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I spent half of my life living with my cousins. My dad was a single parent after he had lost my mother, and he sent me to his sister's house with the hope that she'd give me a better chance to become a disciplined woman, seeing that he couldn't do the job himself. He was always on the road, traveling for one business or the other, so parenting was a bit difficult for him.
Even though he sent me to stay with his family, he didn't want me to be a burden to them, so he made it a duty to always send money, foodstuffs and provisions every month. He'd send each of his sister's children money every month as their allowances, and I wouldn't get any. At first, I felt I was being neglected so I decided to ask him why he never sent money to me as well.
"Everything I'm doing is for your sake, Jane. If I send you money, they might misunderstand the situation, so it's best I send it to them." My dad explained.
"They don't even give me a little from the one you send them." I complained.
"Don't worry, you won't be staying here forever." He consoled.
Some years later, my dad remarried and for a while, it seemed like his attention was shifted to the new family he was trying to build. He didn't call as he used to, and the money and gifts were reduced a bit. That was when the troubles set in.
"Jane, what's that in your hand?" One of my cousins asked me.
"It's food." I replied.
"That food is big for someone who's depending on others to feed." He said, and I apologized for my mistakes, but I didn't make any attempt to return the food.
"So Jane, since your dad is busy with his new family, how do you think you'll write JAMB?" He asked me, but before I could reply, the eldest one who always seemed to have problems with me staying at their house replied.
"I've always said she should quit living in her little fantasy bubble of going to the university, and probably learn a trade. Her dad has obviously forgotten that she's out of high school, and she's just here wasting her own time." He paused and scoffed. "Going to the university; that will only happen when pigs fly." He said, and I felt a stabbing pain in my chest.
I went into my room and cried my eyes out. After crying, I wiped my tears and began to read, preparing myself for the upcoming JAMB examination that would determine if I'd get into the university or not.
Soon, the day for the examination came, and they tried their best to make me late.
"Jane, don't leave this house without cooking. That exam you're going to write is all pointless." The eldest son said to me.
I went into the kitchen and sought the fastest and easiest thing I could cook for them. While I was in the kitchen, I overheard my cousins laughing that I was only making a joke of myself by trying so hard to get into the university.
"I have said it before, and I'm saying it again, the chances of Jane getting into the university are too slim. There's no way that she can do that." The eldest son said.
"I heard you said it'll only happen when pigs fly?" I heard one of them laughing.
"That's exactly what I said, and pigs will never fly. So our darling university girl isn't leaving this house anytime soon." The eldest replied.
After cooking the meal, and dressing to go for the exam, I prayed that it would go smoothly, and I'd get admission into one of the finest universities in the country, so I could prove my cousins wrong.
After the exams, my cousins took it upon themselves to taunt me every day asking me if I had seen my results. They'd ask even by 2 am, and it was frustrating, especially their laughter after they had left my room.
One afternoon, we were all seated in the living room when my phone buzzed. I checked it, and it was my exam result. I had scored 310. My happiness knew no bounds; I jumped up with joy and announced the news to them.
"Don't count your chickens before they are hatched." One of them said as if he was keen on keeping me sad.
Some days later, another notification popped up, and it read that a school was offering me admission to study at their university. I quickly took a screenshot and sent it to my dad's DM, and for the first time in months, he called.
After our discussion, I accepted the admission and proceeded to share the news with my cousins. They were stunned.
"How's that even possible?" One of them asked.
"Well I guess, pigs do fly after all." I replied and walked away.
Three weeks later, I packed my bag and left for the university. None of them could say a word to me and I didn't care about whatever any of them would've had to say. I was only happy that the pigs did fly, and I left that prison of a house to the university.
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