EPISODE 2 

A month later, I stumbled on Tinu’s pre-wedding photoshoot on Instagram. She had dropped her IV on the group chat weeks earlier, and the name of the brother had struck a chord within me, but I didn't think much of it…

Until I saw the pictures!

Omo! I nearly screamed.

Bro. Anthony.

Our GC back on campus.

The same brother I was in the same department with. The same one I had that quiet something with—the long conversations, the unspoken connection… even though he never said anything serious about marriage.

My heart skipped.

Oh God…

Did I just miss my chance?

The one that pained me the most was Dorcas’ own.

Ah!

Among all of us, I was closest to Dorcas. We shared things—deep things. Or at least, I thought we did.

This girl didn’t tell me anything…

Not until I saw her picture on the WhatsApp group chat—standing there with two suitcases, wrapped in a winter jacket, snowflakes resting on her hair like a crown.

I just stared at my phone.

Mama finally got the scholarship to the USA.

It didn’t end there ooo.

Tinu? She decided to pepper us on Valentine’s Day—posting a picture of her and her man, dressed in red and white, toasting glasses of wine like a soft-life couple.

Faith was not left behind.

Her books were already pulling in massive sales on Amazon and Selar.

But me…

I was still in my father’s house, earning a miserable #35,000—raising my voice every day, shouting for students to pay attention to what I was teaching them.

Ah! I was angry—let’s not even pretend.

But of course, I couldn’t show it.

So I did what was expected—I dropped love emojis on their WhatsApp statuses, sent “Awwn” and “So happy for you!” on the group chat… played my part well.

But behind the screen, my heart was not clapping.

When will God put me on the spot line? When will people celebrate me also? When will I feature in other people's WhatsApp statuses, Instagram reels and Facebook stories? 

Then one day, Dorcas posted on the group chat that she needed our urgent help concerning a questionnaire she wanted responses to, and the deadline was the next day. 

I saw the message but ignored it. 

Then she called me on WhatsApp thrice—I ignored it.

Then she sent me a message, but I had turned my read receipts off, so there was no way she could know I’d read it. I also turned my last seen off—so she couldn’t tell if I was online or offline.

Me sef, I get future to plan.  

This is two years now. 

And I'm still in that same private school. 

Hope something is not wrong with me like this?

Or is it that my village people are after my life?

********

You cannot attract the blessings you resent in others.

Once you understand that every good and perfect gift comes from the Father of lights, and that there is no change or shadow of turning with Him, you stop competing and comparing your life with others. Because the same God who is blessing others has not lost your address.

Sometimes, we overlook the process God takes us through before the blessing arrives. But that process—the waiting, the stretching, the quiet seasons—is a gift too. It shapes you, prepares you, and aligns you for what is coming.

Yes, it is human to feel that slight pinch in your heart when you see others walking in what you desire. But don’t let it settle. Don’t let it grow into envy or bitterness.

What can you do? 

Pray—until your heart is filled with peace.

Speak blessings over others—until your words heal your perspective.

Choose joy—until it becomes your posture.

Because when God does good things for others around you, it is a reminder that He is in your neighborhood.

#TruthInFiction

God’s Ready Writer.