Poverty can make someone a liar

I had never been happy with my life since I married. Women who are poor and have no children do not know the grace they carry. We married each other when we had no future. I could no longer tolerate the embarrassment of that kind of love, so I told my husband to let us get a divorce. People say love is about caring, but this kind of caring requires solving problems. The things we needed to solve our problems were things we did not have, and that was money. That was how I ended up living alone in Lekki, Lagos, leaving my daughter to stay with her father. Then I started living my life as a young woman and met a friend called Jenny. This was my first time having a best friend. I met her at a mall. I was holding a bag I could not afford to pay for while complaining about it. She grabbed it and asked, "Do you like it?" I said, "Don't mind me. I like it, but I can't afford it. Maybe next time." Then Jenny bought the bag for me. I was so happy. We talked for a while and exchanged contact information. When I got home, I checked myself in the mirror with the bag, took a picture, and posted it on my WhatsApp status. My ex-husband saw it and sent me a message saying, "Wow, I can see you're enjoying your life now. Maybe I was the problem. Nice bag." I was speechless when I read that message, and I went straight to bed. Jenny texted me, asking me to go out with her, and we did. We went to four places that day. First of all, we went to watch football. Jenny said she liked watching football because she had a crush on Ronaldo. I laughed, and she asked me who my celebrity crush was. I said I had never had one, and she told me, "What a boring life!" We also went to a restaurant, where we discussed ourselves properly. I told her, "I hurried to marry a guy who loved me but had nothing to offer, and I loved him too. I thought love would bring blessings to us, but no, my thoughts were wrong. Love was blind." Jenny said, "Love is not blind to me. You meet what you choose and desire. For me, physical attraction matters when I'm about to date a guy. You like what you see, and that's why you date him." I said, "Yes, and through my foolishness, I didn't wait until I had made something of myself. I just rushed into marriage without knowing that it would be the hardest time of my life. Poverty really dwelled with me, and I no longer knew how to enjoy life. Things are very expensive, and I now feel as if I no longer like myself." Jenny laughed and said, "It's because of your experience. Don't blame yourself or anyone else." We also went swimming, and she taught me how to swim. We went to a club to dance my sorrow away.

As our friendship continued to grow, Jenny taught me how to drive. She told me it was better for someone to have certain things in place before getting married. I just breathed in and out. Our friendship kept growing, and Jenny sometimes bought me foodstuffs and little dresses. Then, one day, my boss sacked me from my job, saying there were too many employees. I was not the only person he sacked that day. I had been spending my last salary while looking for another job. Then the money finished, and I stayed hungry for about four days. During my job search, I was able to get ₦4,000 from one of my uncles. When he told me he had sent the money, I quickly stood up and ran out. Then my best friend, Jenny, called me, crying. I asked her why she was crying, so I quickly took a bike to her place, leaving the food I had planned to buy for later. When I arrived, she told me she had been scammed and that all the money in her account had been stolen. She said she had not eaten anything since the previous day and asked me to lend her ₦2,000. I had to lie that I did not have any money with me, but I told her the truth about not having eaten for four days. She said, "Why is all this happening to us?" Later, when I got home, I had bought fufu and okra soup with goat meat. I sat on the floor and started eating, forgetting to lock the door. Then Jenny barged in with foodstuffs, saying, "As you left like this, my mother brought foodstuffs. That's why I hurried up here so we could cook together." She was shocked to see me eating and said, "I thought..." I quickly stood up and started explaining myself. "It's not what you think, Jenny. Someone just gave me this," I said, lying again. Jenny said, "We're not really best friends, though. Goodbye." Then she walked out. My poverty had made me look stingy, dishonest, and self-centred. I felt so bad, but I made sure I finished my food. Days later, I tried calling my friend, but she did not answer. I cried so hard. Then I got up and…