Yesterday morning started like any other. I stepped out to get breakfast, hoping to enjoy a simple meal before beginning the day’s activities. I got there earlier than usual, so the food I wanted wasn’t quite ready yet. I sat quietly, waiting.
I noticed that there were already three people seated two men and a woman. The woman caught my attention immediately. She was older, clearly old enough to be my mother. Something about her presence stood out, though I didn’t think much of it at first.
I wasn’t with my phone so no distraction. I just observed my surroundings, while the aroma of food filled the small space. Soon after, the woman finished her meal. Prior to this time, the food vendor had probably stepped into the kitchen, leaving the counter unattended. As the woman rose to leave, I noticed her saying something to herself, her eyes shifting slightly as though she was debating an inner decision.
That was when I remembered that I had seen a two-hundred-naira note lying quietly on the shelf near the serving point. Someone must have forgotten it earlier, I guess. It wasn’t hidden, it was right there in plain sight. The food seller hadn’t noticed it before stepping out
The woman hesitated, then slowly moved toward the counter. She looked around carefully, glanced at everyone there, me and the two men who were still eating. At this point I pretended not to be observing her. Finally, her eyes flicked in my direction again, I held her gaze without meaning to. In a swift motion, she picked up the note, folded it into her handkerchief.
At that moment, time slowed. The look she gave me was unforgettable, part guilt and part fear of being exposed. She knew I had seen her.
It wasn’t the amount she took that shocked me. Two hundred naira is almost insignificant in today’s world. What struck me deeply was the act itself. The secrecy, the awareness that it was wrong, yet she still choose to do it. From someone of her age, it stung even more. I felt disappointed, not anger. I was embarrassed on her behalf.
As I sat there, I couldn’t help but reflect. How many times in life are we faced with small decisions that test our integrity? It’s easy to talk about honesty, values, and good character when the stakes are high, but what about the little things? What about the times no one is clapping for us or holding us accountable?
Character, I realized, isn’t built in grand moments. It’s shaped in these quiet, hidden choices. If we can’t be trusted with something as small as two hundred naira, can we truly be trusted with bigger things?
I also thought of the unseen consequences. What if that money belonged to someone who had only that much left for the day? What if they came back looking for it? To her, it might have been nothing, but to someone else, it could have meant everything.
I still remember her face. If I saw her again, I’d recognize her instantly not to condemn her, but as a personal reminder. A reminder that even the smallest actions carry weight, and that integrity is measured not by the size of the test, but by the consistency of our choices.
In the end, that morning gave me more than breakfast. It gave me a lesson I’ll carry for a long time: that true dignity lies in choosing what is right, even when it seems insignificant, even when no one is watching.
Shalom.
