A New Beginning

Ada stood at the entrance of Jabi Motor Park in Abuja, holding her small Ghana-must-go bag tightly to her chest. The sun was hot, the noise was loud, and everybody seemed to be rushing somewhere. She had left Lagos that morning with only two bags, a little money, and a broken heart. "Madam, taxi? Madam, where you dey go?" a driver shouted. Ada shook her head. She was not ready to be cheated on her first day in Abuja. Three months ago, her life had been perfect. She had a job she loved, a fiance she trusted, and a small flat in Lekki. Then in one week, everything collapsed. She caught her fiance, Tunde, in bed with her best friend. The next day, her company sacked her because Tunde had lied against her to her boss. She cried for days. Then her mother called her and said, "My daughter, don't let one man kill your future. Start again. Go to Abuja and start again." So here she was. Ada took a deep breath and checked the address on her phone. She had gotten a small room in Gwarinpa from an agent online. She prayed it was real and not a scam. She entered a taxi and said, "Gwarinpa, please." As the taxi moved, Abuja looked beautiful to her. Wide roads. Clean streets. Tall buildings. It felt different from Lagos. It felt like peace. But her peace did not last long. When she got to Gwarinpa, the agent was not picking his calls. Ada stood under the sun for almost one hour, sweating, tired, and hungry. Her bag was heavy. Her phone battery was at 5%. "This cannot be happening to me again," she whispered, fighting back tears. Just then, a black Range Rover stopped beside her. A man came down. He was tall, handsome, and dressed in a clean white shirt and black trousers. He looked rich, but his eyes looked tired. Very tired. Like a man who had also lost something. "Are you okay?" he asked in a deep, calm voice. Ada quickly wiped her tears. "Yes, I'm fine. Thank you." "You don't look fine," he said. "You have been standing here for a while. Are you waiting for someone?" Ada hesitated. She did not know this man. In Lagos, her mother had warned her not to talk to strangers. But something about his face made her feel safe. "I'm waiting for the agent who gave me this room," she said, showing him the address. "He is not picking his calls." The man looked at the address and frowned. "This agent is a fraud. This address does not exist. I know this area very well." Ada's heart sank. "What? I already paid him fifty thousand naira." The man sighed. "I'm sorry. Many people have been scammed by him." Ada felt like the ground was opening under her feet. No house. No money. No one to call in Abuja. She had nowhere to sleep that night. She sat down on her bag and started crying quietly. The man stood there for a moment, then he said softly, "Come. You cannot sleep on the road. I will help you find a place for tonight." Ada looked up at him. "Why are you helping me? You don't even know me." He gave a small sad smile. "Because someone once helped me when I had nothing. My name is Daniel." "Ada," she whispered. "My name is Ada." "Okay, Ada," Daniel said, carrying her heavy bag as if it was nothing. "Let's go. My driver will take us to a safe hotel. Tomorrow, we will find you a real house." As Ada followed him to his car, she did not know that this man was Daniel Okafor, the CEO of one of the biggest companies in Abuja. She did not know that he was also running away from his own painful past. She only knew one thing. For the first time in three months, she felt a little hope. Maybe Abuja was truly going to be her new beginning.