The thought of killing herself developed gradually but surely . She was hopeless and dejected, lost in a world of darkness not of her own making.
Going forward was impossible and going backward was unbearable .
Death at this point seemed to be the sweet elixir for her and seemed to be her only option at this time of her despair .
She roamed around the streets for three whole days , before deciding on the best way to do it.
Drowning would be the best option .
She had spotted a lagoon on her walks and it was to this she made her way on the third somber evening .
She was walking on a busy road when she looked to her left and saw a sign that caught her eyes.
It was the signboard for a modeling agency, and despite her fatal resolve, her legs steered her towards there . The doorway led her into an open office with a man writing furiously on the desk.
“ Good afternoon” she greeted .
“ No vacancy. We don ’ t need more models” the man answered gruffly without looking up .
She turned to go away , feeling really foolish and wondering exactly why it is she had come here in the first place . She had thoughts of suicide , and perhaps she was not brave enough to see it through , but this disappointment increased her enthusiasm to end it all.
“ Oh my god. Come here , come here ”
The man called out from behind her .
“ Where have you been ? You are exactly the figure we have been looking for to put in our new collection ”
He didn ’ t seem to notice her awful clothes , or the pervasive odor emanating from her body , in fact she seemed to be a new delight in his excited eyes .
“ Now you could do with some cleanup. Take this and get yourself fresh and come back so we talk business”
He said handing her a few thousand naira .
Oluchi was quite dumbfounded at her stroke of good luck , and could not even utter a word in thanks .
She first went to get her stomach filled before getting a change of clothes as well as a bath in a public bathroom, all thoughts of suicide gone completely from her mind .
Thus began oluchis foray into the glamorous world of runway modeling .
She became an instant hot cake as she was snatched up by major designers eager for her to wear their clothes .
Within a week, she had moved into a mini apartment at surulere, and with a bit of furnishing to make her self comfortable.
The gruff man she met initially at her agency, Mr Akinwale , turned out to be her agent , and he was a hard worker, ensuring that those under his charge were up and doing .
She made steady progress under him, and with her hard work came a flurry of men , all eager to get in bed with her .
She had a deep distrust for men , and she turned every one of them down.
One morning, she was in a meeting with her boss. She was feeling a bit under the weather and looked quite pale .
He advised her to go to the hospital where a test was done.
She was sitting impatiently in the doctors office , convinced that she just had a flu, and this was an unnecessary waste of resources .
The doctor came and sat directly opposite her .
After enquiring how she felt, he broke the news that was to change her life forever.
To be continued