EPISODE 1: THE WAITING PAIN
The sound of children playing in the compound echoed into the small sitting room where Ada sat, her hands gripping her lap tightly. Ten years. Ten years of waiting, praying, crying—yet no child.
Her husband, Chike, sat on the couch, eyes glued to his phone as if he couldn’t hear the silent pain in her sighs.
Ada had done everything possible. She had visited hospitals, endured endless scans and tests, fasted, prayed, and even attended all-night church vigils. Yet, nothing changed. And through it all, Chike remained indifferent.
He never followed her to the hospital, never held her hand through the painful injections, never prayed with her. When she talked about adoption, he waved it off. “God will do it,” he always said, but he never lifted a finger to help.
The worst part? The mockery.
Her mother-in-law, Mama Chike, never missed an opportunity to remind her, “A woman without a child is like a tree without fruit. What use is she?”
The neighbors whispered. Even the market women threw taunts as she walked past.
That evening, as she set the dinner table, Chike barely glanced up. She clenched her fists, feeling anger rise inside her.
How long was she supposed to carry this burden alone?
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EPISODE 2: THE MOCKERY AND THE PAIN
Ada carried a basket of vegetables as she walked home from the market, her head bowed low to avoid the stares of the women around her.
She had barely taken a few steps when she heard them whisper.
“Ten years of marriage, no child.”
“Maybe she is cursed.”
“She is just wasting our son’s time. He should marry another woman.”
The words stabbed her heart like a dagger, but she kept walking. She had learned to endure the pain.
When she got home, Mama Chike was waiting for her.
“Ah, Ada, welcome,” she said, her voice laced with sarcasm. “Did you go to the market or another prayer house? When will all these your hospital visits end? No child will come from an empty womb.”
Ada swallowed hard. “Mama, I am trying.”
Mama Chike scoffed. “Trying? With what? Running around town while my son sits here, waiting for an heir? How long will he wait? Ada, let me tell you the truth—Chike needs another wife. A real woman.”
Ada’s hands trembled as she gripped her basket. She turned to Chike, who sat nearby, scrolling on his phone, as if nothing was happening.
“Chike, are you going to say something?” Ada asked, her voice cracking.
Chike barely looked up. “Mama is just worried, Ada. Maybe you should listen to her.”
The air left Ada’s lungs. Was this really her life?
That night, as she lay in bed, tears streaming down her face, a thought crept into her mind. How long would she keep fighting alone?
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