It was a wrong mobile money alert but his intentions weren’t wrong

One early morning, I woke up and I had received, GHC2,000 on my mobile money wallet. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing so I quickly went into my account and checked again. The total amount in my wallet was GHC2005. “Who might have sent this money to me?” I asked myself several times and no name came to mind. Nobody owes me that much and I had done nothing to anyone to deserve such an amount. I said, “I will wait. Whoever sent the money would call back if indeed it was a wrong line.”

Two hours, four hours, later it was mid-day, and no one called to claim ownership of the money. I started getting scared. I picked the number that sent the money and called…or it was he who called later? I don’t remember. But I remember saying something like, “Hello, my name is Linda. I received an amount from you this morning.” A manly voice answered, “Hello Linda, this is Godfred. That’s the payment for the items the boys came to pick from your store.” “The boys? Which boys? I don’t even own a store,” I said. He was quiet for a while. He asked, “Are you not Linda Bediako?” I answered, “I’m Linda Asilfie.”

That was when he realized he had sent the money to the wrong Linda. He said, “Please, then it’s a wrong number I’ve sent the money to. Pardon my recklessness. I was paying a woman I bought some goods from. What do we do? How do I get the money back? Could you revert?” Some minutes later, I sent back his money and he called to say thank you.

Life goes on. Some minutes ago I was GHC2000 richer but now, nothing I get. That evening he called again. We spoke for about two minutes. He asked what I do and I told him. He asked about my church and where I live. I told him everything. In the end, he said, “I’m going to send you a token for being that kind.” I told him, “Even if I didn’t call you, you would have realized it later and come for your money. I did what I ought to do.” Three minutes after we hang up, I heard the beep, kpiin kpiin! I checked and he had sent GHC1000 to my account. “Is that the token?” I called to say thank you and we ended up talking for a while.

Someday he would call to ask how I was doing and I would tell him I was doing great. He would ask me to call him some time but I wouldn’t call until he calls me again to ask why I don’t call him. I will give flimsy excuses and promise to call next time. Next time he will be the one calling and again asking if I wasn’t interested in his friendship. It went on and on until one day he asked us to meet. It was just a normal night but his personality and sense of humor came through to make the night worthwhile. He said, “I would be going back in a week’s time but before I leave, I want us to have a firm ground for friendship. Call me, talk to me, the usual stuff that friends do.”

I promised I would call but he ended up doing all the calls. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to call him. He was always calling me so what time and space would I get to also call him? The day before he left for wherever he was going, we met one last time. He told me, “Linda be frank with me. What are my chances of getting you to be my girlfriend?” I asked him, “Is that a proposal?” He answered, “Take it as the wind before the storm.” We both laughed about it and I told him this. “I don’t know you. It’s been barely a month or so since we accidentally crossed path. And you don’t even live here. How possible could I calculate your chances when I don’t know you?”

Our conversation ended there and the next day he left.

I didn’t hear from him for about a week. I thought that was it. Out of sight out of mind but he called one night and the happiness I felt within was something special. I didn’t think just a call from someone could make me this happy. We spoke. He talked about his trip. He talked about abroad life and talked about family here in Ghana. In the end, he talked about how he had been thinking of me since he left. I said, “Liar! You haven’t called me for a week. How could you think about someone and still don’t call her?” The rest of the night became lovey-dovey. I didn’t even realize how far I’d let myself go. It was so obvious he got a hint of it.

We never stopped talking and he never stopped reminding me about his feelings for me. One day out of the blue I told him, “If you would come back home anytime soon, I would introduce you to my parents. If they agree, we’ll take it from there.” “Is that a yes to my proposal?” He asked. I said, “Let’s wait and hear from my parents too.”

Six months later he was back. Two years later we were married. A year later I moved to live with him. Four years and two kids later, we are back living in Ghana, managing our own business, and watching two kids grow before our eyes. During our wedding when we shared the story of our first meeting, one lady said, “Those we know don’t send us Momo, let alone strangers?” It made all of us there laughed but it made me realized how lucky I’ve been, to have a man thrown at me through my MoMo wallet. The only downside to our story is that he had stopped sending me Momo. Who told him I’m incapable of receiving accidental alerts?

—Linda