Cynthia's Predicament
Before dinner, our neighbor, Mrs. Bosco, came over to warmly welcome us.
“You all have grown so big and beautiful!” she exclaimed as she hugged us tightly
“Thank you, Mama. How are you doing?”I asked even when I knew she was going through a lot, as it was evident in her weary eyes. Yet, I needed to ask, to show my concern.
“I'm fine, my dears. All is well with me”. she replied with a smile.
“Mama how about Cynthia? How is she coping?” my sister inquired. We were eager to see Cynthia, her granddaughter, knowing she had faced many challenges in life recently.
Mrs. Bosco paused for a moment and then responded, “Hmmm, Cynthia is at home. I'll let her know you girls are here.”
“Please stay a little longer”. My grandma called out as she turned to leave.
“My children have brought something”. Said grandma. She went inside and returned with one of the breads we had bought, expressing her gratitude for Mrs. Bosco's visit.
Mrs. Bosco was such a kind-hearted soul. She had been a wonderful neighbor to my grandparents for as long as I can remember. She faced a tragic loss when her daughter couldn't survive childbirth, leaving Cynthia in her care. Despite the challenges, Mrs. Bosco single-handedly raised Cynthia and ensured she received a good education.
Cynthia was exceptional among her peers. She was known as the most intelligent student in her school, and the villagers held her in high regard, using her as a role model for their children. After achieving straight A's in her WAEC exams, Cynthia's grandma sold her precious wrappers to fund her registration for the JAMB exams. And as always, Cynthia scored remarkably well on the JAMB exams and was offered a scholarship to study abroad.
But then, tragedy struck when misfortune came knocking at her door, and she welcomed it with open arms.
A few months after she received her scholarship letter, a young man named Caleb returned from Australia and caught Cynthia's attention. She began to hang out with the guy despite the warnings from her grandmother, my grandmother, and others who cared about her, Cynthia turned a blind eye to their advice. It was like water off a duck's back.
"Mama, you worry too much. Caleb and I are just friends,"
"I'll be leaving for my studies in a few months, and Caleb knows all about London. He's just helping me prepare for what's to come." Cynthia explained to her grandmother.
She continued her friendship with Caleb and dreamed of marrying him in the future.
"Caleb, we'll get married and raise our kids in London after our studies," she said, cherishing the light touches from Caleb.
“Of course. My love” replied Caleb.
However, a few weeks before Cynthia's departure, her scholarship board required her to undergo some tests. They needed to know her genotype, and blood group, and check for any health issues. Cynthia completed all the tests, and while the results were fine, there was a problem.
Doctor, is there any problem?" Cynthia's grandma asked anxiously after seeing the doctor’s countenance.
"Cynthia is two months pregnant," said the doctor.
Upon hearing the news, her knees weakened, her blood pressure went high and she lost consciousness.
Caleb initially rejected Cynthia, and only accepted responsibility for the pregnancy after being summoned by the village council. It didn't take long for Cynthia to realize she had been deceived. Caleb had never been to London as he claimed, instead, he had been deported from Australia due to his involvement with hard drugs. In the course of the current situation, he proved to be far from responsible, shouting and yelling whenever she needed his help.
As a result of her pregnancy, Cynthia's scholarship offer was forfeited, as it was one of the terms and conditions.
Help wasn’t coming from anywhere so she started selling water on the streets to support herself, her unborn baby, and her sick grandmother.
Cynthia, who was once a role model, became a case study. Parents warned their daughters to beware of deceitful men, using Cynthia's experience as an example. Even my Grandma shared the same advice with us, her granddaughters.
It was embarrassing any time Grandma brought up Cynthia’s case, and my younger sister always tried to justify Cynthia's actions, by saying she was just overwhelmed with the idea of studying abroad.
"You can't justify it, Jacinta," Grandma always snapped back.
"If you're offered a scholarship, you should be grateful and work hard to make your sponsors proud."
During the holiday, we had a heart-to-heart talk with Cynthia. She had lost all hope for her future.
"Just look at me. My dignity, my future, everything crumbled because of my foolishness. I can't even face my grandmother," Cynthia sobbed.
“Did you know that I was born out of wedlock? And that my supposed father rejected me, just like Caleb did to my baby? I repeated my mother's mistake despite all the warnings from Grandma”. She lamented and sobbed even more.
“But this isn't the end of the world for you, Cynthia," I reassured her. "You can rise again. You're smart and intelligent. Learn a trade to support yourself. As long as you're still alive, there's a chance to change your life."
"Don't give up, Cynthia" my younger sister said, her words brought tears to my eyes. I didn't want to cry, not when Cynthia was already in tears and my sister had joined her.
"You'll be okay, Cynthia," I reassured her.
Before we ended our conversation, her grandmother came out to join us, then finally she hugged her, the first time since she was
discovered pregnant.
We took turns holding her adorable baby boy, then returned home.
A few days later, our holiday came to an end and we had to travel back to our home.
Throughout the journey, my sister and I didn't say a word to each other. I think we were both deeply moved by Cynthia's situation. How could someone's life change so dramatically within a year? We never imagined Cynthia could become a victim of circumstances.
"Hmmm, God, please help them," sighed Jacinta as she stared at something outside the car window. I turned my head to see what had caught her attention and noticed a teenage girl, about 16 years old, with a big round protruding belly, probably carrying an unwanted pregnancy.
This is very touching indeed. Sometimes females forget that there are mostly on the receiving end.
I mostly see cases like this around me as well which is why there is a need for more awareness on sex education. I hope things turn out better for Cynthia.
Thank you for sharing.
Our teenage girls need to be enlightened about the harmful effects of unhealthy relationships. Especially those in the rural areas.
Thanks very much for stopping by.
I feel so sorry for Cynthia and the result of being disobedient can be really deadly. Everything that happened to her could have been prevented but things backfired. It's sad there are lots of girls in this situation and their dreams were cut short all of a sudden just because they think they were in control of life.
The cost of disobedience can be heavier than we thought.
God help us.
This story! I was reminded of all the unfortunate stories of this nature that our parents often used to scare us from having anything to do with the opposite sex. Then, we thought they were being paranoid and did not want us to enjoy our youth. But some of us who have experienced this firsthand realized our parents were right and they cared so much about the future we threw away on the foolishness of youthful infatuation. I hope Cynthia regains her confidence and make the best out of her situation.
Wise people learn from the experiences of others. Stories from our parents may be true or made up, but they aim to pass a useful message to us and we have to listen.
Cynthia is a smart person, how she fell into this temptation is what baffles me.
I hope so too. Thank you, friend.
You have been curated manually, keep up the good work!
Awww! Thank you so much.
I really appreciate your support 💝
This is really touching😢. Tears almost dropped from my eyes. Please is this a fiction or a true story?