The Secret Behind Her Smile

My name is Amara. I am 24 years old. I live in Port Harcourt. One month ago, I was happy. I had a boyfriend named David. We were together for 2 years. I thought he would marry me. Then my father died. Everything changed. After my father's burial, I had no money. No job. No house. My mother sent me out because we could not pay rent. I started sleeping inside my friend Blessing's shop on the floor. I called David that night. I said, Baby please, can you help me with small money for food? I have not eaten since morning. He was quiet for some time. Then he said, Amara, I cannot continue with you. You are broke. Your father is dead. You have bad luck. My mother said I should leave you. You have nothing to offer a man. Who will marry a broke girl like you? He cut the call. I held the phone and I was shaking. That night I cried until I had no more tears. But something changed inside me. I was not just sad, I was angry. Fire entered my chest. I looked at myself in the small mirror inside Blessing's shop. My eyes were red. My clothes were dirty. But I told myself, No be only you sabi make money, David. I go show you. The next morning, I had zero naira. But I had Blessing's hair inside her shop. I told Blessing, Please let me take pictures of your hair and post on w******p. If somebody buys, give me small commission. She said yes. I used my cracked Tecno phone to take pictures. The light was bad, but I tried. I posted on my w******p status. I had only 87 contacts. I wrote, Original bone straight hair, 20k, available in PH. Nobody replied that first day. I slept on the floor again. Mosquitoes bit me everywhere. The second day morning, one girl from my secondary school replied. She said, Amara, is this hair available? I said yes. I added 2k on top. I told her 22k. She said she wants it and she lives in Rumuola. I borrowed 500 naira from Blessing for keke. I went under hot sun to deliver the hair. She gave me 22k. I gave Blessing 20k. My profit was 2,000 naira. For the first time in one month, I held my own money. That 2k was not just money. It was proof that I am not useless. That night I wrote inside my Notepad, Today I made 2k. Tomorrow I will make 5k. The secret behind my smile tomorrow will be pain of today. This is my story. How I moved from broke girl to boss with zero capital. If you are a girl and someone called you broke, this story is for you. In Chapter 2, I will show you how that 2k turned to 20k.