Niger state. July 1999

The man that helped Julianna introduced himself as Tade Benson, his wife Shade. Their boys were Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Tade had named them after the first three chapters of the Bible's new testament. If he had another son, he would have named him John, but unfortunately, Shade was advised not to give birth again after Luke's difficult birth.

Luke was also named Joshua, shorten for Josh, by his mother. He recently insisted on changing his name due to kids at school who were always playing pranks and making fun of his name by calling out... 'look! Here comes Luke' or 'look over here Luke'.

When he grew tired of all their antics, he begged his mother for a change of name. His mother and brothers hardly call him Luke anymore, except for his father who still does sometimes. Even though most of the family now calls him Josh, his birth certificate and all other important documents had Luke on them as his name.

The boys crowded around Julianna inside the minibus with excitement, cooing and trying to pacify the crying, but very cute baby in her arms.

Matthew who had moved farther to the back seat to give space for Julianna to sit, stood and leaned forward, resting his arms near Julianna's headrest so he could have a better view of the baby.

"Why is she crying so hard? Did that wicked man hurt her? Is she hurting anywhere? May I please hold her? I promised I would be careful with her..." Josh continuously asked and pleaded until his wish was granted.

"Okay hold out your hands," Julianna said and handed the baby to Josh, showing him how to properly carry her. Surprisingly, the baby that was crying hard gradually quiet down, till she eventually stopped crying. Now smiling up at the six pairs of excited eyes, gazing adoringly at her.

"What is her name?" Matthew asked without taking his eyes off Abby

"You can call her Abidemi or Abimbola."

"A girl in my class is also called Abimbola, but everyone calls her Abby. Can I call her Abby too?" Josh asked, looking up at Julianna for approval

"Yes, of course, Abby is also a beautiful name" Julianna answered

"May I hold her too aunty?" Mark asked trying to remove the baby from Josh's hands.

"No, you may not. Can't you see I'm still holding her?" Josh replies with a frown, holding the baby slightly away from Mark.

"Boys, please! Why don't you take turns in holding her?" Their mother spoke firmly from the front seat before Josh grudgingly handed over the baby to Mark.

Josh argued with Mark all the way about how he's not holding the baby properly and how to do it the right way as if he was an expert himself, while Julianna watched over them with a smile.

They arrived in Niger state by early evening. Their stop was a popular place where travelers usually go for food, bathroom break, and fuel for their cars.

They all went inside the restaurant after their bathroom break. The adults sat together with their food while the boys were sitting at a separate table with Abby who was now nestled in Matthew's arms.

"So where are you heading, so we would know where it's convenient for us to drop you at?" Tade asked casually while focusing on his food. When he didn't get any reply from Julianna he looked up and met his wife's troubled look that was fixed on the woman they just helped.

They saw she was downcasted. Looking at her untouched plate of food, while tears wells up in her eyes before she started weeping helplessly.

"Is there a problem? Tade worriedly asked Shade. "Is it something I said?" He asked again in confusion before looking towards Julianna.

Shola moved her chair closer to Julianna's and patted her back. "Are you okay dear? There, there, don't cry. Everything will be okay" she said reassuringly.

"Can you tell us what the problem is?" She asked after she saw Julianna had calmed down

"I'm so sorry for the waterworks" Juliana apologized in a tiny voice. She attempted to smile but it came out like a grimace. "It's just that... I-i don't have anywhere to go." She said helplessly, looking down again at her plate of food.

"The only people I know are my parents-in-law and they are out of the country right now. They won't be back for the next three months, and I have no means of contacting them.

The contact number and address they gave me were in my apartment in Badariya-church. Every known Christian house on the street had been burnt down. Everything is gone. I had nothing left! We were lucky to have escaped with our lives"

Julianna was tired, afraid and grief-stricken. She felt like an abandoned, empty shell.

'Why does bad luck keep following me? Why must I lose people and things dear to me?' She painfully wondered to herself. First, her mom died, then her father, followed by her husband. Now everything she owned was also gone.

It was as if the situation she was in just dawned on her.

'My life is pathetic! I am now homeless and jobless. A twenty-three-year-old woman, with a six months old baby! My life is beyond pathetic!' She thought and laughed. Then started crying almost immediately.

As her tears flowed freely, she thought to herself... 'God! Please make it stop! I am tired, please make it stop!'

"Huh!? How can you not have anywhere to go?" Tade asked unbelievably. His voice broke through Julianna's thought.

"I don't have sir! I'm not lying to you. Everything I ever had... Everyone I know was left behind in Kano. I thought I could just grab my daughter and go back to plead for accommodation from my boss until when my mother in law comes back into the country you see... But situations just quickly got out of hand... I had to run with my baby if we want to have any hope of living to see another day...

I couldn't go around Kano looking for people I know and knocking at their doors! I had to run! Please believe me..." Julianna cried desperately as she explained her predicament to Tade and Shade.