IVANIFICATION #003 THE OLIVIA EFFECT.

Human beings are inherently jealous and poses selfish motives; this is not a character that varies from individual to individual. It’s a characteristic that every animal has. Hear me out.

The main reason as to why dogs establish dominance through territorial pheromones in their urine is because they want the bitches in the designated areas to themselves. And when the territory is breached a fight can erupt and definitely the bitch would go with the stronger, powerful and dominant male. Weee! This is definitely about dogs. Men are definitely not dogs and a bitch is definitely a female dog.

To bring the point a bit closer, most infants cry when they demand a certain level of attention that they are not getting just because the parent’s attention is directed to someone else or a different task. They might not want milk from the bottle since they prefer sucking their mother’s breasts. Don’t even get me started on twins, siblings and so on...

You’ve probably heard of The Bruce Effect and if not I’ll tell you about it. Just hang in there for a moment. But for now, let’s talk about The Olivia Effect....

Where were we.....ahaa...Olivia...You can check out Ivanification #002 for context.

Let’s take a few steps back to when we took a last walk along a trail that most people are unfamiliar of; the route from gate C heading towards gate E. Bearing in mind that school wasn’t in session, that route was rather isolated and you can imagine how unbothered I was when I would occasionally hold her hand and act all goofy as we laughed when we recalled some of King Bach’s skits and Chris Rock’s special comedy editions. No judgement, no nothing, just pure vibes.

 Our footsteps created a gentle rhythm against the earth. Olivia walked beside me and her presence  made the ordinary world seem extraordinary. The air carried the scent of her perfume (I know Juja is dusty but come on!) and for some reason all I could smell was jasmine with a unique scent of endless possibilities. By now you could definitely see that this was waaaayyy beyond attraction and it was more of an obsession.

As we wandered deeper into our conversation, she turned to adjust the collar of her chiffon blouse and I noticed the small birthmark nestled on the curve of her neck which was more of a tiny constellation of pigment that seemed to have been painted there by some cosmic artist. Da Vinci  had nothing on the artist and I kid you not, Monalisa would probably be jealous of this walking work of art. Without thinking, a teasing smile crept across my face.

 

"Someone's been busy I see," I said with a definite mock suspicion, nodding towards the birthday mark. "Should I be worried about some secret admirer leaving evidence after a wonderful game of bedminton?"

I know! I know!

She laughed, that bright sound that always made my heart skip, her hand instinctively covering the birthmark. "It's just how I was made," she said, rolling her eyes but unable to hide her amusement. "Sorry to disappoint your detective fantasies."

"Well, that's far more romantic actually," I replied. "Born with your own little beauty mark. Like the universe knew you needed one more perfect detail."

Her cheeks must have  flushed pink, because I swear I saw it. I was there!!! She nudged my shoulder. "You're impossible!"

As we continued walking, the conversation flowed (Talk about water finding its course; effortless and so freaking natural). We kept on  talking about dreams that felt too big for words, about the books that had changed us and come kill me, but Colleen Hoover’s were not part of it. It definitely could end with us but....ama wacha tu

We had a little chat about the way certain songs could transport us to different lifetimes from BoB to We Are Nubia and how Emma Chebet ignited our souls for a little while.( I need her back)

You can clearly note that Patello na Dee and alike didn’t for a second fall part of that conversation

"Do you ever wonder," she asked, pausing to watch the couple that passed us, both of them stealing a glance at us, "if we're living in the right timeline? Like, what if there are infinite versions of us having different conversations on different paths?"

"Maybe," I said, considering her words carefully. "But I think I'd choose this one every time. This exact moment, this exact conversation.”

Bro was literally cooking with the skills and precision that Ombachi would be proud of.

She smiled, that soft smile that seemed to hold promises in equal measure.

 Olivia suddenly stopped, her eyes wide with delight. The Gate C to Gate E path revealed a clearing where the sun appeared to hung low, painting the sky in a tinge of amber. Without hesitation, she pulled out her phone.

