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A short story on the challenges of single, unemployed and christian young graduate

HANDWRITING ON THE WALL
She stared at the annoying wall clock. It was 8:00am and yet another day of being single… and jobless. She rubbed her eyes rapidly, and thought ‘why can’t time just pause and wait for me to catch up on life’. She dreaded another day of complaints from her mother about her single status and snide comments from Aunt Ejiro about her joblessness.
She wondered when her aunt would finally move back to her home to her wife beater of a husband. The very air around the woman was suffocating…and imposing. Preye dragged herself off the bed and knelt down to pray.
‘Oh Lord, if you don’t want my life to be more miserable than it already is, please grant me a job and a husband ‘she said with a cringe. She had never been this blunt in her prayers, she was used to going through the motions but today God knows she’s tired of pretending. Situation calls for such honest outpouring. ‘And make Aunt Ejiro disappear’ she was about to add when she heard a loud bang on the door.
‘You this girl, this is what you know how to do sleep, sleep and more sleep’ Aunt Ejiro yelled from behind the door. ‘You don’t have a day job… or even a night one, yet na you sleep pass’.
Preye sighed and waited for her to go so she could continue her devotion. This time she would not hesitate to ask that her aunt disappears. But Aunt Ejiro kept banging on the door.
‘Are you sure this girl is still alive?’ she heard her say.
‘Maybe she’s praying’ A voice that sounded like her mother’s replied. Then next she heard shuffling of feet and knew they were leaving.
She said her thanks and stood up. She would ask for Aunt Ejiro’s disappearance another day.
Preye was her mother’s only child in a family where the father was seldom at home and then left after several weeks interval of absence. She learnt later that he has another family elsewhere… much larger than theirs, four children or so. Then she understood his reason for leaving, because she had heard severally accuse her mother of infertility. She was more happy than sad when he left, but she knew her never recovered from the pain. Preye was a graduate of Biochemistry from the federal university in her state and in her late twenties. She left school not knowing what she wanted to do. Having saved some money from her service year allowance, she tried her hand on running a small business that later failed after two years and fast forward two years later. She was jobless and broke. Now life was looking very bleak and worst of all, she had no motivation for anything. Not even for job search.
Another cause for concern was her single status. Oh how she checked that status every day but it hadn’t changed a bit no matter how closely she looked. At this point, she was beginning to consider if Osagie who lived down the street and has been chasing her for over five years now though he had no stable job, womanizes and is found mostly in bars is not a better option to being single forever.
She knew he was no Christian, though he may look like a responsible young man when seen from afar. She could see beyond his good looks and well placed façade.
Preye stretched her tall slim frame when her eyes caught one of the many colored card board papers cut in various sizes with scriptures written on them which was pasted on the wall.
It said
Wait on the Lord, Be of good courage
And he shall strengthen your heart
Wait, I say, on the Lord. (Psalm 27:14)
She smiled and knew she was prepared for whatever the day may bring and even days ahead of it.



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