Copyright © 2024 Silver Lambe-Raah.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher, addressed "Attention: Permissions Coordinator," at the address below.

Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Names, characters, and places are products of the author's imagination. Permission must be given by the author if there is a need to promote, distribute or use characters from the story.

Front cover image: designed by Silver Lambe-Raah.

Book design by Silver Lambe-Raah.

Publisher address.

10KM Idiroko road, canaanland.

112104, Ota, Ogun,

Nigeria

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The term "LOVE" was created by God, He himself formed love and showered it upon man. Just like he loves us, he gave man the ability to Love one another but man did not follow the pattern of true love. God invented marriage for pleasure and companionship, the union of TWO as ONE so they can live together, care for one another and multiply.

Love is free, love is forgiving, and love is above all. The greatest weapon!

The power and intent for Love have been misused for centuries because our natural selfish being wants something more. It demands unimaginable things and the heart is willing to do anything, as far as faking love known as infatuation to acquire vanity.

Would you destroy another to love someone or will you let your past control your feelings and hate to love because of your past? Or a friend's story? Or will you give love a chance even when it always felt like giving up on you, when it starts to hurt? All is in your hands and destiny to choose.

~~~ S.G

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Six years ago a young teenage girl prepares her cloth bags steadfastly, she was on the move to jump out of this overdue nightmare she'd suffered bitterly. For years she's endured, for years she waited to walk out of this cloud of doom without getting caught again, and finally, the time has come to walk away freely.

Without hesitation she packed up her bags and set the partially working alarm on the table, waiting impatiently for the set time. Though everything was going as planned, her mind wasn't settled unless he was truly gone and it was really safe out there. She got up and checked the window timely, to see if he had driven out of the driveway.

She nervously tapped the tip of her old shoe on the wooden floor, parading from the top to the bottom of the stairs when sitting started to hurt her back. She walked up to the window checking again and again to see if he was gone.

And there it was! The moment she had waited for. He started the car and got inside, so she snuck out of the vault room he kept and bounded her and readied herself for the big escape.

Then came the sound of a car reversing and driving away from the house.

“Yes! He’s gone.” She exclaimed with intense excitement and jumped right on her feet.

She wasted no time and took out two worn-out bags she owned while living in this rich fabulous house she so had come to despise, then she scurries for a way to unlock one of the doors he had bolted a while ago which she managed to tamper with after watching him bolt it several times in the past.

"Come on… come on…” She pleads with the stubborn lock. “Just a… few… more…”

*click!*

The lock breaks momentarily and she used her small strength to push the door all the way open. This small girl lost her foot and fell but she regained her posture, wasting no time, and escaped the house of horrors before the monster came back from his short trip.

Her escape was successful, unlike the last time when she was caught and severely punished. It was one thing to escape and another thing to find shelter. Getting out of town wasn’t going to be as easy as she hoped because she was broke and could not afford enough to buy a meal or pay for a place to stay for the night. Even with this obstacle, she was determined never to turn back and return to the pit she left.

Her journey around the unfamiliar town took days with barely anything to eat, she had to make quick stops to rest at every bus stop she came across and look for what to eat. The tiring journey came to an end when she was able to secure a temporary job at a train station but it did not end there.

“Can I work here a few more days?” She asked the kind train station manager. He helped secure a place for her to earn a meal a day but the post was already taken and she hoped he could make an exception until she found work. “Just a few more days, please…”

“I’m sorry miss, I can’t do more than I already have, I only gave you the job because my pal, Zed was on vacation. Now he is back, he’s got to have his job back.” The manager tells her apologetically.

“Please, Mr Ryder, just a few more days is all I need to set my life together.” She begged.

“I’m sorry kiddo, I wish I could do more, I like you working here, you've done so much but-” He paused because he couldn't look her in the eye and tell her no. He was sorry to let her go.

“Do- don’t you have like extra work that needs some-”

“No, I don’t- I don’t have, I’m sorry, I got to go.” The manager told her almost instantly and left the busy bus stop to avoid any unnecessary drama, but he gave her an envelope containing a ticket to So-Ho and a small advance payment as a token of appreciation.

She sighed with disappointment in her eyes and looked down at the envelope. Just when life was giving her hope, it took it away. Nothing seemed to work for a moment and she knew staying in the city was risky or she would be found by him. Nobody would want to hire an inexperienced person like her except the monster who held her hostage for years, but she made a solemn promise never to return.

There was only one option left. Leave the city and move to So-Ho, start a new life, and hopefully, fate will be merciful and grant her a better life than the one she is leaving behind.

She was unsure of the odds and the benefits that may come with moving to So-Ho. It's going to be a new place, a new city, a new identity, who knew the kind of things that happen there? The kind of life she would live there and if it was worth going to, but when she measured the possible nightmares to this hell she escaped, they don’t match up.

Not much was needed to think about, it was clear as day that the answer had been placed on her hands "SO-HO IT IS!" She mutterred and tucked the envelope into the pocket of her jacket then went to get her bags from the station toll booth but Mr Ryder had taken all her things and left them neatly in front of the locked booth for her to pick up. She smiled at his kindness, never forgetting the good things he had done for her, and she picked her things and headed for the next train going to So-Ho.

While she waited, her insides shook and trembled. A lot of hanging thoughts scattered through her mind, trying to convince her it was a bad idea, but there was also a calm part of her that reassured her that So-Ho would be the life-changing breakthrough she had long dreamed of.

‘maybe life in So-Ho would be different than I imagined’