CHAPTER 1 The sun had barely risen over the dusty streets of Ugbokolo , painting the sky in streaks of gold and orange. In a small, weathered house at the edge of town, Victor rubbed his eyes awake. The wooden floorboards creaked beneath his bare feet as he stepped into the kitchen where his mother, Iyobosa , was already stirring a pot of maize porridge. “Good morning, Mama,” Victor said quietly, trying to hide the grogginess that weighed him down. Iyobosa glanced at him, her face a mixture of warmth and worry. “Morning, my son. Breakfast is almost ready. Eat quickly; the market waits for no one.” Victor nodded. At sixteen, he had learned early that life in Ugbokolo demanded resilience. There was no time to complain, no room for excuses. The town itself was a patchwork of hope and struggle: dirt roads lined with clay houses, women selling vegetables and fried snacks on rickety tables, and children running barefoot to school. Dreams here were fragile, like the thin roofs ov...
Comments
Post a Comment