The day everything changed began like any other day.
I was sitting quietly, thinking about my life and wondering what the future had in store for me when he called to tell me he was on his way to see me.
I smiled when I heard his voice.
There was something comforting about knowing he was coming. At that point in my life, I wasn't working, and I often felt like I was standing still while everyone around me was moving forward.
But that day, something unexpected happened.
On his way to my place, he ran into our former JHS head teacher.
At first, they exchanged the usual greetings and asked about each other's lives. Then the conversation took an unexpected turn.
Our former head teacher asked what he was currently doing.
He explained his situation.
The head teacher looked at him for a moment before saying something that would later become one of the most important opportunities of his life.
"You should come and teach here."
He couldn't believe it.
The school needed someone, and because the head teacher already knew him, he was willing to give him the opportunity.
When he arrived and told me the news, I couldn't hide my happiness.
"You're going back to our old school?" I asked.
He nodded, smiling.
"I'm going to teach there."
I hugged him.
I didn't care that I wasn't working. I didn't care that I had nothing impressive to offer him at that moment.
I was simply happy that something good had finally come his way.
That night, we talked about the opportunity for hours.
He was excited, but I could also see the fear in his eyes.
"What if I don't do well?" he asked.
"You will," I told him confidently. "You already know that school. And you know how students think."
He laughed.
"You make everything sound easy."
"Because I believe in you."
Those words were simple, but I meant every one of them.
Soon, he started teaching at our former school.
Watching him leave for work every morning made me proud.
Even though I wasn't working myself, I wanted to contribute somehow.
I didn't want to just sit at home and watch him struggle.
Then an idea came to me.
If I couldn't find a job, perhaps I could create something of my own.
I started making snacks.
At first, I made only a few.
I packaged them carefully and gave them to him to sell to his students.
"Take these with you tomorrow," I told him.
He looked at the bag.
"You made all these?"
"Yes."
"And you expect me to sell them?"
"Of course."
He smiled.
"Okay. I'll try."
But I didn't stop at the snacks.
I always added food for him too.
I knew teaching could be exhausting, and I didn't want him spending the little money he had on food every day.
So whenever I prepared the snacks, I made sure there was something inside his bag that he could eat.
It became our little routine.
Every morning, I prepared the food.
Every morning, he carried it to school.
And slowly, the snack business began to grow.
Students started buying from him.
He would return home and tell me how quickly everything had sold.
Sometimes I would laugh when he told me that certain students had already started waiting for him.
For the first time in a long while, I felt useful.
I felt like I was building something.
It wasn't much.
But it was ours.
And I believed it could become something bigger.
I didn't know that someone was already watching.
Someone who would soon decide that what we were doing had to stop.