The Girl Who Refused to Break

Episode 3&4

Episode 3

Dreams On Hold

After graduating from high school, Didi believed life would finally become easier. She thought the suffering would reduce little by little. Deep inside her heart, she already imagined herself entering the university with beautiful clothes and a school bag hanging proudly on her shoulder.

But reality had another plan for her.

Two weeks after graduation, their landlord came knocking angrily on their rusty door.

“Mama Didi!” he shouted. “I have been patient enough. Pay my rent or leave this house!”

Mama apologized repeatedly, but the man refused to listen.

“You people always bring stories every month,” he said before walking away angrily.

Didi sat quietly in one corner of the room. She hated seeing her mother beg.

That night, rain leaked heavily through the roof again. The room smelled of wet clothes and old walls. Mama sat on the floor calculating money with trembling hands.

Didi already knew the answer before asking.

“Mama… what about university admission?”

Mama stopped counting immediately.

The silence in the room felt painful.

“My daughter,” Mama said softly, “I don’t think I can afford it now.”

Didi forced herself to smile even though her heart was breaking.

“It’s okay.”

But it was not okay.

After years of suffering and sleepless nights, her dream was slipping away again.

The next morning, Didi walked to Amaka’s house. Unlike their own area, Amaka’s street looked peaceful and organized. Children played freely outside while generators hummed from different compounds.

Amaka opened the gate happily.

“Didi!” she screamed excitedly. “Guess what?”

Didi smiled weakly. “What?”

“I got admission!”

Didi froze for a second before forcing another smile.

“Seriously?”

“Yes! University of Lagos!”

Amaka jumped around happily while showing her the admission letter.

“They even gave me hostel space!”

“That’s good,” Didi replied quietly.

Amaka suddenly noticed the sadness hiding behind Didi’s smile.

“What happened?”

“Nothing.”

“Didi.”

She sighed deeply before speaking.

“Mama cannot afford my admission.”

Amaka’s excitement disappeared immediately.

“Oh my God…”

“She tried,” Didi said quickly. “I know she tried.”

Amaka held her hand gently. “You’ll still go someday.”

Didi nodded, but she no longer believed those words.

As days passed, Didi watched her mates prepare for university. Social media became filled with pictures of school shopping, admission letters, and celebration posts.

Meanwhile, she stayed at home helping her mother roast corn under the hot sun.

Sometimes customers insulted them over small change. Sometimes they returned home with almost nothing after sitting by the roadside the whole day.

One afternoon, while arranging corn by the roadside, Didi saw two girls from her former school passing by.

“Isn’t that Didi?” one whispered.

“The girl that was always first in class?”

“What is she doing here?”

The girls laughed quietly before walking away.

Didi pretended not to hear them, but their words pierced deeply into her heart.

That night, she cried silently while everyone slept.

For the first time in years, she felt completely lost.

Maybe life was not meant to be fair for people like her.

Episode 4

A Different Path

Weeks turned into months.

Amaka had already resumed at the university. She called Didi almost every evening, always sounding excited.

“Campus life is so beautiful!” Amaka said during one of their calls. “You’ll love it here.”

Didi smiled while listening.

“How are your roommates?”

“Crazy but funny,” Amaka laughed. “One girl can talk from morning till night.”

For a moment, Didi forgot her own problems while listening to her friend’s stories.

But after every call ended, reality returned.

One hot afternoon, Mama fainted while selling corn by the roadside.

“Mama!” Didi screamed as people rushed toward them.

Some women nearby helped carry her into the shade.

“She’s too weak,” one woman said. “This woman is suffering too much.”

Didi’s hands shook with fear.

After some minutes, Mama finally opened her eyes weakly.

“I’m fine,” she whispered.

“No, Mama, you are not fine!”

That evening, Didi made a difficult decision.

“Mama,” she said carefully, “I want to find work.”

Mama frowned immediately. “Work?”

“Yes.”

“You should focus on your education.”

“What education?” Didi asked painfully. “We can’t even afford food sometimes.”

Mama became quiet.

“I cannot continue watching you suffer alone,” Didi continued. “I’m not a child anymore.”

The next morning, Didi began searching for small jobs around town.

She entered different shops asking if they needed workers, but most people rejected her immediately.

“No vacancy.”

“You don’t have experience.”

“We need someone older.”

After hours of trekking under the hot sun, her legs already hurt badly.

Finally, one woman selling provisions called her back.

“You can help me arrange goods and attend to customers,” the woman said. “But the salary is small.”

Didi almost cried from relief.

“I’ll do it.”

The work was stressful. She stood for long hours every day attending to rude customers and carrying heavy cartons.

But at least she earned something.

At night, she usually returned home exhausted while Mama massaged her legs gently.

“You’re suffering because of me,” Mama said one evening with tears in her eyes.

Didi shook her head quickly.

“No, Mama. We are fighting together.”

Meanwhile, Amaka’s life at the university continued improving. She made new friends, attended lectures, and experienced a completely different world.

Sometimes Didi felt happy for her friend.

Sometimes she felt jealous too.

One night, after returning from work, Didi opened social media and saw Amaka’s new pictures in her university shirt.

Thousands of students surrounded her smiling happily.

Didi stared at the screen quietly.

“That could have been me,” she whispered painfully.

Tears rolled down her face slowly.

But little did Didi know…

Life was about to introduce her to a new opportunity.

An opportunity that would either change her life forever…

Or destroy the little peace she had left.