By Joan Salmon
Because he is shy, Joel did not really propose to Berus. Instead, he playfully asked for her hand and while the two were discussing their academic work, he placed a ring on her finger. Since she knew her man, Berus also knew that he had done this out of love.
Who could imagine that a chance meeting at the entrance of Makerere University library would amount to anything? For Joel and Berus Ananura Musinguzi, it led to marriage.
One day, as Berus walked to the library with a group of her friends, they met Joel on the way. All Joel did was stare at Berus but all the while, the smile he had was telling. Later, by coincidence, they sat next to each other in the library.
“We could not read anything although we actually avoided talking to each other. Days later, we met again in Makerere Kikoni, a neighbourhood in Kampala. After a brief discussion, I learnt that she resided in one of the hostels in the area and this time, we shared contacts,” Joel says.
He also found out that they were undertaking the same course.
“Being a year ahead of me, I would often ask him to discuss concepts that were hard for me to grasp. One day, he invited me to his hostel for discussions,” she says.
Joel says the first day she went to his hostel, the moment he saw her, a voice in him said, “She is your wife. I then became stubborn, dating other girls because I felt covered.”
During that time, Berus says she was unmoved since she was not in a rush. However, her heart said something different. “Thoughts and images of him kept flashing in my mind. However, we were both shy although his expression and conduct were signs that he loved me,” she says.
Despite Joel dating other girls, she continued going for discussions with him.
“There was something different and special that I felt for him to the extent that even after spending the whole day together, I would not hesitate doing the same the following day. In all that, I did not care that he had made his intentions known since his actions said it all; that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me,” she says. Click to read more…
