CHAPTER THREE: DESTINY AND FREEDOM
633 Words
The prison walls were cold. Silent. Unforgiving.
But what tormented Chibuike the most was not the chains on his hands—it was the dream.
A dream that had followed him since childhood.
A dream he could never escape.
In that dream, his late mother would appear, her presence calm yet powerful, her eyes filled with a knowing he could never understand.
Beside her stood a girl.
“She is your life partner,” his mother would say softly, her voice echoing like a whisper from another world.
“Your life will change when you marry her.”
Each time the dream returned, the girl was no longer the same.
She grew.
Just as he grew.
From a child… to a young girl… to a woman.
And each time Chibuike woke up, his heart would beat faster—as though he had just lost something he had never truly found.
Even in prison, the dream did not leave him.
If anything, it became stronger.
More real.
More haunting.
While Chibuike fought his inner battles, Gift fought hers in a different way.
She prayed.
Morning and night.
In tears and in silence.
She refused to accept that her brother’s life would end behind bars. She held on to faith like it was the only thing keeping her alive.
And somehow… fate was listening.
Five years passed.
Five long, painful years.
Until one day… everything changed.
A group of visitors arrived at the prison, bringing food and supplies for the inmates. Among them was an elderly man—quiet, observant, and dignified.
The moment his eyes fell on Chibuike, he froze.
Recognition struck like lightning.
It was him.
The young man who had once saved his life.
Years earlier, on a lonely roadside, the old man had collapsed from dizziness. People passed by. Some looked. None stopped.
Except one person.
Chibuike.
Without hesitation, he rushed to help, lifted the man, and called for emergency assistance. He stayed until help arrived—never asking for anything in return.
That single act of kindness… had not been forgotten.
The elderly man was no ordinary man.
He was the uncle of the country’s newly elected president.
When the president heard the story, he was shaken.
A man who had saved a life… left to rot in prison?
It didn’t sit right with him.
Immediately, he ordered a full review of Chibuike’s case.
And soon… the truth began to surface.
Justice came.
At last.
Chibuike was granted amnesty.
The prison gates opened.
Freedom… after five years.
But freedom came with a warning—a final chance to choose a different path.
And this time… Chibuike was ready.
Not only was he released, but he was also given a substantial sum of money by the president—to start over, to rebuild, to become something greater than his past.
And Chibuike did not waste it.
He left the country.
First, Canada.
Then, China.
He moved with purpose, with hunger, with a determination that burned like fire in his soul.
From nothing… he built everything.
He invested in gold.
In diamonds.
In businesses that spoke of power, wealth, and influence.
Years passed.
And the boy who once wore chains… returned home as a man people now respected.
Feared.
Admired.
An Odogwu.
But even with all the wealth…
All the success…
All the power…
There was still a space in his heart that nothing could fill.
Because every night…
The dream still came.
His mother.
That same calm voice.
And the girl.
Now fully grown.
Closer than ever.
Clearer than ever.
As if… somewhere in this world… she truly existed.
And Chibuike knew one thing.
No matter how long it took…
No matter where life led him…
He would find her.
Because she was not just a dream.
She was his destiny.
- Writer
