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𝗔 𝗟𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗝𝗮𝗰𝗸


Two weeks into my stay at USTB, I met Jack at the badminton court. He was a Chinese undergraduate who came over and asked if I could team up with him for doubles. That was exactly what I had been waiting for, so I agreed. We warmed up on the side court before stepping on to face the other players. After eliminating a few opponents, I ended up costing us our second round at the very last point. Jack was clearly the stronger player. Obviously fromsomeone who had been playing since childhood. He spoke English and was very kind. We had a conversation afterwards and I left earlier because I had an online class to attend.


About a week later, our school held a cultural festival. While I was standing at the Nigerian booth in my "Babban riga" handing out Nigerian seal stickers and helping visitors place them on their world map papers, Jack appeared. I immediately recognised him and called him by his name. He remembered me too. I gave him the sticker before we took a picture together and exchanged WeChat, then he left.


Not long after, he called to ask if I was still at the event. I told him I had stepped away for a moment. He said he had a gift for me. I thought to myself, “That’s one of those oyibo things. A gift, what for?” When I returned, I found him waiting at our booth with his friend.


“I’m happy you recognised me" he said, handing me a sheet filled with the stickers he had collected from every booth. To get them, he had visited each stand one by one. That simple gesture carried more meaning than I expected. Remembering him and calling him by his name had left a strong impression on him. I even asked him to sign his name on the paper to compliment and have a proper documentary of it.




It made me reflect deeply on how little things matter to people. A small gesture can carry weight in someone’s heart. And that’s how it is in the sight of Allah too.


"…you thought it was insignificant, while it was, in the sight of Allah, tremendous."

 — Qur’an.



Yusuf Usman

28th Sept 2025

Beijing, China.


Comments

  1. Abdulmuiz KasimSeptember 28, 2025 at 12:29 PM

    Ma Sha Allah. 💯

    That's really interesting ☺️


    It's good to be good and it's bad to be bad 🙌

    ReplyDelete
  2. Asifat AyoadeSeptember 28, 2025 at 11:05 PM

    Interesting 👍

    ReplyDelete

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