THAT CAMERA? SELL IT!

​THAT CAMERA? SELL IT!

     Sacrifices are bound to occur and each step of it is accompanied by loss. I’ve lost my life savings to investing in a future I cannot and will no longer see. The new camera that I purchased with money from countless nights of sleeping on an empty stomach was also carried away in that same tornado of loss. My instinct wants me to jump in front of that wobbly-moving keke but Jade’s swift hands drag me back.

    “Are you mad?”

    Her words smack me across the face and like cold water being dumped over me, I realize what I’d tried to do.

    “I'm sorry,” I mutter, looking down to avoid the judging stares of people.

    “You’re not allowed to die yet oh, Amina. Have you forgotten that my rent is part of that money? If you die now, how will you get the money back?”

    Let’s take a few steps back to the beginning of my story. I guess I should’ve led with that. In my 25 years of living, I’ve never hated myself like I currently do. That Ponzi scheme promised me five times my investment but now, I don’t have a dime to my name. Photography is no longer an option, so how do I cater for my bills?

    “Is this not that programme you wanted to go for?” Jade’s voice draws me back to reality. She points at a banner in front of a building. “That Nigerian Picasso guy.”

    “Ehn, I’m not going anywhere again jor. I need to find how to get my mother’s medication.”

    Jade doesn’t listen, so she drags me with her. As we enter the building, the speaker’s voice resonates in my head.

   “…and if you have to sell that phone, sell it! I sold my paintings for pennies to get to where I am today. That camera? Sell it.”

    Been there, done that. I muse.

   On getting home, I take the words of young Picasso and sell my old camera. With faith, I open that freelance platform, buy some connects for job applications. Just another sacrifice, right?

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