Chapter 2
Kola didn't sleep well that night. The streets were quiet, but his mind was loud. He kept thinking about Amara's laugh, the way her eyes seemed to pierce right through him, and that faint worry in her smile. He wanted to tell her so many things, but words always felt too heavy, too late.
Morning came, and he forced himself out of bed. The town looked the same: dusty roads, peeling paint, and the smell of frying yam from the small food stalls. Nothing had changed—but he had. He felt restless, like something in him had shifted overnight.
At the market, he helped his mother unload the baskets of vegetables. Every transaction reminded him that life wasn't going to wait. Money was scarce, opportunities scarcer, and yet he had to keep moving. Every coin mattered, every little deal counted.
Amara appeared again, weaving through the crowd. She smiled when she saw him, but this time her eyes were serious. "Kola," she said, lowering her voice so no one would hear, "have you ever thought about leaving this place? Going somewhere… bigger?"
He paused. Leave? The idea had crossed his mind, but he had never spoken it out loud. Leaving meant risk, failure, uncertainty. It meant stepping into a world he wasn't sure he could survive. And yet… staying felt heavier now, like waiting alone for things that might never come.
"I think about it," he admitted finally. "But it's not easy."
Amara reached out, lightly touching his arm. "Nothing worth having ever is."
Her words lingered long after she walked away. Kola felt a spark of something he hadn't felt before—courage, maybe, or desperation. He realized he couldn't stay still forever. He had to choose: stay in comfort and wait, or risk everything for a chance at more.
That night, he sat by the window, staring at the streetlights blinking in the distance. He didn't know what tomorrow would bring, but he knew one thing: he could no longer pretend that waiting was enough. Something had to change—and soon.