She stared at her reflection in the mirror before her. She hardly recognized herself. The scars on her face were a constant reminder of what she had been through in the last eighteen months. She had been involved in a fatal motor accident which had claimed the lives of everyone except hers. Her survival remained a mystery to the doctors and according to them, it was medically impossible. After a series of surgeries, the doctors had made an attempt to give her a face.
At forty-two, she was still unmarried and she wondered if any man would desire her now with the visible scars on her face. The shrill tone of her mobile phone jolted her out of her deep thoughts. She tapped the bluetooth device attached to her left ear.
“Ronke speaking. How may I help you?”
She listened intently to the person on the other end as she nodded her head.
“Thank you very much, sir. I appreciate your patronage.” She said as she ended the call.
Her jewellery business was doing well and she lacked nothing. She had bought a house for herself and her parents from the proceeds of her business. She owned a block of twelve apartments which had been fully occupied by tenants. She also had investments in landed properties.
Her mind wandered to her closest friends and she sighed. Amaka had been married for five years with two beautiful kids. Within those five years, she had unsuccessfully searched for a job. She had tried her hands on various businesses but each one failed after six months. Amaka’s daily prayer to God was for a job.
Aisha was yet to have a child. Within ten years of marriage, she had had six miscarriages. Amaka and Ronke were always by her side to give her a shoulder to cry on. Even though she had a loving husband who told her incessantly that he married her for love and companionship and not for children; that did not stop Aisha from getting worried about her inability to carry a child to term. Her daily prayer to God was for a child.
Ronke took a deep breath as her grandmother’s words resonated within her. “Máa fi ago aláago sárè.” (Don’t run with another’s time). Each one of them had their own race ahead of them. She had every reason to be thankful. This time last year, she would have been dead and long buried. She was however alive and had found fulfillment in putting smiles on the faces of children who needed corrective surgery through her donations to a foundation which supported the cause.
She took one last look at herself in the mirror and smiled. She picked up her handbag from the dresser as she walked out of her house. It was another day and she was going forth to conquer the world.
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