The slamming of doors and the voices of her loud neighbors woke her up. She could feel their stares on her as they walked past while they discussed in low tones, which heightened the embarrassment and sadness she felt.
She rummaged through her bag for her phone, heaving a sigh of relief when she found it. Thieves were very common in this part of the city.
During her search for the phone, she had come across the card. A phone number was boldly written in it, plus the name of the owner, Jones. She tossed it back into her bag; she would trash it later; there was no need to keep it.
"Do it, Melissa; you don't have any option." A part of her said.
No! She wasn't going to do it. What would happen to her happily ever after if she was going to be stuck to a man whom her heart didn't yearn for?
There had to be some other way she could get a roof over her head. She went through her scanty contact list that wasn't up to thirty. Aside from a few of her co-workers, she had no friends or relatives.
Maya!
It was fair to call the relationship between Maya and her a friendship, right? She was closer to Maya than every other worker; they hung about sometimes and gossiped together at work. She'd call Maya and narrate her ordeal to her. Maya was a nice and caring person; she would never refuse to help her.
With that, she dialed Maya's number. It rang the first time; there was no answer. She tried again; this time Maya answered the phone.
"Melissa, good morning." Maya greeted. "Why aren't you at work yet? The boss is very furious, and the customers aren't happy either." She disclosed the current situation at the cafe.
"Maya, I have much more problems to worry about than serving coffees and trying to beg an angry boss."
"Every one of us has problems, Melissa. We're just doing our very best not to let it weigh us down."
Melissa noticed the tinge of sadness in her voice as she spoke. Maya was a very cheerful and happy person; it'd take something big to make her this unhappy.
"Is everything okay?" Asked Melissa.
"Yes," Maya replied.
"Maya, if there's anything bothering you, you can tell me. A problem shared may be a problem half solved; you never know if I can proffer a solution."
"It's my family; they were ejected out of their house." Maya revealed. "They're staying with me now; I barely have enough to get them a place of their own," Maya sobbed over the phone. "My apartment is very small, and it feels like an oven here."
"Maya, don't cry; everything is going to be fine." Melissa consoled her. "Problems are inevitable in this life, but we shouldn't let them weigh us down." She wiped off the tears that had gathered at the corner of her eyes. Here she was, giving advice to someone, yet she couldn't make use of it.
Telling someone to not give up yet she had lost all hope and was being crushed under the weight of her problems.
"Are you okay?" Maya asked after Melissa had gone quiet, and she could hear sobs.
"I'm good." She lied. "Tell the boss I'm resigning, and he can find another person; I have to go now." She ended the call.
Melissa picked up the card, which she had ripped into two during her call with Maya, and she put it back together. She was beginning to weigh her advantages over her disadvantages.
She'd have a roof over her head, good food, and she'd have access to nice things, all the beautiful things a girl could dream of. She could accommodate strangers; besides, she had lived with strangers all her life, so doing it again shouldn't be a problem for her; neither would it make a difference.
Melissa dialed the number on the card; the phone was answered on the first ring.
"Good morning Mr Jones." She greeted and he recognized who it was the moment she spoke.
"Melissa, how are you doing?"
"Fine, sir," she answered. "I... I..." She stuttered. The words were stuck in her throat, and she was having a hard time saying why she had called. She took a deep breath to calm herself down before she continued. "It's about the job you offered me last night."
"What about it?" Mr. Jones couldn't hide the excitement in his voice.
"If the job offer is still available, I'd like to take it."
"Yes, it's still available. I'd never give it to anyone else but you." Mr. Jones replied. "Where are you?"
"I'm at my apartment," she answered.
"I'm sending a driver right away to pick you up." Mr. Jones immediately dropped the call. He put a call across to the driver, who drove off after dropping the call to pick up Melissa.
Melissa held the phone to her chest, quietly sobbing. She silently prayed she was making the right decision and not ruining her life.