Chapter 1
Beneath the Rain, I Hoped
By Ayah Monroe
Chapter 1: The Girl in the Rain
The rain fell heavily over the streets of Lagos, soaking everything in its path. People hurried past with umbrellas, trying to escape the storm.
At the corner of a quiet bus stop stood a young girl named Ayah. Her clothes were old and torn, and her shoes had holes in them. She wrapped her arms around herself, shivering from the cold.
Cars splashed muddy water as they drove by. No one stopped. No one asked if she was hungry or needed help. All she needs today was food even only bread but no one cares . Since she has been adopted by her foster mother .
Ever since she was taken in by her foster mother, life had never been kind to her.
Love had always come with conditions.
Kindness had always come with a price.
Growing up, she believed Elina was her real mother. Although Elina's temper was unpredictable, Ayah clung to the hope that somewhere beneath her harsh words was genuine love.
That hope was shattered on her sixteenth birthday.
She accidentally overheard a conversation that changed her life forever.
Elina wasn't her mother.
She was merely the woman who had taken her in.
A foster mother.
Worse still...
The mysterious man who visited their house every month had been paying Elina to keep Ayah alive.
To Elina, she wasn't a daughter.
She was a source of income.
A commodity.
That truth destroyed the small world Ayah had built around herself.
Yet even after everything...
She refused to give up hope.
Deep inside her heart, she believed her real parents were still alive.
Somewhere...
Someone was searching for her.
One day, she would find them.
And maybe...
Just maybe...
They would love her the way she had always longed to be loved.
Her fingers unconsciously drifted to her left shoulder.
Hidden beneath her torn shirt was a long, ugly scar.
She stared at it with quiet resentment.
She had no idea where it came from.
As far back as she could remember, it had always been there.
Whenever she wore her school uniform, the scar remained hidden from everyone else.
Only she knew it existed.
Only she knew how much she hated it.
Sometimes she wondered if that scar had stolen the life she was supposed to have.
A bitter smile formed on her lips.
She owned nothing.
No family.
No wealth.
No one to rely on.
The only thing she could proudly call her own was the scholarship she had earned through years of hard work and sleepless nights.
It was proof that, despite everything life had thrown at her...
She was still standing.
Ayah slowly raised her eyes toward the grey sky.
A single tear escaped and slid down her cheek before disappearing into the rain.
"Maybe tomorrow will be different," she whispered.
"Maybe..."
"...someone will finally notice me."
With that fragile hope, she turned and walked toward the tiny room she called home.
The room was barely large enough for a narrow bed and a small wooden stool.
The walls were cracked, the ceiling leaked whenever it rained, and a faint musty smell lingered in the air.
A neatly washed school uniform filled with holes hung carefully behind the door.
It was the cleanest thing in the entire room.
Ayah closed the door quietly behind her.
Just as she was about to lie down, her stomach growled loudly again.
She smiled helplessly.
"I know..."
"I'm hungry too."
Instead of sleeping, she reached for a worn notebook from beneath her pillow.
Reading was the only thing that could distract her from the hunger.
For nearly fifteen minutes, she buried herself in its pages.
Gradually, her heavy eyelids began to droop.
The words became blurry.
She gently closed the notebook and placed it beside her bed.
Within moments, exhaustion claimed her.
The tiny room fell silent.
Only the soft sound of rain tapping against the roof and the steady rhythm of her breathing filled the darkness.
Curled up on the narrow bed, Ayah looked peaceful in her sleep.
Beautiful.
Fragile.
Completely unaware...
