The Dreaded Thirty
Written by Sonia Okehie
Episode 1
Have you ever had cold feets just at the thought of a deadline fast approaching without any sign of a miracle to set everything rightly the way you initially planned for it to be? Have you ever been faced with a situation that made you completely helpless? That moment when you realize you have absolutely no control over something that has the power to take your happiness away? I believe we can all relate to setting deadlines for one thing or the other in our lives, but definitely not as an ambitious and beautiful lady named ‘Sandra’.
Years back when Sandra was still a teenager that was full of life and highly ambitious, she always told herself and whoever cared to listen that she would get marriage at the age of 24 and have two kids before the age of thirty (30).
Right from that tender age in life, Sandra had her entire life planned out and was highly convinced on the outcome of her future. The ambitious teenager with a beautiful dream told anyone that cared to listen that she would get marriage at the age of 24 and have two kids before age 30.
Years passed and Sandra gradually grew into a beautiful woman. She gained admission into the university and fortunately for mama’s girl, her school was in the same state her family resided in. Due to that, she went to school from home and never had the chance to experience life as an independent adult.
Sandra was an outgoing and lively young lady and this made it extremely easy for her to have friends. Everyone in her department knew whom she was and this made her quite popular in school. Sandra’s beauty scored her alot of passes when it came to the opposite s*x, as so many guys chased her left, right, center. She was the dream of many guys and this attracted hate and jealousy from few ladies but Sandra cared less if anyone hated her.
With the rate at which men chased Sandra, one would swear that her dream to get married at the age of 24 was a done deal. I mean, all she would do is just choose from the flocks of men that wooed her and Viola! Her dream would instantly become a reality. Well, I wish that was the case for the ambitious damsel.
Year one passed, year two and year three passed in the university but Sandra was still having a hard time being in a stable relationship with one person. She was 23 years old at the time she was in her 3rd year in the university.
By that time, Sandra’s mum had already began to disturb and remind her that it was time to bring her Man home to meet the family; sadly, there wasn’t any ‘Man’ to bring home. Sandra usually felt ashamed whenever her mum, cousins or friends asked to meet her husband-to-be because in everyone’s mind, they thought she probably had a serious suitor by then.
Sandra couldn’t bring herself to tell her family and friends that she was having a hard time being in a relationship with any man. It’s hard to believe that a lady like Sandra that had so many men on her case was still very much Single. Like what could be the problem?
Apparently, Sandra always felt as though there were many fishes in the ocean, that’s why she could hardly tolerate any slack from any man. There was always something wrong in all her relationships and at this rate, one may begin to wonder if the men were truly the problem or herself.
Apparently, the reason why Sandra’s relationships failed was because she usually ran faster than her shadows. She wanted husband duties from mere boyfriends that were still getting to know her. The spec of men she truly wanted to get married to were the ones that ususally wanted to take things slow, while the spec of men she didn’t see herself getting married to were the ones that literally worshipped the ground she walked on.
As the days drew nearer to Sandra’s 24th birthday with no husband on sight yet, her feet began to grow cold. The thought of things not going the way she had planned all her life, made her extremely scared to her stomach.
For unknown reasons, Sandra was under so much pressure that no one had put on her. Due to this, she became a bit desperate in her search for a man that would put a ring on her finger before her 24th birthday.
One cool evening while Sandra was returning home from school with her friend, they got talking about random things and suddenly landed on Sandra’s topic. “Girl, are you sure your dreams would come to pass as you have always dreamed? What happens if you don’t get married next year or even at age 30. What then would you do” her friend casually asked.
Without hesitating, Sandra immediately attacked her friend. “God forbid! Priscilla please stop this! Who would say unmarried till age 30? Me? God forbid!.. Look, if you weren’t my long time friend, I would have called this friendship off this minute. I will get married next year…Period! If you are bad luck, then you better not bring your bad luck my way please. I will get married next year and have two kids before 30 years of age and no one can change my destiny” she furiously said.
On seeing that Sandra was now angry, her friend apologised for her causal statement. Despite still being angry, Sandra forgave her friend and they continued their journey home.
Days turned to weeks and weeks to months and gradually, the number of men that chased Sandra began to diminish. She was now in her final year in school as her 24th birthday approached slowly.
Sandra was in a relationship at the time and was convinced that her partner would pop the question on her birthday because the clues she gave him about wanting a ring was impossible not to notice.
Unknown to Sandra, the guy wasn’t into the relationship any longer. He waited for a better time to end the relationship but never got any chance till the night before Sandra turned 24. On the eve of her birthday, she was supposed to hang out with her boyfriend that night but he didn’t show up as planned.
In the bid to find out what was going on, Sandra called her man severally but he wasn’t picking up. Desperate to find out what was going on, she headed to his house that night but little did she know that her heart was about to be shattered.
When Sandra arrived at her man’s house, it was supposed to be a surprise visit but it ended in tears. When she entered his compound, she sensed a strange movement by a particular guy that lived at the down floor of the building. It seemed as though he ran to inform someone of something but she never knew he ran to alert her boyfriend of her presence.
Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough time for them to carry out their evil schemes because Sandra was already close to her boyfriend’s apartment. Before she could wrap her head around everything that was happening, a lady hurriedly walked out from her supposed boyfriend’s room with her hair looking a bit messy. Few seconds after the strange lady left the room, her boyfriend walked out looking shocked. “I thought we normally call each other before visiting?” He shamelessly said.
Still confused and shocked, Sandra looked into his eyes with tears in her eyes and gently muttered “Why?”.
Written by Sonia Okehie
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