The reasons why we do the things we do will not always be the ones others will remember. Sometimes I think we have children because we want to leave … - Ayobami Adebayo

The reasons why we do the things we do will not always be the ones that others will remember. Sometimes.

Sometimes I think we have children because we want to leave behind someone who can explain who we were to the world when we are gone.

But even then, I could trap those thoughts and keep them caged in a corner of my mind, in a place where they could not spread their wings and take over my life.

I was armed with millions of smiles. Apologetic smiles, pity-me smiles, I-look-unto-God smiles—name all the fake smiles needed to get through an afternoon with a group of people who claim to want the best for you while poking at your open sore with a stick—and I had them ready.

So love is like a test, but in what sense? To what end? Who was carrying out the test? But I think I did believe that love had immense power to unearth all that was good in us, refine us and reveal to us the better versions of ourselves.