The Mistaken Valentine That Changed My Life Forever

We were in our senior year of high school on Valentine’s Day. The teacher scheduled for the first lesson didn’t show up, so students took the chance to chat with each other. Those with girlfriends and boyfriends exchanged gifts, sat close together, and talked about the typical things young couples discuss.

I was a bit of a loner with only a few friends. My time was mostly spent reading erotic novels and attempting to write one whenever I had a spare moment. I longed for a girlfriend, but looking around, it was clear that the guys who had girlfriends possessed a certain charm that I lacked. So, on Valentine’s Day, when the teacher was absent, I simply picked up one of my erotic novels and started reading.

Suddenly, a guy tapped me on the shoulder and handed me a card. For a brief moment, I thought a girl might have sent me a card, but the guy said, “Give it to Mavis.” Mavis was sitting right in front of me, so I passed the card to her. I turned to see who had tapped me; it was Philip. I remarked, “Oh, you’re in on this too.” He replied, “It’s not from me; it was passed to me from behind.”

A few minutes later, Mavis turned to me and said, “That’s lovely. Thank you so much.” I replied, “You’re welcome.” Later that evening during prep, I was informed that a girl was outside looking for me. It was Mavis. She handed me a card and said, “We can meet after prep.” I was puzzled but took the card and went back inside. I opened it to find, “Thanks so much for making me feel loved. I didn’t expect this. All this time, the one who loves me was closer than I realized. Happy Valentine’s Day. I love you too.”

I was stunned.

I tucked the card into my bag and went to find Philip. “Philip, the card you gave me this morning for Mavis, you said it came from the guy behind you. Who was that?” “It was Arthur,” he replied. I approached Arthur. “Arthur, the card you gave to Philip this morning, who gave it to you?” He said it was Felix. I then went to Felix, who mentioned Martin. Finally, I approached Martin. “Martin, the card you passed to Felix, who gave it to you?” He said, “A guy behind me told me to pass it to the one in front until it reached Mavis. Why do you want to know?” I explained, “Mavis thinks I sent the card.” “Is she upset?” he asked.

I looked at him, starting to suspect he might have been the one who sent the card based on his questioning. I replied, “Yeah, she’s directing her anger at me, thinking I was the one who sent it.” He said, “That’s unfortunate. I received it too and just forwarded it.”

That night after prep, I met Mavis. I was nervous she might discover I wasn’t the one who sent the card, but I had to maintain my composure. When she saw me, she asked, “So why haven’t you said anything all this time? You see me in class every day. We talk. You could have told me.” I replied, “You know I’m really shy. I was afraid you’d say no and then tell everyone that I proposed to you.” She laughed lightly and said, “Oh, is that why you wrote ‘ME’ under the card instead of your name?”

“ME…? Hmmm, I see. The card must have come from Martin. ME could only be his initials—Martin Eduful.”

But that didn’t matter. Mavis believed it was from me. Mavis was in love with me, and at that moment, I was indeed ME. That night, all the erotic stories I had read came together to guide me on what to do. I could almost hear the characters advising me: “Hold her waist. Look into her eyes and declare your undying love. Kiss her. Kiss her neck. Gently nibble her ears, and if she allows, slide your hands into her bra and explore.”

It turned out to be the best night of my young life. I dated Mavis until we graduated, and life took us in different directions. Recently, on our old student WhatsApp group, I shared the truth with Martin, and we all had a good laugh about it. But I can tell you, every time I think of Valentine’s Day, my heart is grateful for Martin’s cowardice. It was the reason my younger self found a woman to love.

—Aboagye

#MyHappyValentine