It was on a beautiful Monday morning in the month of January 2014, the month had just begun, the weather was very fair and friendly, very suitable to go out and complete every task for the day. Kizibe had set out to the bank to complete her Bank Verification Number

BVN

process that had hindered her access to her bank account which had lingered for so long a time. She had been going to the bank to get resolution for a long time but to no avail. She finally completed the process successfully that day and left the bank for home feeling happy and fulfilled for the day. She sat quietly in the tuktuk she boarded, looking at the people on the streets going about their businesses for the day. She had taken a different route from the usual route she used to take back home that day, and that was the beginning of her sorrow and pain. That one decision to follow a different route home changed her entire life completely, it tampered with her destiny, disrupted her pace in life and left her where she is right now; sad, lonely, and without love in her life.

Kizibe sitting quietly in the tuktuk, looking through the door at the people buying and selling on the road, office workers going about their businesses, came in contact with him... Their eyes fell on each other, they stared at themselves for as long as they could still see each other as the tuktuk passed slowly. By the time he could recognize her and realized himself, she had passed. He waved and beckoned on her to stop just for a moment so they could talk. She refused and continued, she ignored his plea and asked the tuktuk driver not to stop. She got home feeling restless and disturbed. She could not stop thinking about him, the feelings of their brief romance during university school days in 2007 came rushing back like a rushing wind, the desire to see him and be in his arms again kept increasing, at the same time, the feelings of disappointment pressed on her mind. The thought of how he ignored all her calls and text messages requesting for financial assistance from him when she was in school disrupted the beautiful feelings and desire that filled her heart at that moment. It was a mixed feeling, somewhat bitter sweet feelings, what to do now? She paced up and down her room, contemplating whether she should have stopped and listened to what he had to say to her. But then she cautioned herself and waved the thoughts of him away, remembering how he had disappointed and abandoned her few years back while she was in school, when she really needed him to assist her with some pressing bills; he stopped taking her calls, neither did he return her calls; he disappeared into thin air until just that faithful day, or would she rather call it 'unfortunate day'. But it was not the same with him, he could not handle his thoughts and feelings, he looked for ways to reach her, all to no avail. Then he managed to find a way to get through to her elder sister called Monima who was his secondary school class mate. He didn't go directly to her, he sent an old acquaintance of Monima called Ere to get Kizibe's phone number, knowing that Monima may not oblige him because she was also not happy with him for some reasons best known to just the both of them, after all, they were close friends from high school through university. Ere got the phone number from Monima and passed it on to the one that became the source of her unending pain...

Inebimo was a good looking, well to do young man. He was 30years old when he officially got involved with Kizibe in 2014. He was a Christian by religion, born on the 8th of June 1984. He was from a family of 6, his parents and 4 sons of which he was the second son. He graduated with a good grade from one of the prestigious universities in Nigeria; the University of Benin, Edo State, Nigeria, West Africa. He worked in one of the most paid oil companies in the south south region of Nigeria called Shell Petroleum Company. He had recently gotten that job four months prior to when he met Kizibe. He was searching for a wife since according to his parents he had attained a level of success and achievement and so he should get married as soon as possible. According to him, the thought of marriage actually had not fully settled on his mind until he met Kizibe again. Yes, his parents wanted him to get a wife and settle down, but it was not one of his priorities at that time. But everything changed when he saw her again. His desire only was to have her and be hers...

Kizibe was a very beautiful young lady. She was 24years old when she had an official relationship with Inebimo in 2014. She was of the same local government with him but different community and tribe. She was born on June 25th 1990. She graduated from one of the prestigious universities in Nigeria, West Africa. She was a private secondary school teacher at that time with a very low income.

Kizibe had dreams of a better life and placement. All her life she had enjoyed luxury from her parents and the people in her life. She never struggled for anything, not even for love or friendship. Things fell into pleasant places for her, money came to her in free course. She was really blessed with the good things of life. She had well to do young men flocking around her all the time but she never led any of these men on, she either wanted you in her life or she tells you off immediately, she had people taking her bills almost all the time. She was self sufficient and independent. She was a very lively young lady, she loved to cook, sing and write poems. She was a very modest girl. She was so easy to love. She had recently repented and given her life to Christ in 2012 when she went for her National Youth Service Corp

NYSC

in Ekiti state, Nigeria at the NYSC 3weeks orientation campground.

The NYSC is a compulsory one year service by Nigerian youths under 30years of age, to serve our father land in Nigeria

. There, she joined the Nigerian Christian Corpers Fellowship

NCCF

where she was converted to Christianity. All her life she grew up in church, but she had not yet confessed Jesus Christ as her Lord and personal saviour. She was just a church goer who didn't have a personal relationship with God until the NYSC/NCCF experience. After the one year service, she returned back to her state Bayelsa to start working. She didn't get a good paying job so she settled for the teaching job that was just lying around, that was when she met Inebimo again. Before she met Inebimo, she was elected as the youth leader in her church. She took the things of God very seriously and was very committed to her calling, but then she fell... This fall came just when she said yes to Inebimo.

Inebimo had started calling Kizibe to see and talk with her about themselves after he got her number from Ere. Kizibe refused to see or have anything to do with him based on the previous disappointment she had with him. But Monima who was a former school mate and friend of Inebimo convinced her to just see him, talk and then make up her mind on whether or not she wanted to see him again. She asked for Kizibe to just give Inebimo a chance and hear from him. After much convincing by Monima and her other sisters, Kizibe agreed to see Inebimo this one time and for all, little did she know that it would not be the last time, that meeting him again would leave an everlasting scar in her life, a living scar, the scar of being a Single Mother...

