I felt so miserable at home, but whenever Tony visited me at school, I felt life inside me. He gave me joy and I started following him around to his newly purchased mansion. I was like, what's the point fighting this guy over my body again, he now owns me! My parents who I lived with are all gone. The truth is, I loved every moment I spent with Tony, he was my world. We started making love and he taught me a lot of silly things, how to close my eyes, how to respond to his touches, how to talk naughty, etc. When Tony wanted to go back to Germany, I remember crying so bitterly, but I had to let him go because he promised to pick me up soon. Life without Tony was hell, but I hoped he would come for me soon.
When Tony returned to Germany three months later, I started to get sick. I didn't know I was pregnant until my uncle and his wife summoned me, and the wife gave me a quick urine test. "Hey, I said it. Didn't I say it? I told you that she is pregnant and you were doubting me," She told her husband. I lowered my head in shame. Am I pregnant? Why did Tony teach me everything but failed to teach me how to prevent pregnancy? Oh, I should have asked him. I kept talking to myself. Finally, my uncle spoke, "who is responsible for this pregnancy?" I mentioned Tony to him, that we met when he was in Nigeria, and saw each other again when he was at my family's funeral. "She's lying! Can't you see the number she gives can't even go through? This girl has been sleeping with different men, didn't I tell you? Now that she doesn't know who is responsible, she wants to play smart on us with a fake foreign number." She kept ranting. "Look, I'm traveling for a 3 months course. When I'm back, you still need to give me the contact of the man responsible for this, or else I'll throw you out of my house." He said and got up and went to his room. "Which 3 months? Look, while he's on his way, get ready to pack, or else you will be forced to, nonsense." She walked away.
Three days later, my uncle went on the trip and his wife put me on the road late at night. I cried so bitterly as I pleaded with her to just put me up for that night, but she pushed me out and locked the gate behind me. Where is Tony? Tony, where are you? Everyone has turned me down, where are you? Why is your line disconnected? I talked to you when you arrived in Germany, and I still remember talking to you about 3 times, why the sudden disconnect? Where am I even heading to, if only I had the key to your newly purchased house, I would have gone there to sleep and stay? I kept crying to myself. An elderly woman who passed me and observed my mood turned and questioned me. I narrated everything to her, and she stared at me for a while, then she asked me to follow her home. Unbelievable! I thanked her. She took me home, introduced me to her husband, and told him my story, and he accepted me.
This woman was truly sent from God, she welcomed me and treated me as her biological daughter. She has 5 children; 3 boys, and two girls who were all in the hostel. My joy for this woman was cut short when her husband used to sneak out at night to my room, threaten to have sex with me, or ask the wife to fire me. The door lock was broken allowing easy access to the room. I continued to avoid him, I even confided in a girl on the street who I buy fruits from. One night, the wife couldn't find the husband, so she looked around. As she walked to my room, she saw the husband come out, I avoided him as usual. She exclaimed, "what did you go there to do? What is going on?" She thundered at her husband, and I was shocked to hear how her husband worked up the courage to lie against me.
He told her how he had gone to confirm if the back doors were locked, but only to hear my footsteps and as he turned around, I beckoned on him to help kill a snake in my room. Only for me to follow him, held him behind, and begged that I should make love to her. "I rebuked her and threatened to report to you. Here you are, you have witnessed it yourself. She's on a mission to destroy our marriage. You better act fast and send her away. What if I was a weakling? I would have fallen so cheaply for her, send her away." He continued talking to his wife. She ran into my room and screamed, "you must leave my house tonight. I picked you up from the street, I took you in, and I cleaned you up, but you repay me with evil, no wonder you got kicked out of your former place," while talking, she started to pack my things out of the room. "Mum, he's lying against me," I cried to her. Truly she kicked me out and I found myself on the street again. Tony see what you've done to me. Who will accommodate me now? I wept.
The Street was quite dark, and I was afraid to walk alone, so I remembered the fruit girl and I decided to seek her help. I went to her house and knocked. She opened it and received me warmly. "How can someone be so wicked, even as you are heavy?" She said. It was a small room with no mattress. She manages herself on the floor with a cloth she spreads at night. "Please make yourself comfortable," she said as she adjusted for me to sleep beside her. I lay on the floor gazing at the broken ceilings with tears streaming from my eyes.
A few days later, from the little savings I made while with Tony, I started selling sachet water and joined my new friend by the roadside she put up for selling. Life was extremely difficult for me. I looked so malnourished, as my routine was to take pap in the morning and sip garri to bed at night.
