SINGLE IN THE MARKET MARRIED IN HER MIND___26TH SEPT

In the small town of Nkpor, everybody knew Adaeze was single.

At the market, the women would ask, "Adaeze, when will you marry?" She would smile and say, "I am single."

At church on Sunday, Brother Chinedu would try to sit near her. He had a small Toyota and big dreamms. One day he gathered coourage and said, "Adaeze, can I know you better?"

Adaeze looked at him and said, "I am singlle but not available......"

Chinedu was confused. He went home and told his friend Obinna, "What kind of grammar is that? Single but not available? Is she doing marketing?"

Obinna laughed. "My geeee, You don't understand. Her body is in Nkpor, but her heart has already japa. It has Canadian visa."

The truth was, Adaeze had been unavailable since 2021...........

In 2021, Ebuka travelled to Canada for his masterss. Before he left, he held her hands at the park and said........ "Two years only, I will come back and marry you my love. Just hold on."

It was now 2026. Two years had become five. Ebuka was still posting pictures in snow. Still saying "one more semester, baby. Hold on."

So Adaeze held on. She did not accept any suitor. She did not go for introduction with anyone. She waited for a 2am call from a cold country while living in a hot town.

She would scroll his pictures. She would smile at his voice notes. But in the real market of Nkpor, she walked alone.

One eveningg, Mama Nkechi called her, "My daughterr, you cannot eat promise. A man who loves you will find a wayy, not an exccuse. You are keeping a chair for someone who has not bought the table."

That night, Adaeze sat alone in her room. The phone was quiet. The Canadian snow was far away.

And for the first time in five years, she asked herself........"If I am single, why am I living like I am married?"

Single is a status that everybody can see. Unavailable is a secret choice that only the heart knows. And sometimes, that secret choice is what keeps a person lonely.

IMAGE IS AI GENERATED