Years ago, my mother was just about to close the shop when a man approached her. It had rained heavily that very day and we were rushing home, (A man approached my mother outside her shop)

We were just packing things into the shop when this man,

Approached her outside and said to her

"Madam Well done o. I do see you every day. You are a very hardworking woman. Especially with your son. I see how you handle the shop and also handle him. So today I said I should come and bless you."

He pulled out a bunch of mint notes from his pocket and gave them to my mother. They were a mixed bundle of 100 naira notes, twenty naira notes, and fifty.

My mother collected it and thanked him, (A man approached my mother outside her shop)

This was a year we needed money badly. The rent was due and my father was working very hard to gather the rent together - Twenty-five thousand naira as at then, for a room and parlor self-contained.

We got home that evening and she showed my father the money and told him that a stranger saw her and gave her money just to appreciate her for being hardworking.

My excited father counted the money.

It was 5k in total.

Very big amount then.

He gave my mother 2k and told her he was going to add 3k to the 17k he had gathered. So he could pay the landlord 20k while he looks for the balance of 5k.

He took the money and combined it with the 17k he had gathered. My mother counted her money for the week she was preparing to restock. She picked 1k out of the 2k and added it to her money.

That night while we slept my father jolted up. He said the house was stuffy and it seemed to him as if a spirit was in the bedroom. He stood up and moved around. Went to the parlor and kitchen to look around and check.

That night he returned and slept.

When we woke up the next morning, my father went to the drawer where he kept the rent and instead, he found three cowries in the drawer.

Filled with shock, he shouted and showed my mother the empty drawer.

My mother screamed.

At that moment she remembered her savings and ran to her savings box to check her money meant for restocking the shop and discovered a female fingernail inside.

All her money was gone.

Not all gifts from strangers are pure. Some are used as an avenue to take from you, bring you down, and steal your joy.

Be watchful.

And pray always.

My name is Praises Chidera Obiora and I am the best at what I do.