The sound came again.

“Can somebody not sleep again “, Amina grumbled. She tossed and turned in her bed, hoping her pillows could muffle the noise from the scuffling couple next door. It only got worse as Papa Ebuka slammed his wife against door and dealt her with blows strong enough to break a hard brick. Mama Ebuka, relentless, screamed as she fought back. Spilling curses on her husband, she screamed for help from the neighbors.

This would go on for about two hours before everywhere would finally quiet down. Except for the incessant chirping of the crickets, all Amina could hear was silence. The sun, hiding shyly behind the morning clouds, was already up.

“These people have robbed me of my sleep. I better start heading out.”, she hissed as she stretched out on her bed. After taking a quick shower and having the leftover moi-moi for breakfast, she was about to rush out the door when she remembered her mother who was still asleep.

“Mama”, she said softly. “I’m heading out to work now. Your food is in the pot and there’s water in the bathroom. Please don’t forget to eat before going to the shop”. Amina knew this routine well. Her mother always pretended to be asleep so Amina wouldn’t spend time worrying about her wellbeing.

“I promise you, I will get us out of this place”, Amina whispered with a fierce determination that reminded her mother of her late husband.

Amina caught the morning bus and rushed to the studio where Lanre was waiting for her. The new model was late to the set so Amina started making calls. “Ah ah, kilode. You’re such a workaholic, you didn’t even come to greet me”, Lanre sneered. He had always been all over Amina but she never gave him the time of the day.

“Lanre, you were supposed to call the model’s agent to make sure she was here on time. Why do I have to do your job for you! You might as well hand over your salary to me”, Amina said coldly. Before Lanre could find a comeback, the model walked in and the photo session began. The model apologized for coming late and after the pictures were taken, everyone on set could agree that Amina was a prodigy.

At the end of the day, Lanre tried to corner her. She had always known to avoid him but this time he was a step ahead of her. He looked at her with lustful eyes, wanting to devour her at the spot. Amina was a beauty after all and he wanted her to himself, why shouldn’t he? He was the head manager and gave her the job himself. She should be on her knees in gratitude instead of being so arrogant. He tried to grab her when she was passing through the parking lot and after a while of struggling, Amina pushed him away and gave him a resounding slap.

“You stupid girl! You dare to lay your filthy hands on me. Where would you be without me if I didn’t pick you and that useless mother of yours from the streets?!”. Lanre was fuming inside but he felt satisfied that he had something to hold against her. Should she refused his advances again, he would threaten her employment stay in the company. “Be a good girl and come to me”, Lanre leered at her.

Amina took a deep breath and dusted her clothes. She picked up her camera from the ground which was now cracked from the struggle earlier on. She felt tears stinging at the corner of her eyes. This was the first camera she bought with her hard earned money after months of waiting at tables in restaurants. She walked towards Lanre and wiped the chivalrous grin off his face with another heavy slap.

“Keep my mother’s name out of your filthy mouth”, she said coldly and walked out. She knew she couldn’t come back but did so anyway. No one had the right to insult her mother.

2 MONTHS LATER…

Amina tried not to show her frustration while she was at home She worked cheerfully besides her mother. Her mother knew Amina more than she thought. The smile her daughter gave did not quite reach her eyes. Day in, day out, Amina sought out employment in various companies. She carried her CV with her everywhere she went. After a while, it seemed like she was blacklisted from all the companies in the region she lived. “ Perhaps Lanre’s slimy tentacles has spread out more than I imagined “, she sighed as she wiped another table down . She could have gone to another region but she couldn’t leave her ageing mother all alone.

On her days off, she would go to the beach and take long walks. She managed to fix her camera and she kept it as a monument. She walked on the wet sand, loving the gritty feeling. The waves rose and fell , washing corals and seashells to the shore. She envied the ocean’s freedom, wanting to be a wave herself and conquer domains. Amina took a step into the waters, she felt drawn to it.

“How easy would it be to let the waters take me. All this pain gone…”, Amina was momentarily lost in thoughts as she remembered her father, the strongest man she’d ever known. “I can’t give up now”, she breathed shakily. She stepped out and took her beloved camera and was about leave when she decided to take a picture of the amazing view before her. The sun was just about to set and the pink- mauve color of the sky was too alluring for her to resist.

When she reached home, she touched up the photo a bit and posted it on her social media page. She didn’t have high hopes for it since she didn’t have the resources to reach a larger audience. Amina woke up the next morning, ready to go to the restaurant, when her phone started pinging with a lot of notifications. She was puzzled at first but thought nothing of it. She picked her keys and was about to head out when her phone started buzzing. She looked at it, it was her old friend, Amara. They both worked in the company and she was the only one who reached out to Amina after the incident.

“Check your Instagram page, it’s booming”, Amara giggled excitedly. Sure enough, there were over thousands of comments on the sunset picture she took. It reminded one of something not of this world. Amina checked her message box and there were various companies reaching out to her for a collaboration. Their agents had somehow already gotten a hold of her personal mobile number and they were already in her DMs. Amina broke down and cried. Her mother who was in the kitchen rushed to her daughter’s room when she heard her crying. The last time she has seen her daughter cry was when her father died when she was just ten years old. Since then, Amina held it all in, never letting anyone know how she really felt. She always felt she had to be strong for both her and her mother. Her mother hugged her tightly and prayed for her right there and then. Amina cleaned up and carried her CV out one last time. Out of all the offers she got, the one that stuck out to her was from her role model, Shantel Coker, who had single-handedly risen to fame and was one of the top tiers in the industry.

When Amina was a young girl, she watched a commercial with her then alive father. Shantel Coker was starring in it where she was showing her finesse and skills with the camera. That was where Amina got her inspiration to be a creative photographer.

“Daddy, I want to be a photographer like Shantel Coker when I grow up”, Amina said cheerfully to her father. Her father rubbed her hair and smiled.: “You can be anything you want, my darling girl. Put your heart into it and it’s yours”.

Amina took a deep breath and smiled brightly as she was led into the office.

“Good day, Miss Amina. Glad to have you working with us”, Shantel greeted, with a pleasant smile offering her a handshake

Amina cleared her voice and shook hands firmly with a smile. She was bursting with emotions.

Her dreams

had finally come true.