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Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.
                   - Charles R. Swindoll

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Once Again! Mr Lawal had made another wrong decision.

I grumbled and scratched my head.

What made him believe that sending a twenty-year-old girl all alone to a new city was a good idea? And besides, I'd been caged in my aunt's house for so long that I am not used to a chaotic life!

I threw my head back and groaned. The loud noise echoed in my shop and I stomped my feet. "I don't know how I got this broke. I mean, the money was there and now, it isn't. It all just happened so fast," I mumbled.

I couldn't even explain how five hundred thousand naira disappeared from my account. Things are so expensive in this my country, Nigeria.

I let out a dry cough and sighed. My throat was begging for water and I lacked it. I didn't even have a penny on me. I'm sure no trader will be willing to sell to me on credit. Life was hard during this first few months of my freedom.

I knew that I got to Lagos with my account fat. I lodged a cheap hotel and rented a shop for my tailoring business. I also bought groceries, materials and all equipment needed for my business. That was how my money had disappeared. The question was where could I get money? It's meant to be my business but I hardly had sales in a day.

Normally, I would have loved to add the sale of eatable goods to my business but I lacked capital. I was broke. My purse and pockets were as dry as my throat at that moment. My gaze swept around my room and I wondered, "Is my shop cursed?"

I sew clothes and I also sell beautiful fabrics. Why was I still not having sales? I guess that moment of my life was rough and jinxed.

My thought was interrupted when a young lady walked into my shop. She scanned the place and nodded.

"Good afternoon ma!" I exclaimed and rose to my feet. I placed a plastic chair closeby and she sat down.

"Good afternoon!" she replied in a honeyed voice.

"Welcome to my shop! I have beautiful ankara textile materials! I also sew too," I divulged.

"Oh!" she said. "That's nice!"

"What can I do for you, ma?" I asked and rubbed my sweaty palms together. I adjusted in my wooden chair and my forehead creased.
Why does my chair suddenly feel uncomfortable?

"Hmm...."

"Yeah?"

"First, call me by my name and not ma!" she reprimanded and waggled her index finger at me.

"Um...okayyyy...." I trailed off.

"Call me Rita!"

"Rita?"

"Yes! Rita!"

"Nice to meet you, Rita. I'm Ifunanya," I rose and extended my hand to her for a handshake.

"Nice to meet you too!" she replied and accepted my hand in hers.

I returned to my chair and began to tap my finger on the desk before me.

"Can you sew a dress for me?"

"Of course! Why not? I'm a tailor after all!"

"Yeah but..."

I cut in, "Sorry! I mean to say that I am a fashion designer!"

She cocked a brow and I sent a toothy smile to her direction.

"Fashion designer?" she inquired.

"Yes! I'll show you my sketches. You can pick the kind of gown you want!" I rushed to my drawer and pulled out my sketchbook. I went to her and gently laid it on her thigh.

She nodded, clearly impressed by my zeal.

"I want a dress that stops here," she said and tapped her thigh.

"Mid-thigh?"

"Yes! I want it to be short!" she responded.

"Eerr....Okay!" I replied.

"Can you make it shorter?" she asked and stroked her jaw. "I think I want it to stop below my butt".

"Below your what?" I gasped.

She rose and touched few inches below her butt. "Here!"

"Oh..." I nodded, my eyes wide open. "How will you like the top of the dress to be?"

She smirked. "I want it sleeveless!"

"Huh?"

Wow! This dress will be too revealing. I don't know why some girls prefer to expose their skin.

A voice in my head replied Because unlike you, they had a normal childhood and have no scar.

For a moment, a pang of hurt and rejection engulfed me and my breath ceased.

"No sleeve! I want a v-neck that will expose my cleavage," she continued, unaware of my state.

            As always, I say
            No one cares!

"Oh! So I'll just be using small piece of the material?" I implored. My chest still hurt so I clenched my fists and stared with a forced smile.

"I think so," she chuckled. "Can you do ankara bag?"

"Yes!"

"Okay! Use the remaining material for that," she said and smiled.

"Do you want me to use any of your old bags?"

"Yes! I'll bring it tomorrow"

"Alright!"

"So...Let's talk about the price," Rita voiced and tilted her head to the side as she regarded me.

"Sure! But you will have to pay half now!" I responded.

I need that money to eat. My stomach is growling.

