After that day, Grace’s life became a cage. Her father watched her every move, constantly questioning where she was going and who she was meeting. He buried her in chores—washing clothes, cleaning the kitchen, and sweeping the compound over and over, regardless of how tired she was.
One evening, Grace finally broke down.
“Why won’t you let me live?” she asked, her voice shaking with emotion.
Her father didn’t even hesitate. “A woman doesn’t need school to succeed,” he said coldly.
When Grace told him that was his belief and not her life, his eyes hardened.
“As long as you live under my roof, it is my life.”
Later that night, her mother came to her quietly with the truth. She confessed that Grace’s father had been the one hiding all the admission letters for years.
As Grace felt her chest tighten under the weight of that betrayal, she decided she couldn’t stay a moment longer. She packed a small bag and tried to slip out the door, but the sound of a loud slap stopped her.
She ran back inside to find her father shouting and her mother crying. When she stepped in to stop the violence, the room fell into a heavy, suffocating silence.
Grace looked at her mother’s bruised cheek and then at her father. She slowly set her bag down and said, “I will stay, but I will not stop fighting for my life.”
After that day, Grace made a firm decision. If she could not enter as a student, she would stand as close as she could.
One morning, she packed a small tray with sachets of pure water, biscuits, and recharge cards, tied her scarf firmly, and walked straight to the university gate.
“Pure water, cold water, biscuit,” she called out.
Students passed without looking at her. Some bought from her while many ignored her.
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