Chapter 1: The Seed of a Dream

The air in Promise’s village always felt too small for her lungs. The dusty paths, the familiar faces, the endless cycle of chores and traditions — it was as if the whole community had decided long ago that dreams should never stretch beyond its clay walls.

For many in Umuaka village, this rhythm was enough. The planting of crops, the pounding of yam, the raising of children, and the songs sung during festivals filled their lives with meaning. But for Promise, the sameness felt like a rope around her chest. She wanted to breathe wider, farther, deeper — and the village refused to let her.

From the time she was a little girl, she had been different. While other children played games with stones or chased each other barefoot in the dust, she would sit quietly by the stream, staring into her reflection as though trying to imagine a different future. When Mama scolded her for being lazy, Promise would dutifully rise to fetch firewood or sweep the yard. But her mind never stayed with the chores. Her thoughts leapt to Lagos, to places she had only heard about in school or seen in torn magazines.

Now at sixteen, those dreams pressed harder than ever.

She sat on a broken wooden stool in front of her mother’s hut, flipping carefully through a worn fashion magazine that had been passed down by a teacher who once studied in Lagos. The magazine had been handled so many times that the corners curled and the cover sagged, but its glossy pages still shimmered with life. Tall women in gowns that glittered under bright stage lights. Wide smiles painted in perfect makeup. Flashbulbs that captured not just beauty, but confidence, glamour, and power.

Promise touched one of the faces gently, almost reverently. The woman’s head was tilted high, her stride long, her eyes fixed ahead as if nothing in the world could stop her. Promise felt a chill run through her body, not of fear but of recognition.

“One day…” she whispered, her lips trembling but her voice fierce. “One day, that will be me.”

“Promise!” Mama’s voice cracked across the compound like a whip.

Promise jumped, the magazine slipping onto her lap.

“How many times will I call you? Fetch the water before the sun sets,” Mama scolded from inside the hut.

“Yes, Mama. I’m coming,” Promise called back, trying to tuck the magazine under her wrapper.

But Mama emerged before she could hide it. She wiped her hands on her wrapper and stopped, her sharp eyes falling on the magazine. Her frown deepened. “Again with those pictures? Those women in fine clothes will not cook food for you. Dreaming does not fill the stomach.”

Promise’s lips parted, but for a moment she had no words. The sting of Mama’s voice pierced her chest. “Mama, I know. But one day, people will know my name. I won’t be just a village girl.”

Her mother sighed and sat heavily on the stool beside her. Years of work showed in the lines across her face, in the calluses on her palms. “Your father worked himself to the bone so you could attend St. Theresa’s School. We sold half our land for your education. Do not waste it on fantasies.”

“It’s not a fantasy, Mama.” Promise’s voice shook, but her eyes blazed. “It’s my life. I don’t want to stay here forever. Lagos is waiting for me.”

Silence fell, thick with two kinds of love — a mother’s love rooted in fear, and a daughter’s love rooted in hope.

From the path, a tall figure approached. Daniel, the carpenter’s son, carried long planks balanced across his strong shoulders. His shirt clung to him with sweat, his skin gleamed copper in the fading sun. As he drew near, his eyes flicked toward Promise, then respectfully lowered to Mama.

“Good evening, Mama.”

“Evening, Daniel,” Mama replied, her voice softening.

Promise straightened, heat rising to her cheeks. She had known Daniel since childhood — they once played hide-and-seek behind the almond tree, fetched water side by side, even quarreled over who could climb higher. But lately, his presence unsettled her. He seemed older now, heavier, like he carried more than wood on his back.

“Promise,” Daniel said, his voice steady, “I saw you rushing to school this morning. You almost dropped your books.”

Promise rolled her eyes lightly. “And what if I did? Will you carve me new ones out of wood?”

Daniel chuckled, his deep laugh filling the space. It stirred something Promise had no words for. “If you like, I will. But I only meant — walk slower. The world won’t run away.”

Promise lifted her chin, her stubborn streak flaring. “Maybe it won’t. But my dreams will.”

The words slipped out before she could stop them.

Daniel’s smile faded slightly, replaced with a shadow in his eyes. It was the look of someone who knew what it felt like to be trapped.

“Dreams don’t run,” he said softly. “They wait. But sometimes the world doesn’t.”

Promise wanted to ask what he meant, but Mama cut the moment short. She stood, brushing dust from her wrapper. “Daniel, please go and finish your work. Promise, get the water before it is dark.”

“Yes, Mama,” Promise muttered.

Daniel gave a small nod, his eyes lingering on her long enough to send her heart racing. Then he turned and walked away, his footsteps fading into the dust.

Promise picked up the empty water pot and trudged toward the stream. The path wound between huts and fields. She passed women pounding yam in mortars, their rhythmic thuds echoing into the dusk. She passed children chasing goats, squealing with laughter. She passed men returning from farms, hoes slung over their shoulders. To them, life was as it had always been.

But to Promise, each face she passed was a warning — of what she might become if she stayed. Trapped. Silenced. Invisible.

The stream glittered in the soft orange of the setting sun. A breeze whispered through the tall grasses, carrying the smell of damp earth and woodsmoke from nearby kitchens. Promise crouched low, dipped her pot into the water, and watched ripples distort her reflection. The girl staring back at her had wide, restless eyes and braids that clung to her damp forehead. To the village, she was just another daughter waiting to be married off.

But in her reflection, Promise saw more. She saw a woman walking a runway, lights flashing, heads turning, voices chanting her name. She saw freedom stitched into sequins and dreams that stretched beyond the horizon.

Her throat tightened. Could she really do it? Could a girl from Umuaka truly step into that world?

She lifted the heavy pot onto her head and began the long walk home. The road was uneven, dust clinging to her ankles, but each step carried the rhythm of determination. The chatter of women, the laughter of children, the creak of cart wheels — all of it blurred into a distant hum. Promise focused only on the sound of her own breathing, as though the world itself was daring her to endure its weight.

That night, they ate yam porridge in silence. The smoky scent of firewood still clung to the meal, and Mama’s spoon scraped the bottom of her bowl with slow, weary strokes. Promise chewed dutifully, but each swallow felt like gravel in her throat. She wanted to tell Mama again that her dreams were real, but the words sat heavy and unspoken.

Later, when Mama hummed an old tune and lay down, Promise curled on her raffia mat, staring at the cracked ceiling. The night hummed with noise — crickets chirping, owls calling, distant drums. But beneath it all, Promise felt another sound: silence. Heavy, watchful, pressing down on her chest like unseen eyes.

She hugged herself and closed her eyes, but the cage remained.

When Mama’s snores deepened, Promise slid a hand beneath her mat and pulled out the magazine. Its pages smelled of dust and old ink, but to her, they were a doorway. She traced the faces of the models again, her fingers lingering on their confident eyes, their lifted chins.

“One day,” she whispered again, fiercer this time. “One day, it will be me.”

Her whisper grew into a vow. She imagined standing in front of a roaring crowd, cameras flashing, her name echoing beyond the hills of Umuaka. She imagined her mother, no longer bent by worry, but smiling proudly in the audience. She imagined Daniel, standing tall, nodding as if to say, you did it.

Promise pressed the magazine to her chest. The flame in her heart burned hotter. She didn’t know how, or when, or what it would cost, but she knew this much: she could not let herself disappear into the silence of her village.

That night, Promise vowed not just to dream, but to fight for the right to breathe in a world bigger than her village would ever allow.