"Okay!" She nodded. We negotiated the price and she paid half of it. The moment she left the shop, I locked it and rush to an eatery.

This was the day I got to know Rita and she became my number one customer. A month later, things got tough for me and sadly, I left the hotel I had lodged. My money was due and I didn't have enough money to pay it. I moved into my shop and turned it to my mini-home at night.

One hot afternoon, I had sewn another dress for Rita. She came in and sat majestically on the chair.

"How is business?" she asked.

"Manageable!" I replied. "I have made my business card as you had instructed. Will you still help me to give it to your friends? Please tell them about my work. You can show off your dresses to them. I need customers".

"No wahala!" she chuckled. "I've told a friend already. She'll come with me next week to make an order".

"Sure! What kind of order?"

"I think she might want a long gown. I'm not sure though"

"No problem! Thank you so much, Rita"

"You're welcome"

A smile was on my face as I sew Rita's new dress, my fingers working its magic on the sewing machine.

"You live in your shop, right?" She asked out of the blue.

I froze.

"Right? You can tell me. I wish to help"

"Hmm..."

"Whenever I pass here in the night, sometimes I see light inside this shop. Are you the one always inside?"

I let out a bereaved sigh. "Yes!"

"Why?"

"I don't have an apartment"

"Why?"

My brows knitted. "Because money can't be plucked from a tree," I snapped.

"Calm down!" she exclaimed and rose her hand in surrender. "I just want to help. I am your friend".

I scrutinized Rita and she shrugged casually. "Why do you want to help me?" I asked. I trust no-one!

"You can stay at my flat. It's more conducive"

"Why do you want to help me?"

"That's because you are a good person"

"That's not enough reason to help someone"

"You have a kind heart"

"So?"

"If you wish, you can join my business. Maybe you can make money and rent your own flat," she replied.

I rose a brow. "What business is that?"

"When the time is right, I'll tell you," she replied with a smirk. "I just want to help you, dear!"

Don't call me 'dear' because I know that I am not dear to you.

"Don't worry! Thanks but no thank you," I responded, trying to keep my cool.

"Do you know the high rate of rape in this side of the area? I have lived here for years. The men here aren't scared to break a door open just to sleep with you. I am very sure about this. I am telling you this for your own safety," she divulged and rose to her feet.

"Thanks but I am fine here. My door is strong"

"But...."

"I am fine here," I insisted with a glare.

She cocked her brow and stared at me in shock.

I can't trust no man. If my aunt can maltreat me, then I should expect worse from strangers.

Our conversation ended with Rita angrily leaving my shop. I didn't care about that and put my attention on her dress.

That's if it can be called a dress!

She paid me well days after and I placed a limit to our communication. A new month rolled by and the rainy season came with a strong force. Unfortunately, my area turned into a pool in a twinkle of an eye. On a rainy night, you might love lying on your bed– if you have one, listening to the rain patter on the roof but when it floods your place, it's nothing to smile about. I was frustrated the next morning after a downpour. As I filled buckets with water in my shop, my blood boiled.

I am annoyed that nature is also against me.

I hissed when I see one of my threads drowning into the water. It incensed me the more knowing that I couldn't save some of my materials. I guess I need to dry them under the sun.

That's if the cloud doesn't bully the golden orb above us.

The water kept sneaking into my shop and the mosquitoes chose my shop for their hideout. I tried my best to fight their domination but the mosquitoes were stronger than I can imagine. They didn't come in ten. They came in thousands. I resisted for the first two weeks but I found myself in Rita's house after I was almost raped by a drunkard.

How lovely is my life?

I woke up one rainy day at Rita's house. I did recall moving in. I sat down on her little wooden stool and my gaze swept around the small room I was to share with her.

"You can sleep at that side of the floor," she said with her usual smile that kept frustrating me. "Sorry darling. I know my apartment is small".

Small room! No kitchen! No bathroom! Can such a place be called an apartment?

I sighed and forced a smile on my face. "Thanks"

"You're welcome," she replied. "Be careful. There are rats here"

"Wow" I said sarcastically.

I need a plan to get my own apartment. You know what? I need to find happiness and....money. Maybe I can heal faster from my past with it. My low esteem needs to be reversed to high esteem. I want to find happiness in myself.

Goodbye to my past!

And that's how that year ended with me saying goodbye to a weakling and hello to a fighter.

A/N: Are you having fun in this book? Tell me! Thanks for reading. How do you feel?