Chapter 1

Anita came back from school and she met people on their house crying and everyone sitting sad in the front of the house and she walked closer to them and she asked.

“ What happened?” Anita ask and as she gets nervous and her aunt stood up and she walks closer to her and she weep and she said to her.

“ Your parents were involved in a accidents and your dad and mum are dead” she says and Anita’s school bag fell on the floor and tears roll out from her eyes and she sat on the floor and she started crying and her aunt tries to calm her down and Anita shout.

“ Mum! Dad! Why do you have to leave me in this wicked world” Anita says and she weep and the people around her come to her and they tried to calm her.

“ How will I further my education without you both. Why? I have only you two both in this world, how will I survive wothout you both?” Anita says and she weep.

“ You will be fine, I am here for you” her aunt says and Anita still continue weeping and her aunt takes her inside the house.

Some weeks later her parents are already buried and Anita stood in front of her parents graveside behind her parents house and and she weep staring at her parents grave, she could not control herself and she sat on the floor weeping.

“ Why do you have leave me alone mum, dad. I am nothing without you two, I am now an orphan” Anita says and continue weeping.

“ Anita! Anita! Anita” her aunt calls her name from the front house and Anita heard her aunt shouting her name and she quickly wipe her tears and she still stood staring at her parents grave and she rushes to aunt.

“ Why are you still crying, I expect you to have getting over all this, it's been weeks, they are gone and they will never come back, we should go now”her aunt says and she carried her luggage in her hand.After the death of her parents she will be staying with her dad younger sister her aunt.

A month later Anita stays with her aunt and she is the one doing all the house chores, her aunt could not afford to further her education but aunt’children are in Lagos furthering their education leaving Anita and her aunt in the village.

An old man in the village had interest on Anita and he told the aunt, the old man promise her money and promise to help her in her children education and she agreed to get Anita married to the old man.

“ Anita! Anita!! Her aunt calls out.

“ Ma” she replies from where she was washing pile of clothes at the backyard. Anita rushes into the house and she finds two old men sitting down on the Sofa. They brought drinks and there was eggplant in a plate on the center table.

“Anita , your husband is here , he brought the first gift”

Anita was startled.

Anita couldn’t talk tears was building up in her eyes, she rub her hand against her dress.

“Her beauty is what attract me to her , she will be good for a man of my age, I need this kind of fresh blood” the old man says.

Anita wish she could abuse him but he was an elderly man.

She wish she could lashes out at her aunty but she couldn’t because she was also elderly and her guardian.

“It is this kind of girl that old men like you need, they will freshen your blood” her aunty says and laugh.

“ Yes , you are right my in law” she replies.

“ Now my niece has agreed when will you come with the bride price? She asks smiling and rubbing her hands against each other.

“ Even if you say tomorrow, I am ready, don’t you know I am one of the richest chiefs in this village? I can’t wait to marry that girl because I am even tired of that my first wife, she is too old” the old man says while Anita stares at him disgustly.

“ This weekend will be okay? That is if it is okay by you? She says.

“ Ofcourse, I will come with my kinsmen” the man says laughing and he turns to Anita.

“ Anita don’t worry, I will take good care of you, let me give you some money for the wedding preparation “ the old man says and he brings out his wallet and gives her a lot of money.

Anita quickly turn to her aunty.

“ Aunty I think I should go and wash quickly so that I can start preparing for my wedding” she says.

Her Aunt smile but didn’t answer her while the old man was happy.

Anita knew her aunt was going to collect the money from her.

“Stay here till your husband would leave” she say glaring daggers at her.

“My husband please don’t be angry, I can’t even wait for this marriage, I want to finish up the clothes so that I can go to the market to buy clothes for my wedding “ she says.

“ You are right, you don’t have wait, we and your aunt will discuss the remaining things.

“ Yes sir, thank you sir” she quickly takes her leave.

She rushes to the backyard in tears and she dries her tears .

“ This my aunt is so wicked, she send her own children to school but stopped me from going to school because of the house chores , now she wants to marry me off to a man old enough to be my grandfather because of the dowry” she says to herself crying.

She quickly count the money in her hand and it was fourteeen thousand Naira.

“ I can’t stay here and I can’t marry that grandpa, I also deserve better things” she says and she looks around, she left the clothes and she passes through the backyard to a narrow road and she run as far as her leg could carry till she came across a tricycle that she stops and enter into.

The tricycle drops Anita at the road and she took another bike to the bus garage and she quickly enters into a bus , she asks where the bus was going and the bus driver told her Lagos.

Anita has never been to Lagos before but she needs to go somewhere very far from her aunt.

Some hours later the bus reached Lagos and she went down of the bus, she looks around and she don't where to go, she check the money in her hand and it's still remaining and it was remaining just six thousand naira, she saw a mama put beside and she rushes there to buy food, she entered, and the food seller asked.

The old man and the elders are about going and he ask the Anita’s aunt to tell call Anita that gr wants to embrace her before leaving and the aunt smiled.

“ She should be at the backyard, I will call her to come now” Anita’s aunt says and she walks to the backyard and sue looks around and could not find Anita.

“ Where is this girl?” she ask herself and then she shout Anita’s name.

“ Anita! Anita! Anita! Where is this girl?” her aunt says and sue check round and could not see her and she gets nervous.

“ I hope it's not what I am thinking or as she elope no he can't be maybe she went to get something but she will suffer for this today, she can't even inform me that she was going out to get something” her aunt says and she went back in and she said.

“ Anita went out to get something maybe you should wait to her a little” her aunt says and the old man smiled and said.

“ I will take my leave now but please extend my greetings to her we will come for the bride price soon as possible” the old man says and the aunt smiled and she see them off to the doorstop, the old man and his friends left and Anita’s aunt gets happy rejoicing.

“ When I collect the bride price I will send to my son chibuzo and my daughter chidima at school but wait a minute this girl is not yet back what is it that she went to get that she will stay this long, I know she will come back to this house and she have no where to go and she will get punishment for it “ her aunt says fuming.

“ How may I help you?” she ask.

“ I want to buy a food” Anita says.

“ We have rice, spaghetti and etc, ... “ the food seller says.

“ Give me rice and stew with egg and meat on it,” Anita says and the food seller told her to go site.

Anita rushed to go site waiting for the food as she looks very hungry.

The food seller served her food and she rushed and collected or from her, she takes the spoon and started rushing the food, she ask for water from the food seller and the food seller brought the bottled water from the fridge and she gave her, she opens the bottled water and drinks a little, the people in the mama put look at her, she noticed and she smiled and slow down how she is eating.