Damla 🌧️

In primary school, there was a girl called Folake who gave me a nickname: "Charcoal." Every morning she would see me at the gate and say, "Ahh, the night has come early." The whole class laughed. I laughed too, because I didn't know what else to do. She made me sit alone. She told others not to stand next to me in pictures. Once, she said, "If you wash well, maybe you will turn human." I went home that day and scrubbed my arms with a sponge until they were red. My mother found me in the bathroom and held my hands. She said, "My daughter, your skin is not a mistake." I didn't believe her then. But I never forgot how she said it. I grew up. I stopped hiding in long sleeves. I started to love the colour I used to be ashamed of. Today, I run a skincare line for dark skin, and women from all over send me photos of their glowing faces. Last month, an unknown number called me. A woman's voice, shaky. She said, "Please, is this Adaeze? From Grace Primary School?" I said yes. There was a long silence. Then she said, "It's Folake."