One fateful day, on the way home to buy some water to sell, the cab man pulled up on Tony's road, and lo and behold, I sighted Tony's car in his palatial compound. "Stop me here, stop me here," I told the driver. He stopped and I alighted as I paid him, I rushed and crossed to the other side of the street where his house is. I beamed with joy as I knocked at the gate. The gateman came out, I greeted him and told him I wanted to see his boss. He prevented me from entering and continued to interrogate me. I laughed inside. If this guy only knew that I am his boss's wife and co-owner of this house, he would have let me in quickly. In no time I saw Tony with a lady emerging from the entrance door. They went to the car and got in. "That must be his sister," I said to myself.
I was so excited and patiently waited for him to come out at the gate. Finally, he approached the gate, and the gateman opened it. "Tony," I yelled. He stopped to have a look at the person. I approached the car. "It's me Precious. I've been trying your number but to no avail. Thank God you're back," I snarled happily. "Sweetie, who is she?" asked the lady. When I heard "sweetie", I realized she wasn't his sister. I looked at Tony confused. Tony broke my heart. "I don't know her. Maybe she's one of the neighbors who moved around looking for financial support," Tony said as I watched him speed off. I passed out and fell to the ground, but with the help of the gateman who rushed out and poured water on me, I recovered, got up, and started laughing. No! That can't be true. Tony can't betray me, I'll be back. I kept telling myself. When I decided to leave, I realized I was empty. I had forgotten my bags of water in the car and even to collect the leftover of my money when I acted on impulse and rushed out of the car. What a wicked world! So the driver left with my money and water? He knew I acted on impulse and he took advantage and sped off. Why is my life full of agony? When and where will I ever get mercy? How do I go home now, and how will I survive as I have no money on me and nothing to sell? I cried as I approached the gateman to ask for his help to pay for my ride home. Without saying a word, he pulled out #200.00 and handed it to me. I thanked him and left.
When I went home, I narrated all that happened to my friend. "You must be joking. Tomorrow early in the morning, we have to go there to wake him up. How can he put you in this mess, but only to abandon you? I don't want to believe it yet until tomorrow morning," she said as she washed her fruits. Early the next day, she woke me up. "Get up and brush". I got up and for the next 15 minutes, we were at Tony's gate. I Knocked and the gateman peeped through, then we heard, "you again? Please leave! My boss and his wife warned me yesterday when they returned never to allow you in, that you're one of the nuisances in the area. Please leave because I don't have the stress of resuscitating you again or having you transported. Go with your problem and leave my boss alone. There are other rich neighbors around, go there and ask for money, leave my boss!" he ranted. I felt life out of me, my strength failed me as I heard the instructions Tony gave against me. My friend went crazy, "no, this can't happen. Come out! You must come out today!" she yelled, banging furiously on the gate. It's as if he heard the commotion and called his gateman to inquire. Then we heard the gateman say, "Listen, my boss says I should tell you,, people to go somewhere else and ask for money, that if you don't leave in a minute, he'll call the police and have you arrested." We didn't believe it, we took it as an empty threat and my friend kept hitting and yelling. We had the scare of our lives when in the next 10 minutes, a police van pulled up at the gate. They arrested us and took us to the station and under duress, we were made to sign an undertaking never to go near his compound to beg again. I tried to tell them the true story, but they shouted at me to shut up or I'll be thrown in the cell. We signed the undertaking and left. I thought of committing suicide, but my friend who had a heart of gold kept talking and encouraging me to move forward in life.
I hustled harder than before, as I had a few weeks left to put to bed. Having no capital to continue my trade, I joined some boys who were loading some crates of supplies from a warehouse onto a truck. I started saving and a week later, I put to bed a malnourished baby boy that looked like a little fish. Due to his poor health, he was sent to nursery from birth. Every day they needed money for his treatment, I kept telling stories as I had no money on me. He later died. He died of negligence as there was no money and the nurses stopped his treatment. A week later still in the hospital with no money to settle my bills, a good Samaritan came to my rescue and paid my bills and the bills of others who were helpless. I finally returned home and with the help of my good friend who kept encouraging me to move forward in life, I went back to fight for survival on the street with the boys.
Some men are traitors! If Tony can fail me, who else can I ever trust? This is the story of my first date, my pains, my agony, my shame, my bitter story!
Tags
HEARTBREAK