Along Came Mr Right

This story is told of Miss Pee. 

Growing up as a girl, she always knew what she wanted as a woman. She knew she wanted a fine young man who would love her senseless. She knew, like every other average Nigerian girl, she wanted a 'God-fearing' man. She knew she wanted a son and a daughter from whoever this Mr Right was.

So she waited. She was a pretty young girl. While growing up, suitors and predators flocked around her. She kept them all at arm's length. She swore to keep the 'flower in the garden' till she was with Mr Right.

It was tough. She was not born with a spoon, not to speak of the silver ones. It was easy to succumb 'economically' to the ostentatious advances from Lagos Big Boys. She remained unflinching in her resolve to wait for Mr Right. Trust me, there was a plethora of offers.

Finally, after many years of earnestly searching, she met and started dating Mr Right in February of 2012. She had taken her time to study him like a law textbook till she was certain she knew him. Or so she thought.

Some weeks ago, she caught Mr Right with some other lady. Apparently, she was not his Mrs Right. She would hear nothing of it. She was shattered emotionally. She was pained she had finally given up her virginity to a pseudo-Mr Right. She was crushed.

She stopped seeing him. She could tolerate a lot of things but unfaithfulness was an absolute deal breaker for her. 

The heartbreak would have been bad enough if not for the fact that she tested positive for HIV last week. She claims there's no other way she could have been exposed. She also claims she checked a few months before and she was sero-negative. She also insists she has been entirely faithful to 'Mr Right'. Apparently same cannot be said of him.

Retrospectively, she acknowledges she noticed Mr Right was always taking pills. She inquired and he insisted he was just taking 'routine immune-boosters' and multivitamins. My profession has taught me a lot about human nature, mendacity and the value of truth. 

Unfortunately for Ms Pee, life has turned on its head. She'll never understand why life should be this callous and unfair to her. She was not a 'runz girl'. She was a decent young lady who happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. Life will never be the same, irrespective of what the Post-Test Counselors say.

Miss Pee's story is not fiction.

The virus is still spreading and believe it or not, the women are the worst hit. Most of the newly diagnosed cases are women. You think you know someone but really, do you? Many will say Miss Pee was too ingenuous and fell too easily. Some will say she was not spiritual enough to decipher the voice of God about Mr Right. Say what you will, she remains human. Flawed by and at creation.

The ABC of prevention still holds. We only need to be responsible adults. Abstain, Be Faithful or Use Condoms. There's an option for everybody. If you are the staunch Christian or Muslim, you'll probably be in abstinence. If you are not so staunch in your creed and insist on having sex, choose a partner and be responsible enough to stick to that partner. If you are the hormone-driven-libido-firing one who the Bible describes as a 'city without a fortress', please walk to any PEPFAR clinic and obtain free condoms. There's no need pretending it is not happening. Human beings are having sex! Church or no church. Mosque or no mosque. Why don't we let them be guided appropriately instead of remaining uptight and promptly castigating anyone who mentions sex?

We must choose to responsible. Only then can we stem this raging tide.