"The light is perfect," she breathed, already framing the shot. "Look how the rays are cutting through those clouds."

I watched her work, captivated by the concentration on her face, the way she tilted her head to find the perfect angle. She chased the beauty with the dedication of someone who understood that perfect light was temporary, precious and fleeting.

 "Move a little to the left," she directed, gesturing for me to step into her frame for a silhouette photo. "The sun is hitting just right there."

But as she held up her phone, something magical happened. The golden rays that had been illuminating the landscape suddenly found her instead. The light caught the highlights in her hair, turned her eyes into pools of warm honey, and cast a gentle glow across her skin that made her look like she'd stepped out of a Renaissance painting.

"Olivia," I whispered, forgetting about her photo entirely. "What?" she asked, lowering her phone.

"You're... the light is..." I struggled to find words that could capture what I was seeing. "You're more beautiful than any sunset could ever hope to be."

She looked down, suddenly shy, but the smile that played at her lips told me she felt it too

In that moment the universe seemed to have conspired to make everything perfect. Light, love and time align in ways that make you believe in magic again.

"Thank you," she said softly as she held my hand.

"For what?"

"For seeing beauty where others might see flaws. For making this ordinary walk that started from a task of house hunting feel like an adventure. My guy has been away for a while and I really needed this and I can’t wait to talk to him tonight and share the experience I’ve heard today”

It took me a while to remember the last few words of her statement. I started feeling like what Monday mornings usually feel like. Devastated? Understatement! Disappointed? Meh!

Her hands felt heavy and disgusting all of a sudden. She had a guy mehn! A (bleeping) guy!! Would it have bee any different if it was a woman though?…... Also, was my beloved robbed or was I robbing the beloved?

And why was she still smiling!!! I could definitely see her lips moving….Her beautiful, pulpy, glossy lips. This definitely meant that she was talking but my ears couldn’t take in anything she was saying.

My mind was now clouded with a lot of thoughts and a section of my brain was devising a plan to eliminate the competition almost literally. I was overpowered by raging envy and I couldn’t think about sharing Olivia with anyone.

My hands were getting sweaty and my hand grip tighter and I could feel Olivia pleasing to be released. She felt the awkward mood shift and she was now a bit silent and I could see some aspect of concern and a bit of worry.

“Are you okay?” she politely asked as if she had no idea of how shattered my heart was.

“Woman, What do you think?” I responded in my mind but the words that came out of my mouth were,  “ Yeah, just beautifully famished from the walk and I should probably get going.” I could read a lot from her non verbal cues mostly from how her eyes shifted and how she depicted that long face. I could see it all but I could feel more than words could express.

You see, a male rat has a pheromone that can terminate the early pregnancy of a female rat that was recently mated by another different male rat once the female detects the pheromone through a vomeronasal organ. The termination usually takes place in the first few days after mating and the female rat returns to estrus in which it’s receptive to mating again. The pheromone suppresses lactin production, disrupts implantation of the fertilized embryo and resets the reproductive cycle. This is called The Bruce Effect.

 

Olivia had terminated all the feelings and the sexual attraction I felt for any other lady, long before they even existed. She was that perfect. If I didn’t know better, I could’ve said, she was  THE ONE. I defined it as The Olivia Effect. The effect, sadly, had a side effect. I was too invested. I fed my delusions too much and my heart was broken. I know they say hindsight is 20/20 and that it’s easier to understand a situation after it has happened and the outcome is known but I just couldn’t settle with the fact that I had built my castle on sand.....Or did I?

Grass might have been greener on the other side but what incentive would you have to read the other 97 episodes of the Ivanification series if I gave all the tea now on how everything went afterwards?

Are we still friends?

Did I open up about how she made me feel?

Did she feel guilty being transparent with me?

How did she feel towards me after that day?

I guess you’ll know at the right time.

Have an Ivaniffic week!

Stay Ivanified, and remember life is what happens when you are making other plans. Those daily unexpected experiences, that’s life.

Adiós