A Hard Choice

 I slept like a baby. I did not hear anything all night.

When I woke up, it was almost 10 o'clock. No one was in the room. I walked slowly and looked around. The woman had left food on the table for me, so I sat down to eat.

Before I finished, the woman came in. She smiled and said, "Good morning, my daughter! Did you sleep well? Did you eat well?"

A Moment of Trust

She sat down near me and asked softly, "Do you want to tell me where you came from, or about your family?" She was so polite and spoke from her heart. I felt like I could trust her, so I wanted to tell her that I ran away from home.

Just then, her husband came in. The woman said to him, "We have to eat soon and go to the market." Then she turned back to me and said, "I am sorry, my girl. Please tell me your story."

First, I asked her, "What is the name of this village?"

When she told me the name, I had never heard it before in my life! That meant I was very far from home. I felt a little bit relaxed.

Sharing My Secret

I started telling her everything about my life. She listened quietly until I finished.

Then, she looked at me and said, "My beautiful girl, listen. I married my husband 15 years ago. Our families made the arrangement. But look at us—we are very happy. We never have problems. But like you said, I did not go to school after I got married."

She continued gently, "I respect what you say, but it is not good to run away from home. You must tell your mother that you are okay."

Panic and Tears

The moment she said that, I started crying. "Please don't make me talk to them!" I begged. "They will take me back! Please, I don't want to run away from you too!"

She hugged me tightly and said, "Okay, okay, no crying, please stop."

At that moment, her husband walked back in and asked, "What is going on?"

His wife told him my full story. He felt sad for me, but he said, "She must talk to her parents. They are searching for her. No, no, we have to tell them." He asked me where my village was.

His wife took him outside to talk quietly.

When she came back inside, her face was sad. She said to me softly, "My girl, he is right. If the police come looking for you, it will be a problem for us. We have to take you back."

My heart sank. The woman looked at me with sadness and said, "We will be back soon, ok? Wait for us here. We have to go to the market, and when we return, we will talk."

I nodded and said, "Ok." As soon as they left the house, my heart started beating fast. I knew I had no choice. I could not let them take me back to my village. So, while they were away at the market, I packed my small hope and ran away from their house, too.

My First Time in the Big City

I walked for a while, not knowing where I was going. Suddenly, I found myself in a huge city! It was my very first time ever seeing a big city.

I walked right into the city centre. Everywhere I looked, there were crowds of people moving around. Cars were zooming past so fast, kicking up noise and dust. Everything felt loud, scary, and overwhelming to a thirteen-year-old girl.

A Chance Encounter

As I was walking through the crowd, I saw an old woman. She had a very heavy bag on the floor and was struggling to lift it up.

She looked up, saw me standing nearby, and asked if I could help her. I didn't say a word—I just stepped forward and helped her pick up the heavy bag.

As we walked together, she looked at me kindly and asked, "Where is your house? I have never seen you around here before."

"I am new here," I replied softly.

"So where are you living?" she asked.

"I just arrived," I said.

Finding a Job

She stopped, looked at me carefully, and asked, "Are you looking for work?"

"Work?" I asked, confused. "What kind of work?"

"As a house helper," she explained. "Or do you already have someone to stay with?"

"No, no, I don't know anybody here," I said quickly. "Yes, I can work!"

The old woman smiled and said, "Ok! My daughter just had a new born baby. You can go and work for her."

My heart leaped with relief! Then she asked, "How much money do we have to pay you?"

I looked at her and said, "I don't know. You can give me whatever you want." Just like that, in the middle of a big, strange city, a new door had opened for me.

To be continued...

Thank you so much for reading my journey! Have you ever had a random moment of helping someone change the direction of your life? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!

Kidist.