Score |
171
Joe Ink
Student @ University of Abuja
Student @ University of Abuja
THE LAST OPTION
With
<p>The Last Option</p><p><br/></p><p>Daniel was only twenty-five, but life had already made him feel much older. Every morning, he wore the same neatly ironed shirt, picked up his folder of CVs, and walked from one office to another. "We'll get back to you," they always said. They never did.</p><p><br/></p><p>At home, his younger sister, Sarah, hid her hunger behind a smile. One evening, the last piece of bread sat between them. "I'm not hungry," she whispered. Daniel knew she was lying, so he broke it in half anyway.</p><p><br/></p><p>He learned new skills with borrowed data, took small jobs that never paid, and watched the landlord threaten to throw them out. The lights went off when they couldn't pay the bills. Soon, even relatives stopped encouraging him. "Everybody survives somehow," they said.</p><p><br/></p><p>Then Rex returned.</p><p><br/></p><p>The old friend who once struggled beside him now arrived in a shiny car, wearing expensive clothes and carrying easy answers.</p><p><br/></p><p>"One job. One night. Your problems disappear."</p><p><br/></p><p>The envelope of cash in Daniel's hand felt like food, rent, and hope all at once. But when Sarah saw it, tears filled her eyes.</p><p><br/></p><p>"I'd rather stay hungry than lose my brother."</p><p><br/></p><p>That night, Daniel wandered empty streets, torn between survival and his conscience. Then he remembered his late mother's words: "Success may be late, but never let desperation become your teacher."</p><p><br/></p><p>The next morning, he returned every naira to Rex.</p><p><br/></p><p>Days later, still unemployed, Daniel helped an elderly woman named Mrs. Adebayo carry her groceries. She offered him money, but he refused.</p><p><br/></p><p>Three days later, she called. Her brother, Mr. Bello, needed someone trustworthy.</p><p><br/></p><p>During the interview, Daniel told the truth about choosing honesty when it cost him everything.</p><p><br/></p><p>Mr. Bello smiled.</p><p><br/></p><p>"Skills can be taught. Character cannot."</p><p><br/></p><p>Daniel got the job.</p><p><br/></p><p>When his first salary came, he paid the rent, restored the electricity, and shared a real meal with Sarah.</p><p><br/></p><p>That night, he opened his old notebook and wrote one final sentence:</p><p><br/></p><p>"The wrong path looked like my last option, but my breakthrough was waiting on the other side of one honest decision."</p>
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15
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