moment . A good man he is ,and more so ,a good good father is what he is .

My travel “business” I was up to went on ..though bumpy and out of anything I have ever experienced before in my life ..I was just glad I was home and laying down .I couldn’t help but talk about Mr B when I was with my sister.She was in awe after hearing the tale . As my experience with him replayed in my head, it dawned on me that I have come across several amazing male figures who have played the role of a super hero in my life .Whether it was ONE small thing or several big things they did for me didn’t matter .What mattered is that they had left a mark that was unforgettable in my life . Maybe writing about them would give one or two ladies who have had daddy issues /relationship probs/abuse and whatever form of negative experience some hope,I thought .That there are still men with good intentions .That some can be good fathers even if you had daddy issues .You don’t have to go around scared that you will have the monster you encountered for a life partner . No you won’t .

Cheers to all the good fathers /good men with a high fibre of integrity .Know that we love you and we will be praying for a kind like you to be born to this world so that it becomes a more habitable place .You are our heroes .

N.B: I don’t own the rights to the pictures .