You used to be dark.

You know how we only remember to buy generic stuff at the last minute? Anyway I was doing my chocolate and perfume shopping in one of the duty free shops when I saw her smiling and walking towards my direction I had to turn back to be sure she wasn't smiling at someone else. Hey Roman! So good to see you, wow it's been how long now? 10 years now right? How have u been? Did you come here on vacation? How long were you here for? I knew I had seen her face before, she looked so familiar but I couldn't quite figure from where. I smiled and responded to the few questions I could remember. At this point it was oblivious to her that I was struggling to remember her. 

Roman tell me you don't remember me? Then it clicked, Ashley! Are you kidding me? Ashley, Ashley from high school?! I blurted. Wow you look a lot different, you used to be chubby back in high school and.. and.. and you used to be dark (black) too. We did a lot of catching up and she talked a lot about how she had come here to school and was finally heading back home (Nigeria), interestingly she was open about the skin lightening program she had undergone here. We shuffled through Facebook looking for some of our old friends, I couldn't help but spot some other formerly dark people. Catching up brought back some old memories, soon our flight was announced, we exchanged contacts and said to keep in touch back in Nigeria. 

My flight was smooth but my brain was stuck on her drastic color change. While I agree she wasn't looking bad and I don't care to judge former-dark people, I need to say this, some of us still like our dark skinned, smooth chocolatey ladies. Imagine a world where Agbani Darego, Genevieve Nnaji or Tika Sumpter and their likes decide to go white?! I will simply become a priest!

P.s Don't forget to burn all the pictures from your past before you go light skinned.

To the rest of the world, save a little dark skin for me.

Roman.