Kizibe agreed to see Inebimo at the venue he had chosen. It was in his work camp. He worked in Shell Petroleum Company

a renowned oil and gas company in Nigeria and in other parts of the world

. After the day's job, Inebimo retired to his room where Kizibe had been waiting for him. He returned with varieties of food and fruits from the camp kitchen. They ate and drank together, he even gave her some to take back home which she really appreciated. He was so loving and sweet. He promised her that he had changed his ways and was now a better person, but it was all lies; he was still the same sly and wicked man. He promised her that he really wanted to marry her soon, that she should forgive him for the way he acted in the past. Inebimo was so attracted to Kizibe's beauty. She had grown into a beautiful curvy young lady; I mean it had been 7years since they last saw each other. He could not resist her, he went down on his knees and begged to marry her. He lovingly said to her on a bended knee"please marry me". It pleased her a lot to see him that way on his knees, with so much passion, longing and desire in his eyes. She blushed and turned away to avoid him seeing the joy on her face. She wanted him to do more, to profess his unconditional love to her. She wanted him to pleasure her with his words. Although she was moved by all the acts, she turned him down still. She refused his proposal at first, saying she needed to think and pray about it. Inebimo agreed and gave her sometime to make up her mind. Meanwhile, he kept calling Monima, requesting that she convinces Kizibe to agree to his proposal and marry him. He mounted pressure on Monima and promised her a lot of good things as long as she was able to convince Kizibe to marry him.

Due to all the pressures from her sisters, her mum and her friend, Kizibe succumbed, she gave in to their request and accepted the proposal. They did not even allow her to pray and think about it as she had requested from Inebimo. That was the genesis of her journey into single motherhood. A state where no woman would consciously desire for herself.

Kizibe got home from Inebimo's camp that night. She shared amongst her sisters and also gave to her parents the food Inebimo had given her. After all the discussions she had with her sisters, narrating the entire event/activities of the day. They were so happy and excited that a wedding was going to take place in the family very soon. They had already started talking about the wedding, planning the event, they chose the colors of the day, and discussed so many things. They laughed loudly and fined themselves for the upcoming wedding. They eventually all retired to their various rooms. Kizibe also left for her room. She went into the bathroom and took a warm bath, wore her nighty and stuck herself into her duvet. While on the bed, she started thinking things through again. She pondered on whether or not she should really accept Inebimo's marriage proposal. She considered so many things; things like how he abandoned her during their university school days; whether he may repeat the same behavior even now; had she known, she would have listened to her inner witness and refused his proposal. Had she done that, things would not have been the way they are now. She thought deeply of how they actually met and became friends back in then days.

It was in 2007, Kizibe had just graduated from high school at 17years. She was excited about going to the University. She chose a private school in Edo State, Nigeria. Her friends had given her update about the school's entrance exam. Her parents were also ready to send her away knowing it was for her education. She got ready, went to the interstate bus park, boarded a bus and left for Benin. Meanwhile, her elder sister Monima was already studying in the same state but in a different university. Monima was to receive Kizibe at the park in Benin, take her to her hostel, and then take her to the supposed university where she had to write an entrance exam the next day. That was the plan, but it got truncated. Kizibe had a very bad experience on her way. One that left her shattered and disturbed greatly; one that affected her ego and womanhood. This experience lasted for a very long time until healing came to her soul through the word of God. She came out of that trauma by the Grace of God. That experience brought herself and Inebimo together.

On reaching Benin, Edo State, Nigeria, Kizibe highlighted from the interstate bus, she had so much smiles on her face. She was amazed at the difference in language and even the soil color, yet we're all humans of one race and same creator. She stood at the junction called Ring Road. It was a very popular junction in Benin, Edo State, Nigeria. It was the first time of her traveling out of her own state all by herself. It was a different feeling entirely for her. However, it probably would have been best for her if she had not embarked on that journey; if she had chosen a different school from that one. That one journey changed her destiny and course of life.

It was a strange land, a different color of soil altogether. It was entirely different from what she had known or seen all her life. The color of the soil was red and it coloured foot wears

she actually did not like this part

. She stood by the road side, waiting to board an intrastate bus going to Uniben's school gate

Uniben is the short form of university of Benin

. It was rush hour

the close of business

; workers had closed from work and people were just scrambling for buses to go home. Kizibe was new to that, she could not struggle like the others did, so she just stood aside and waited for a free bus to come along where she'd get into the bus with ease and relax till she gets to the school gate. Wrong decision!. Had she known better, she would have struggled for a space in one of the buses as well. As a novis/first timer in the state, it was obvious for people to know that it was her first time in that state. Her attitude gave her away.

While standing and waiting for the bus, a man with a motorbike drove up to her and asked her which way she wanted to go. She became very excited with the fact that a free bike came along to take her home without her struggling for space or to get it. She told him she was going to Uniben main gate as instructed by her elder sister Monima. The bike man quickly said he knew the place and charged her #100; an amount that was not nearly half way the payment for the distance. She was happy to know that her fare to her sister's house was very little, she would save a little more money. She quickly hopped on the bike and they moved. To her, he was taking her to her destination, little did she know that he was taking her to his own destination.