Hopeless

Episode 7

I was walking hopelessly down the road without any destination, remember it was already in the evening, suddenly a car stopped and horned at me, I went closer and I saw a woman inside,

where is your location? let me give u a lift, she said,

i had no where in mind but I cannot miss this golden opportunity, I pointed my finger to the front and she opened the door for me,

She drove slowly down the road without saying a word, At a point she asked me the exact please I was going to because she will soon get to her destination,

on hearing that I told her to stop me right there,

you can stop me here ma, this is where I am going to, I said, she dropped me off and waved a bye.

I stood there and watched her as she drove away, confused again, I looked around and saw a provision store, people were sitting down at the from of the shop, I went there and joined them, they were all minding their businesses, everyone was engrossed with his/her phone, while others were shopping from the provision store.

I sat down there, my bag on my laps while I rested my head on the the bag, I did not know when I slept off, it was one of the salesgirls that woke me up, it was already dark and they wanted to close for the day,

Aunt abeg we wan lock shop,. she said in pigin English,

I got up, stretched myself, picked my bag and walked out, I stayed close by and watched them leave the shop, then I went back and sat down again, the lights were off and everyone had left, I was not scared because death meant nothing to me again,

few minutes later I saw flash lights, it was the security men, who is there? what in God’s name are u doing here? what is your mission? the asked in chorus,

My name is Ava, I just came to Lagos today and I have no where to go to, the person that invited me switched off her phone, I am stranded, I lied,

they believed me but one of them disagreed, he said I was probably a prostitute on a mission but others told him to keep quiet, they almost fought because of this,

Later they took me to a small cubicle, it was very dirty and smelly but I thanked them, they said I can sleep there and leave in the morning, that was after searching my bag to know if they can see any suspicious item but none was found, I was seriously hungry but that was not my problem at this point,

A moment later one of the security men came back, he gave me a key and asked me to lock myself inside, his reason was that some of his colleagues might try to come there at night and harass me sexually, I was very grateful, that was so kind of him, he asked if I have eaten and I couldn’t pretend, I nodded my head to affirm,

He said I should rest that he will bring food for me shortly,

I was seriously relived, for now I already Know that God has stepped into my case,

He came back almost immediately and handed a foodflask to me with a bottle of chilled water, it was a miracle, a huge miracle to me, he left and I quickly locked the door as he said, then I brought out my phone and my Bible, I switched off my phone immediately I left my sister’s house, I saw her messages of apologies but she did not know that I was not angry at all, I replied her while I ate the delicious jollof rice the security man bought for me.

As early as 5:23am, There was a knock at the door, my heart skipped,

who is that please? I asked

it’s me Emeka, i was the person that bought u food at night, he said from his end,

i jumped up and checked my time, it was 5:23am, I went to the door and opened the door for him,

good morning and how was your night? he greeted,

fine… I managed to say,

he said I should prepare and leave there before day breaks so that the landlord will not see me because the cubicle is for the security men not strangers, I went cold as he said that,

what is the problem? he asked me,

I told him to come and sit down that I want to tell him the truth,

which truth? he asked,

I narrated my ordeal to him, I told him nothing but the truth, I was seriously in need of accommodation so I don’t have to keep quiet and pretend that all was well while I’m dying.

He was speechless for some seconds,

I would have offered u a nanny job that covers accommodation but you are a graduate, I know u will not like it, he said,

I was quiet as I pondered on the idea, I Ava? a Nanny? it is well sir I will do it but tell me more about the family, all I need is a shelter over my head and food, I will be fine, I said,

His name is Donald, he has a new born twins and he seriously need a nanny to take care of the kids, they are 2 months ago, he just sacked the previous nanny because he was not satisfied with her service, I am one of his security man but we work on shifts, if you like I will take u there this morning before going him, that is the only help I can render, Emeka explained,

What about their mother? I asked curiously,

Hmmm she died on the very day she had the babies, that’s was 2months, we are yet to get over her death,

I felt really pity on hearing this, with what I’ve heard I was very happy that I’m going to provide comfort to those innocent kids that lost their mother, I remembered How Andre became fatherless the very day I bore him, it felt like our story sound alike…

Emeka took me to Master Donald that morning and I was welcomed, Emeka forgot to tell me that he is a white man Working in an oil company…. I was so happy to meet baby Allie and Alliana