Concentration in the heart is confusion in the mind. The most amazing feelings are the hardest to explain, by using the language of the mind. Perhaps, the mind is too young to understand what the heart feels so intensely.

Each time my heart embarks on a nostalgic journey it has to show my mind each little detail that is little to the mind yet enormous to the heart. An overwhelmingly beautiful feeling fills my heart to the brim and then slowly seeps into my soul and soothes it when I embark on the ultimate nostalgic journey.

This feeling is only felt in Nneka city – the most magnificent city my heart has ever travelled to. A feeling of modern architecture was the atmosphere that the architect of the city hoped to bring. It is a city unlike any other. It is fierce, bold and unmistakable edgy, yet it is also a holistic gem, like a kaleidoscopic in its true nature. It is not bound by orthodoxy nor by utopian ideas – it’s more in touch with dystopian ideas and realism. It is governed by a free-spirited, non-judgemental ideology.

At the centre was an exquisite architectural masterpiece however not everyone had the privilege to view it. As if it was real it would only take down its walls when one was brave enough to discover its intricate yet simple design. Many saw the intricacy and not the gentleness that lay in the simplicity of the design.

Guidance was the building’s first floor – filled with the puzzle pieces, which make the picture whole. As it is not bound by orthodoxy, guidance attempts to take up four floors in a mediocre building. Investment lies at the end of the guidance floor, a floor of the most mind-blowing lessons, which are retained forever.

Through both these levels is an atmosphere that makes you feel like being yourself. The urge of pretence is non-existent in this building .The mirror room gives off an illusion of the peak of the building. After being in awe of the first two floors, this floor reminds you of your strength at your weakest, pats you on your shoulder at your worst and tickles you merely to see you giggle, as it loves to see you happy. From the mirror floor births the roof top which has the freshest breeze, the most beautiful African sun and a front row seat to one of God’s greatest creations – nature. The building sends a message through the landscape in hushed tones to ensure the message is understood. It whispers: “I love you always.”

A year ago all I felt towards this building was a form of dislike. Too weak to qualify as hate and barely dislike, but I pretended to loathe the building, never wanting to get too close to it. Pretence is merely a facade, a wall too weak to stand on its own and a hideous gown that attaches itself to an amazing silhouette. The exquisite architectural masterpiece has always been a constant figure in the routine aspect of my life – it was my school. I admired the figure to the core of my soul yet I never wanted to show it. It had a sense of effortless royalty, so certain in its immovable foundation.

I wore lenses, which were ill-functioning, out-dated and blurred the figures I saw, instead of magnifying it. My eyes would always make an unanticipated appearance during the figures presence yet my latent dislike ensured these appearances were short lived. I watched the masterpiece breakdown its walls and invite me to view its robust character, yet my blind self-resisted each act.

I truly yearned to explore this intricate work of art and bask in all its features, however the latent dislike refused. It had become a being of its own. However, after the figure was marvelled at by my English speech I instinctively knew my heart couldn’t be silenced. It saw an undeniable characteristic of similarity within the masterpiece. I stripped off all the gowns of dislike and removed the out-dated glasses. The glasses masked a magnificent book with a disgusting cover – one that was grim and mouldy, like an abandoned book in an old library, which attempts to survive the toughest weather.

Fear fills the depths of my soul when I look back to a year ago – what if I had kept those awful glasses on? What if I had allowed the latent dislike to diffuse into my heart? That’s the horrific reality about covers – they only exist in the mind. They then attempt to take our souls as its prisoner. Never judge a book by its cover because what you see may not always be the truth.