One Room, Two Generations

THE CHANGE

EPISODE 3: The Change

For days, I cried.

I cried until my eyes became swollen.

I cried until I had no more tears left.

I couldn't understand how someone I had loved so much could simply wake up one morning and decide he no longer wanted me.

My heart refused to accept that Dele was gone.

I kept replaying his words in my head.

"I always planned to marry a virgin."

Why?

Why did he make me believe he loved me?

Why did he let me give him everything if he already knew he could leave?

I couldn't find an answer.

Eventually, I confided in Blessing.

I told her everything.

She listened quietly, then shrugged.

"Babe, it's a normal thing."

I stared at her.

"Normal?"

"Yes. This is your first breakfast."

She laughed.

"You'll heal. Just put yourself together. There are better guys outside."

Her words irritated me.

"If you knew we would eventually break up, then why did we have s*x?"

Blessing looked at me as though I'd asked the most ridiculous question in the world.

"Didn't you enjoy it?"

I stared at her.

"Blessing..."

She shrugged.

"It was just to strengthen your relationship."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

Something inside me snapped.

"Blessing, you've been a bad influence in my life."

She stopped smiling.

"I think we should go our separate ways. Maybe I'll heal faster without you."

She looked at me in disbelief.

"You'll need me."

Then she added,

"Who will you confide in?"

She paused.

"Wait sef..."

Her eyes narrowed.

"Are you sure you're not pregnant for him?"

My heart skipped.

Pregnant?

"No."

I shook my head quickly.

"That's not possible. We used protection."

Blessing stood up and walked toward her drawer.

"There are test strips inside. Take one and check."

I stared at her.

"What do you use test strips for?"

She looked at me as though I was a child.

"Are you a baby? I check to know whether I'm pregnant. If I am, I know what to do."

I froze.

"Blessing..."

She waved her hand.

"Forget it. Just check yourself first before you start saying rubbish."

I took the test strip from her trembling hands.

---

The few minutes I had to wait for the result felt like hours.

I sat there staring at the strip.

My palms were sweating.

My entire body felt hot despite the air conditioner blowing directly at me.

I closed my eyes.

"God, if I can escape this pregnancy, I will serve You forever."

I opened my eyes and looked at the result.

Negative.

I breathed out.

I wasn't pregnant.

Relief washed over me.

But when I looked at Blessing, she didn't look relieved.

She looked disappointed.

That was the last day we spoke.

---

After that, something changed in me.

I became serious about my life.

I took my academics seriously.

I took my relationship with God more seriously.

My parents stood beside me throughout everything.

Mum encouraged me constantly.

She didn't allow me to remain buried in what had happened.

Then she did something that changed my future.

She hired a private tutor to prepare me for JAMB.

I studied harder than I had ever studied before.

I wanted a fresh beginning.

I wanted to prove to myself that Dele had not destroyed my future.

I wrote JAMB.

I passed.

Then came the hardest part.

Waiting for admission.

The waiting period was long.

But I refused to sit around doing nothing.

"An idle mind is the devil's workshop," I would tell myself.

That was when I learned how to play the violin.

At first, I was terrible.

My fingers hurt.

The sounds were awful.

Sometimes, I wanted to throw the violin away.

But I kept practising.

Day after day.

Week after week.

Eventually, I became good.

Very good.

People started inviting me to play at small events.

And they paid me.

For the first time in a long while, I felt proud of myself.

I wasn't Dele's ex-girlfriend.

I wasn't the girl who had been rejected.

I was Christiana.

A student.

A violinist.

A daughter.

A girl with dreams.

---

Then one afternoon, Mum shouted from outside.

"Christiana!"

I quickly stood up.

"Yes, Mummy?"

"Come out here now!"

My heart jumped.

Have I done something wrong?

I hurried outside.

The moment I saw her face, I knew something was different.

She was smiling.

"Christiana!"

"What is it, Mummy?"

"Congratulations!"

She rushed toward me and hugged me.

"You've gotten admission!"

For a moment, I couldn't speak.

Then I screamed.

"Yes!"

I jumped up.

"God did it!"

Mum laughed.

We held each other and danced.

"Come and join me sing hallelujah!"

I started singing.

"Jehovah Jireh has done me well!"

Mum joined me, laughing and dancing.

When Dad returned later that evening, we told him the news.

He smiled proudly.

Then he reached into his pocket and handed me his card.

"Go and get yourself some clothes for school."

"Daddy!"

I hugged him tightly.

"Thank you!"

I couldn't stop smiling.

That day, I felt like my life was finally beginning.

But I had no idea that it was only the beginning of another chapter.

---

I had been admitted to study English Literature at the University of Ibadan.

The same course that could take me closer to becoming the writer I had always dreamed of becoming.

My childhood dream was finally taking shape.

One month later, I resumed school.

University life was different.

New people.

New environment.

New responsibilities.

And, most importantly, a new opportunity to become the person I wanted to be.

I joined a fellowship on campus.

Before long, I became a worker.

I joined the choir.

I wanted to serve God.

I wanted to do something meaningful with my life.

There were boys everywhere.

Some tried to approach me.

Some complimented me.

Some even asked me out.

But I wasn't interested.

My experience with Dele had changed the way I saw relationships.

To me, most guys were simply another problem waiting to happen.

The only men I trusted were the brothers in my fellowship.

At least...

I thought I could trust them.

I was eventually made the welfare coordinator of my unit.

I was so happy.

I saw it as a privilege to serve.

But there was something I didn't understand at the time.

Was I born again?

No.

Was I a Christian?

Yes.

I went to church.

I sang in the choir.

I worked in the fellowship.

I carried out church duties.

But deep down, I didn't really know God.

I was a church worker.

I wasn't yet a believer with a genuine relationship with Him.

I didn't know the difference then.

I thought being busy in church automatically meant I was close to God.

---

Academics remained my priority.

Whenever I wasn't in class, I was usually in the library.

I read.

I studied.

I took notes.

I refused to repeat the mistakes I had made in secondary school.

Then, before I knew it, examinations arrived.

I studied like there was no tomorrow.

When the results were released, I stared at them in disbelief.

First Class.

100 level.

First semester.

I had done it.

I smiled.

I thanked God.

For the first time, I felt like the old Christiana—the girl who had dreams before Dele came into her life.

---

The holiday came.

I returned home.

Mum and Dad were so happy to see me.

I had missed them too.

With the little money I had left, I bought gifts for them.

I bought something for John too.

Their happiness made me happy.

During the holiday, I returned to my violin.

I played at different events.

People invited me.

I got paid.

Things were finally beginning to look good.

I had survived the heartbreak.

I had survived the disappointment.

I was rebuilding my life.

Then the holiday ended.

Second semester began.

People always said second semester felt longer than the first.

I didn't know why.

But I was ready.

Or at least, I thought I was.

---

One afternoon, during one of our choir rehearsals, I noticed something.

Someone was missing.

I looked around.

"Where is Bro Joshua?"

Nobody seemed to know.

As the welfare coordinator, it was part of my responsibility to check on members who were absent.

I picked up my phone.

Then I stopped.

Suddenly I felt I should go and check on him myself.

I didn't know it then...

But that simple decision was about to change my life.

To be continued...

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