C0 Prologue

Eight Years Ago!

Esosa's POV

After the fire outbreak that took away all that my dad had built in his Traveling agency Organization, life became a living hell for my family.

Two weeks after the fire outbreak, one fateful Sunday afternoon, there was a heavy rainstorm that came with windstorms and it destroyed few homes with that of my family house included. When my family came back from church service, we saw our collapsed one story building and this got us more devastated.

Not even a pin of all our property was saved. I began doubting if all my beautiful dreams of becoming one of the world richest Forbes would come to reality. I'd always wanted to be so wealthy that I'll explore the world, buy beautiful designer bags, shoes, clothes and do more fun stuffs. In fact I was already practicing it as a teenager, most times I'll get my dad credit card and go do some shopping, flex out with my friends and buy them whatever they wanted. But now, I won't be able to do all those things, all my beautiful expensive clothes and shoes are gone.

My family is starting from the scratch again, the worst part is we didn't have a place to stay yet. After my dad had a talk with one of his friends, he accepted for us to moved into his room and parlor self-contain apartment. My dad began searching for jobs all over, even meeting those he has once helped when he was wealthy to return his favor but non of them could offer my dad anything not even money to rent a place.

Just few weeks after we moved in with my dad's friend, he started acting all strange with us and began maltreating us. We were always starving but working more for him. He was always insulting us of how wretched we now are. Meanwhile this was the same man that my dad sponsored during his University days and even got him the job he's into now.

The worst he now did was to make advances to me who was just 15years old and a virgin. He promised to treat my parents right and even sponsor me to school if I accept to sex him. I was so hurt, I've never had a boyfriend in my life, how do I just become someone's sex doll? The pressure became too much so I had to tell my parents and my dad was really mad at him, it resulted to a fight and he sent us out of his house.

We didn't have anywhere else to go in the city of Enugu, so we were forced to return back to the village in Edo state to stay with my dad's mum, in their family house. My grandma received us well and we tried to adjust to the change. Three months after we moved in to my grandma's house, she died of stroke. We were really pained by her death, just when I started liking her then she died.

Before she died, she gave my dad her land farm to work on so he could provide us with food. Wilson my elder brother who was 18years old and I started farming with my dad. Farming work wasn't easy, every 5.30am we're already out of the house with my dad to the farm to weed grasses and also fetch some firewood while coming back.

My dad wicked uncles started struggling my grandma's land from my and wanted to take charge of it. How do we feed if they should collect this land from my dad? Where do we harvest cassava, yam, vegetables, and fruits to sell if they eventually collect it? Those are the questions I keep asking myself. After so much struggle with my uncles, I advised my dad to let the land go because this village relatives could be so mean and before you know it they might go extra miles and either kill my dad or any one of us in the family. My dad listened and he let go of the land. It was another beginning of struggles again.

My dad started hunting for menial jobs here and there just to put food on the table and also train us to finish our education. It wasn't an easy one. Meanwhile my high school final year exams were at the corner.

Few months later, I wrote my high school final year exams (WAEC) and it was a relief for me because I'm now ready to chase after my dreams and I wasn't planning on doing that in this village. I decided to talk my father of my decision one evening.

"Dad I have something to tell you" I said to my dad as we both sat outside the front yard of my grandma compound.

"Please Esosa, don't tell me you're pregnant because I can't deal with it" my dad replied looking horrified. I stared at him with wide eyes at his silly thoughts.

"Dad! How can you even think of that when you know very well I haven't ever introduced any guy to you as my boyfriend and neither do I have a secret boyfriend you don't know of! So how on Earth do I get pregnant when I don't have a man in my life?" I questioned exasperatingly.

"Ahh, I'm sorry my dear for thinking such" he sighs in relief and flashed me a smile. "Now tell me why you called to see me" he added. I look at him and shook my head before I gave a deep breath and said what I had in mind.

"Dad? I can’t sit here and continue to watch us die in suffering, I have to do something." My dad looked at me weirdly and smiled at my words.

" You’re a female, my child, there’s nothing you can do. If it was your brother telling me this perhaps I'd understand and let him fix it as a man but not you. Let’s just keeping hoping God will change our life to better someday" my dad replied me and my brows furrowed at him.

"I don’t believe in that ‘someday aisle’ of a thing, dad. I’m not ready to settle for less, I want to explore the world dad, I have bigger dreams I need to achieve and I know deep in my heart that here is not the right place to make those dreams come true" I insisted

"What do you want to do, Esosa?" He asked me.

"I want to leave this town and go hustle, I want to give you all the life you deserve. Please dad, I want to leave this town to Lagos" I reasoned. My dad nostrils flares up in anger.

"What? No way! I can’t let you do that. You want to go do prostitution just so you can feed us? I disagree totally with you! You’re going nowhere, if you’re not comfortable with the life I’m giving you as a father then you can go to hell!" He yells at me and stood up and left to his room while I sat down there dumbfounded.

It didn't take longer for those tears to stream down my cheeks. For days I felt sad thinking of what to do to make my dad to accept my decision.

Two weeks later I finally came up with a deal to make my dad accept my proposal. The deal was that if my high school final exams result(WAEC) came out and I excel greatly then my dad will have no choice than to accept the proposal but if I didn't pass up to seven subjects I've written then I'll end up not going to another city. To my surprise when I told my dad the deal he accepted it.

Three weeks later my result came out and I passed all the nine subjects I had written. I was so excited that I can finally start chasing my dreams. My family was also proud of me when they saw my excellent result.

My dad kept to his promise and gave me all the money he had saved with the additional hundred thousand naira he had borrowed from the new firm he started working with just for me his only daughter to move from Enugu to Lagos.

Fortunately, the money was enough for me to rent a one room apartment when I got to Lagos to avoid squatting with someone. That was the beginning of my new life, I had to hustle my way out of poverty despite being a young female teenager. I sat in my one apartment thinking how do I start this journey I've embarked on my own?

I started as a house cleaner, then to a mechanic, then to a bricklayer. I started sending the little money home that I was being paid on. I was more concerned of my brother going to school so I started sponsoring his University with all the jobs I was doing. I was doing seven different jobs in a day. It wasn't what I planned out my life to be but I have to stick with this.