MONIFE

Dreams that didn't die

MONIFE

Chapter Twelve

The calendar on the wall still read June, but to me, it felt like a new year.

Life had not become perfect. No, not at all. But it was finally moving. My routine no longer revolved around hiding or healing. It began to include hope. Whispers of old dreams. Gentle nudges to step out again.

Grace noticed it first.

“You’re smiling more,” she said one morning as she fed Ayomide mashed pawpaw.

“That means something inside you is waking up.”

“I think I’m ready,” I said.

She looked at me. “Ready for what?”

“To finish what I started.”

I dusted off my folder from the bottom drawer of my old wooden table. Inside it were crumpled notes, study materials, an application form I once filled out halfway, and photos from my school days back when my eyes still danced with ambition.

Nursing.

That was the plan before my world flipped.

Now it was time to find out if that plan still had room for me.

Grace helped me prepare. Dayo offered to babysit on the days I needed to be out. He even paid for the refresher tutorials I enrolled in.

“I’m not doing this because I feel guilty,” he told me one evening as he handed over the cash. “I’m doing it because I believe in who you are. Not just as Ayomide’s mum, but as you.”

That touched something deep in me, though I didn’t show it.

There were days I cried. Days I wanted to give up. Days I looked at girls younger than me in fresh white uniforms and felt shame rise in my throat.

But Ayomide’s laughter pulled me back.

He didn’t care how long it took me to get there. He just needed to see me moving.

* * * *

Weeks passed. I wrote tests, attended classes, met with mentors, and walked miles that tested my strength.

And then, one afternoon, I got the call.

“Monife Adedoyin?”

“Yes?”

“We’re pleased to inform you that you’ve been accepted into the Continuing School of Nursing program. Your orientation begins next month.”

I stood still.

My knees buckled. Grace caught me before I fell.

“You did it,” she whispered.

I didn’t reply. I was crying too hard.

Later that evening, I sat alone with Ayomide. He pulled my lanyard ID from my pocket and chewed on it like a trophy.

“This is just the beginning, my love,” I whispered, kissing his forehead.

“Your mama’s coming back.”

To Be Continued…