POVERTY COST THE PRICE OF SILENCE AS A PREGNANT WOMAN SOLD HER BABY FOR 2 MILLIONS
POVERTY COST The Price of Silence
By Omiyehan Sunday
In the crowded backstreets of Lagos, 26-year-old Amaka walked alone, her hand resting on her swollen belly. Eight months pregnant, she had never felt more alone. Her boyfriend had vanished the moment the test turned positive. Her job as a salon assistant barely kept the lights on. Her family? Disappointed. Distant.
One rainy afternoon, while sheltering under a shed near a maternity clinic, she overheard two women whispering behind her.
“One girl got 2 million naira. Cash. Just like that.”
“For what?”
“For her baby. Clean, no questions asked.”
Amaka pretended not to listen, but the words echoed all day. That night, she cried herself to sleep, torn between what she wanted and what she needed.
A Desperate Offer
Two weeks later, with a referral scribbled on the back of a napkin, she met a woman named Madam Flora. The woman was sleek, well-dressed, and spoke softly.
“We help women. You walk in with a burden, you walk out free—with a future,” Flora said.
Amaka asked one question:
“What happens to the baby?”
The woman just smiled.
“It will have a better life than you can give it. Isn’t that what matters?”
2 million naira. Cash. Enough to rent a decent apartment, start her own salon, maybe even go back to school.
The Exchange
She gave birth on a stormy Friday night. A healthy baby boy. Her hands trembled as she held him—warm, soft, perfect.
She counted his tiny fingers.
She whispered, “I’m sorry.”
And then she handed him over.
A white envelope was slipped into her hand. She didn’t open it. She walked away.
The Aftermath
Weeks passed. The salon came to life. Her account balance made her feel secure for the first time in years. But every night, she woke up to the sound of a baby crying—one that wasn’t there.
One evening, a client walked in with a newborn, and Amaka’s knees buckled. She realized then: money could buy many things, but not silence—and certainly not peace.
A Twist of Fate
Two years later, she volunteered at a children’s home, offering free haircuts on weekends. That was where she saw him.
Same eyes. Same nose.
He didn’t recognize her, but she knew.
The woman who adopted him greeted Amaka kindly. “We’re so lucky to have him. He was a blessing we waited years for.”
Amaka smiled. Her heart ached—but it also healed, just a little.
Moral
This is a story of desperation, choice, and consequence. Life doesn’t always offer clear lines between right and wrong. But sometimes, even the hardest choices can still lead us to a kind of redemption.
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