“They sound like a nice couple,” she murmured.
Edward shifted into a more comfortable position. “I jumped at the offer. They wanted to send me to university and pay me for working at the factory. I felt I‘d found a home at last. They were childless and seemed happy to have me. I got distracted from my wild friends and everything went according to plan.” Things could only get better, he‘d reasoned. He had the Advanced Levels exams to prepare for, and also wanted to work and save as much as possible.
“The wife said you looked like someone she knew? Did you find out who it was; a relative maybe?”
“When I first moved in, I always asked but she evaded the question till I let it be. However she told me before I left.”
“So why leave? This was the home you ran away from?”
“Yes. It was a combination of several things. My foster mother began to resent me and the house wasn‘t comfortable anymore so I got back with my gang. Chief wouldn‘t take that and threatened to send me away. An incident served as a flashpoint and I decided to leave. However, before I could get free, they vengefully made me spend a month in prison.”
“They put you in prison because you left the house?”
“No. They said I took some of their property. This was money I‘d earned legitimately at the factory. I was hard hit because I was innocent and I began to isolate myself after that.”
“That was merciless of them. They must‘ve had strange motives for taking you in if they could turn on you that way.”
At the beginning, he‘d loved his new foster parents. They were his saviors and he thought they could do no wrong. But yet again, it wasn‘t difficult for them to grind his emotions in the dust. He‘d dwelt on it the whole month in jail and became very bitter.
Edward shrugged. “The DPO took pity on me and persuaded Chief to have me released. I only stayed in Kano long enough to get a transfer from the university. I then moved to Lagos, changed my name and made a new life. As I left Kano, I swore never to trust or love another human being. I didn‘t believe it was worth it.” “By now you should know that not everyone is like that.”