The Dreaded Thirty
Written by Sonia Okehie
Episode 2
Life has a strange way of proving its superiority over the will of man. You can have plans for your life to go in a certain direction but things might end up not going as you planned. The best way you can happily go through life with certainty that your future will turn out great is if you put your trust in God and believe that your life will go according to his will. Most times, what we earnestly desire isn’t God’s will for us and that’s why it’s always advisable that we seek God’s face in every plan and decision we make.
To be very honest, Sandra wasn’t wrong in anyway by desiring a beautiful life and setting a short deadline for her marital journey. The only sad thing she did was to allow herself get consumed by her desires without letting life play out itself naturally. Sandra felt she could control everything and that’s where she missed it.
On that fateful evening Sandra caught her boyfriend ‘Paul’ cheating, it felt as though the essence of her life was ripped out from her. The fact that she was hoping to be proposed to on her birthday by this same guy, made matters worse. She just stood there staring at him with lack of words to properly express how broken she was feeling.
Can you just pause for a minute and imagine how Sandra was feeling at that moment. How devastated it felt to see her dreams of getting married at age twenty four (24), crushing before her very eyes. The lack of remorse on Paul’s side increased her pain the more. The effrontery and audacity he had to ask Sandra why she didn’t call before coming over. It was clear he didn’t have much feeling for her as she initially thought. What a sad way to find out that you are unloved.
“Why did you do this Paul? I trusted you and this is what I get in return for my loyalty to you? How could you do a thing like this to me a night before my birthday and proposal? I don’t deserve this sort of embarrassment from a man I was hoping to spend the rest of my life with. Paul how could you?” Sandra furiously said as tears dripped from her eyes.
Asides from cheating and hurting Sandra’s feelings, Paul was confused about so many other things she said, so he voiced out his confusion. “I don’t understand you, when did I ever say I was going to propose to you on your birthday? I know I did wrong by cheating on you but the truth is that I’m tired of this relationship and don’t want to be with you anymore. You are too controlling and dominating; I can’t be with a lady that feels she can control my life just because I’m in love with her. I never said I will propose to you on your birthday, that’s all in your head and has nothing to do with me. You can’t force me into marrying you just because we are in a relationship. I can’t continue like this; I want my freedom and liberty back. I’m sorry it has to end this way but it’s Over between us. I wish you all the best in your future endeavors. Happy Birthday in advance!” he coldly said.
At that moment, Sandra was as good as dead because her whole body was numb. Her heart raced non-stop as her body shivered. Life meant absolutely nothing to her at that point because the only life she had programmed for herself in her mind had crumbled. Her mental safe haven was gone and she was left more vulnerable than she had ever been all her life.
Heartbreak is a minor word to quantify what Sandra was going through at that moment. She managed to walk down to the busy road to get a taxi home. Words failed her to go on further in any confrontation with Paul. She figured there was no need because the cheater wasn’t even remorseful.
The ride back home that day was one of the most traumatic moments of Sandra’s life. She cried her eyes out till the driver had to intervene in the matter. He tried to comfort the grieving passenger with nice words, even without knowing what the problem was. It was such a pitiful situation for the devastated young lady but this was just the beginning of her nightmare.
Immediately Sandra returned home, she ran into her room and burst into tears. Her cousin who was present went to find out what was happening. “What’s going on? You are scaring me Sandra; what happened in school?” Her cousin asked.
After crying for a while, Sandra began to narrate her ordeal and when she was done talking, her cousin patted her back and chipped in; “Sandra, I know how hurt you must be feeling right now but I just want to tell you that it isn’t the end of the world. Everything happens for a reason, so maybe he isn’t your husband” her cousin said.
With that being said, Sandra burst into more tears as she looked at her cousin. “I had it all figured out from day one; what happened? I want to get married and raise my kids early before age 30. I can’t be single on my 24th birthday. This isn’t the life I desire, I can’t take it. What did I do to deserve this? It’s so unfair” she soberly said.
When Sandra was done talking, her cousin shook her head and began to counsel her. “Why are you so hard on yourself? Why put so much pressure on yourself with no reason for doing so? Even if you stay single till age 30, 40 or even 50 before getting married… so what? I understand that you want to get married early and have your kids early, but also remember that you can’t control life and it’s unexpected outcome. You will be fine eventually and would meet your soulmate at the appointed time. Don’t be too hard on yourself dear, everything will be alright” her cousin said.
That word of advice somehow gave Sandra the strength she needed to pull though that day. It was one of the worst days of her life but life had to go on.
The next day was Sandra’s birthday party. She wasn’t in the celebration spirit at all and told none of her friends what happened between Paul and herself. Most things for the birthday celebration were already paid for before the party, so there was no going back. The party lasted for few hours before everyone retired home. Sandra cried bitterly after the party ended before leaving for her house.
Life soon moved on a year later. As at then, Sandra was now 25 years old and it scared her whenever she remembered that she wasn’t married yet. It was hard for the ‘Deadline Conscious’ lady but something happened one fateful day.
It happened that Sandra was in a hurry to get few supplies from a supermarket for work. In great haste, she hurridly picked the things she needed and was about heading to the cashier to pay.
Immediately Sandra turned in haste, she collided with a handsome gentleman and her items fell from the basket she was holding. They both hurriedly bent down to pick up the items that fell off, but were suddenly struck when their eyes locked together.
Before Sandra could utter any word to the gentleman that had succeeded in stealing her attention, he looked into her eyes and smiled faintly.
“Hi there! My name is Dominic” he said with a charming voice and Sandra was Blown Away!
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