I Watched a Man Sell His Wife's Gold for a Laptop That Wasn't Even Real

Two years ago, a man walked into my shop in Aba. He was shaking. He said he needed a laptop for a job interview in Lagos. He had ₦85,000. The laptop cost ₦210,000. He started crying in my shop.

He brought his wife's gold necklace the next day. Said she didn't know. Said he would buy it back. I weighed it, gave him the laptop, and told myself it wasn't my business. Three weeks later, his wife came to my shop looking for him. She was carrying a baby. She said he left for Lagos and never came back. The laptop was still in the box. He never opened it. He just wanted the money.

I still have that gold necklace. I can't sell it. I can't return it. It sits in my drawer and reminds me that some people are not buying gadgets. They are buying escape. I don't know where that man is today. But I know his wife is still in Aba, and she has stopped asking questions.