Great Mind Writer

Episode 4: They promised to help me. They said they would take care of me. But everything changed the moment I stopped going to school! One morning, a doctor visited. He examined me and casually mentioned that my private part was " *tight* ." I didn't understand what that meant, but from that day, things began to change. Every night, Aunty would call me to give me a cup of tea. I drank it without question. But every morning i woke up, my body would itch terribly down there. Pain would spread across my body, and I felt like something was terribly wrong. But I couldn't explain it. It just kept happening. Then one night, I forgot to drink the tea. I didn’t tell Aunty. As I dozed off, I suddenly woke up, only to feel something crawling. Ants were all over the cup. In panic, I threw the tea in the basin. My heart raced, but I went back to sleep, trying to calm myself. Minutes later, I was jolted awake by whispers and footsteps. The couple entered my room. I heard Aun...

EPISODE 3: Too Young to Carry This! It all started at the beginning of the third term. Something felt different. My body was changing, and I couldn’t ignore it anymore. I confided in my closest friend, Toyin, and her words hit me like a brick: “Could you be pregnant?” I laughed it off at first how could that even be possible? But Toyin wasn’t joking. The next day, she showed up with a pregnancy test strip and insisted we try it using my morning urine. When the test turned positive, my entire world flipped upside down. I was stunned, numb, and terrified. Pregnant?! Me?! At that moment, our thoughts weren’t about what the next term would look like or school grades; it was all about one thing: getting rid of the pregnancy. Abortion became our only plan. We found a tiny clinic and went in together. The nurse looked at us like we were grown women and said, “It’ll be eight thousand naira.” Eight thousand? Where was I supposed to get that kind of money? Without missing a beat, Toyin s...

EPISODE 2: UNSEEN TRAPS I was living with my aunty and her husband in their luxurious mansion, a grand duplex with no tenants, just the three of us. The house was stunning, its vibrant colors complementing the white gate that swung open with a remote control. We had a few workers, including Adamu, the gateman from Adamawa. He was so deeply Hausa that he didn’t understand a single word of English. Then there was Naomi, a girl from Cotonou, fluent in French but unable to speak English. Lastly, we had an elderly Igbo woman who spoke impeccable Igbo with only a little Pidgin English. I started in JSS3 at a private school, where I met Toyin. From the very first day, we clicked, it was an instant connection. She approached me first, introducing herself, and I responded, “I’m Fola.” Our conversation flowed effortlessly since we were both Yoruba girls. Toyin was cool, calm, and funny. She had a moderate height, a slim frame, and a fair complexion, not too dark, not too light. Acade...

EPISODE ONE: AUNTIE’S PROMISE It was a Saturday evening when my mother and I met Aunty, a familiar face from our neighborhood who now lived in Lagos. She was set to return to Lagos the next morning, and as we talked, she expressed a strong desire to take me with her. She painted a picture of a brighter future, better education, a comfortable life, and endless opportunities. Without a second thought, my mother agreed. The next day, I traveled with Aunty to Lagos, eager and full of hope. Upon arrival, we were welcomed by her husband, a tall, light-skinned, well-educated, man of wealth and great influence. For almost a month, I remained at home because every school we approached insisted I had to return to JSS2. They believed students from villages couldn’t keep up with the academic standard of city schools. After much effort and deliberation, Aunty and her husband finally got me admitted into JSS3 at a private school, even though I was supposed to be in SS1 by then. To be con...