Dark Life of Alma

Please help me—I want to join my sister. How is she coping in the grave? Who will take care of her? I can’t survive this. These were the thoughts of sixteen-year-old Alma.

Alma had just completed her secondary school education at one of the prestigious Pro-unit schools in Eastern Nigeria. She had returned to the East to collect her Testimonial and WAEC results, unaware that her life was about to take a tragic turn.

Timid, withdrawn, and lonely, Alma had always struggled to fit in. She found it difficult to make friends, was constantly ridiculed by her classmates, and was bullied by her seniors. With no one to confide in, she poured her thoughts onto paper, the only solace she had in the boarding house. Over time, the isolation consumed her, making her irritable and angry. She felt rejected, voiceless, and worthless. By the time she finished school, she was desperate to leave, clinging to the hope that home would offer her the comfort she longed for.

But home had its own horrors waiting.

When Alma returned to the East to pick up her documents and register for JAMB, tragedy struck—her younger sister died suddenly, under mysterious circumstances. The news shattered her. She had no idea how to process the pain, and with no one to console her, she wandered through her maternal village, weeping and talking to herself. Lost in grief, she unknowingly found herself on a busy expressway. A speeding car nearly hit her, snapping her back to reality only when villagers screamed in alarm.

From the gathered crowd, a familiar voice called out—Christian. He was someone Alma had known from her visits to the village, a boy she used to study with during mid-term breaks. Seeing her distress, Christian offered to take her home, but when they arrived, the house was empty. Concerned about leaving her alone, he suggested she follow him to his school so he could keep an eye on her. Desperate for any form of comfort, Alma agreed.

As night fell, Christian proposed they stay at a hotel in town since it was too late to return. Innocent and naïve, Alma—who had spent her entire schooling in a girls-only environment—did not fully understand the implications of sharing a room with him.

But then, something horrifying happened.

In the dimly lit room, as Alma wept inconsolably, Christian tried to comfort her. But his touches changed—became something else. Before she could grasp what was happening, he forced himself on her. She fought back, but his strength overpowered her. That night, as the weight of his assault crushed her, Alma wished death had taken her instead of her sister. She was only sixteen, yet she had already seen too much of the world's cruelty.

She told no one. There was no one to tell.

Weeks passed, and Alma began feeling unwell. Assuming it was malaria, her parents sent her to the nearest hospital for a check-up. But what she heard instead shattered her completely—she was pregnant.

Her world collapsed.

When she confronted Christian, he denied ever touching her. Desperate, she turned to his mother for help, but instead of sympathy, she received insults and was chased away. With nowhere else to turn, she finally confided in her parents. Their devastation mirrored hers. The shame, the pain—it was too much. Overwhelmed, Alma attempted to end her life. But she was saved.

News of her pregnancy spread quickly. Her former classmates mocked her, society branded her, and the stigma followed her everywhere.

At seventeen, she gave birth to her first child. A child she had never planned for. A child born out of pain.

But somehow, through it all, Alma survived.