Turning Point

A lileas blog reader asked me to tell her story.

Onibe wasn’t exactly a beautiful girl but she had a body to die for and she knew it. Those who first saw her back were often disappointed when they eventually saw her face; she was the real description of the hourglass figure that people went under the knives for.

When Onibe was much younger, she was an introvert and would often snub anyone who wanted to be her friend; she knew that this wasn’t who she wanted to be but couldn’t help herself.   It took her several years to come to the self realisation that she was suffering from an inferiority complex and it was all because of her face.

It got worse when she hit late puberty at the age of twenty; she had very bad pimples that wouldn’t go away even after she sought proper medical care for them. Onibe never dated any boy but it was purely because she lacked self confidence and believed that no one would ever want her because of her face.

There was a time when she contemplated suicide but it just wasn’t in her DNA and the thought quickly went away. Onibe had just a few friends and they were all her childhood friends, those who stuck with her even when she snubbed them. She found it almost impossible to make new friends, she wasn’t good enough and the only thing that she had going for her was her beautiful body.

It was in her final year in the University that Onibe met Frann, she had gone to a quiet restaurant near her campus area to have lunch, Frann was there as well and when it was time for her to pay her bill, the waiter told her that someone had paid; that someone turned out to be Frann.

This gesture came as a huge surprise to Onibe, no one had ever done this for her; she went over to Frann’s table, thanked her for her generosity and their friendship began on that day. Frann reminded Onibe of how she helped take some shopping bags off her in the supermarket opposite the school on a cretain day. 

Frann was an alumni of the same University who had returned to the school for a post graduate programme. Shortly after they met, Frann invited Onibe to a party, it was at the party that Onibe met Desmond; he was so charming that Onibe spent the rest of the night talking with him. She confided in Frann that she like Desmond and Frann encouraged her to follow her heart.

Onibe and Desmond dated for a whole year, he became her first boyfriend; it thrilled him to discover that at the age of twenty four and with that sort of body, Onibe still had her virginity intact. He vowed to keep her happy.

For once, Onibe was glad that her not too flattering face had prevented her from being involved with any man before Desmond.

Desmond loved Onibe (or her body?)and treated her like a queen, he was a successful business man and had a lot of money to throw around. He bought her very expensive items and introduced her to the world of designer products and gold jewelries; Onibe’s life changed drastically, she became a high flying “chic” who was envied by most girls. She did well to hide her new life from her parents who were Christians and raised all their children right.

Onibe and Desmond were well known in their circle, they were so close that she often followed him on some of his business trips. When she couldn’t travel with him because of tests or examinations, she would travel afterwards and meet him up at whatever destination he was at.

Deep down inside her, Onibe dreamt of the day that Desmond would meet her parents and to officially ask for her hand in marriage. She nursed this feeling from the first day that she gave in to him and the only person she could confide in was Frann who was still very much in her life; she played the role of a big sister and was always available to advise Onibe on certain issues especially the ones with Desmond. Frann was unmarried and very comfortably so.

Onibe and Desmond’s relationship grew stronger, she had her own keys to his home, she was the woman of the house and all his friends knew her and gave her so much respect. She was so sure that Desmond would propose to her as soon as she finished her final examinations which would start in a few weeks.

Just before her final paper, Desmond went out of town on a business trip and as usual Onibe would join him after her final examination. It was also going to be a treat to her for the successful completion of her final examinations and Onibe couldn’t wait to be with the love of her life.

She rented a car and they took off quite early since it was a five hour journey, and just about thirty minutes to their destination, they approached an accident scene, it had just happened and a few cars had stopped to see how they could help the victims. Lying dead on the ground there and partly covered in leaves was a most beautiful young lady; another young lady was sat on the floor next to her weeping, screaming and talking all at once, “What will I tell our parents? How will I tell them that we left school when were meant to be in school? Just because of money? Hey!! I am finished!”

From all that the weeping girl said, it was easy to get the story, the dead girl was her younger cousin and they were on their way to see a guy before the accident happened killing her cousin without visible injuries. 

There and then, Onibe had a “turning point”, What was she doing? That could have been her, dead and lying on the ground, where would her soul go to if she had died on this trip? Where did she keep all her Christian teachings and everything she learnt in Cathecism? She had been living wrong all these while; she decided she would tell Desmond that she couldn’t  go on with the relationship.

While she waited in the hotel for Desmond to return from his meeting, she prayed to God for the strength to end it all, she loved him too much and this was not going to an easy task. For some strange reasons, Desmond who would usually get back on time to be with her did not return early on that day and Onibe was quite bored.

She got the shock of her life when she strangely opened Desmond’s suitcase, she had never done that before and couldn’t even say why she did it. But there in his suitcase right on top was an envelope addressed to Desmond. In the envelop were framed pictures of a woman and three very beautiful children, while Onibe thought to herself that Desmond’s sister had such a beautiful family, she saw one with Desmond in it holding the woman in a romantic manner. Then she saw the note, “Hey babe, the pictures were too cute, I had to frame them, the kids miss you, we love you too much, our rock, kisses”

This was God showing her the way out of a life of lies, this was God opening her eyes to evil, this was God calling her to order, this was God saying to her “You can only trust me” in fact, this was God saying to her, “ My daughter, I still love you”

She placed the items where Desmond would see them and she quickly left the hotel, she checked into a cheaper one and was out of town first thing in the morning the following day. She immersed herself in the service of God, Desmond tried severally to reach her through Frann but she wouldn’t give him a chance. She also asked Frann to stop trying to make her go back to Desmond.

Six months after her turning point experience, Onibe met someone in the church; they are married now and have four children. She holds a thanksgiving each year to mark her turning point. She says that her greatest happiness is that she did not die in sin for the sake of a man who lived a lie. 

Onibe was lucky but how about us?

Pls note that the real names have not been used in this article for privacy sake