Member-only story
Yomi sat on the bench in Freedom Park. She held the cup of Fanta orange in her hand. She watched the cars moving in traffic, and also laced with the conversation in the background at the park. She adjusted the pink scarf, making it feel snug around her head.
Everyone knew Lagos was the city of big dreams. Everyone came to Lagos to be successful, but for her everything was a nightmare. She sat beside the man she had been chatting with for weeks on the internet.
“I feel like I have fooled everyone, they think I am successful,” she told him. Theo, a man in his early forties, sat beside her listening. He was not going to judge her. Everyone had their story and what they had been through.
“I moved from Ibadan about three years ago. I told my family I landed a job in an oil and gas company. They were elated. They invited close friends and family and had a small cook out. I felt like a celebrity, the attention was on me.
Yomi took a sip from her cup of Fanta. “I lied, there was no job, I had gone to so many interviews but never got the job, most people I had hopes of getting help from disappointed me. How could I tell my folks that nothing good was coming out from all the money they had spent on me?”
Theo nodded thoughtfully. “So what happened in Lagos?”
