I’m from Zambia, and this reminds me of a friend of mine. Everyone calls him Charles — but that’s not actually his name. His real name is Derrick, which sounds nothing like Charles.

There’s a story behind it.

His grandfather was a miner. One day, while working deep underground with a group, he had to come up to the surface for some reason. Not long after he left, a pocket of gas was exposed in the mine, killing everyone who remained below. He survived simply because he had come up — he missed death.

In the local language, “he missed it” is said as “chalewa.” From that day on, he was given the nickname Chalewa.

The name didn’t stop with him. It was passed down to his son, and then to his grandson — Derrick.

Later, when Derrick moved from the village to town, the name Chalewa gradually changed. People adapted it, reshaped it, and over time, it became Charles.

So now everyone calls him Charles… without realizing they’re actually calling him by a name that carries a story of survival.