An elder sister of yours who has left school had confided in you in her last letter that she plans to elope with her lover whom your parents do not approve ...

24 Ademola Road,
Ibadan.
10th July, 2026.

Dear Sister Bisi,

I received your last letter and I have read it again and again. I must confess that your plan to run away and marry Tunde without our parents' blessing has robbed me of sleep. Because I love you dearly, I cannot keep quiet. Please, sister, I beg you with all my heart, do not take this step.

Consider, first, the pain it will cause. Our parents have loved you and sacrificed for you since childhood. To elope is to repay that love with a wound they may never forget. A marriage that begins with tears in the home rarely ends in lasting joy.

Secondly, think of the danger to the marriage itself. When trouble comes, and trouble always comes, who will stand by you? A wife who leaves her family behind has no one to run to. The blessing of parents is a shelter you will need on many rainy days.

Thirdly, remember our name. In our community, an elopement brings shame not only on you but on all of us who bear the same surname. Do not exchange a lifetime of respect for a moment of impatience.

Now, rather than run away, let me suggest a better road. Encourage Tunde to visit our parents formally and introduce himself with respect. Let him come with a responsible elder or a family friend whom our father trusts to speak on his behalf. Show our parents, by patience and good conduct, that he is a serious and honourable man. Ask an aunt or uncle whose opinion Father respects to plead your case gently. Time and courtesy can soften even the hardest heart.

Sister, true love is patient. If Tunde is worthy of you, he will wait and win our parents properly. Please write back and tell me you have changed your mind.

Your loving sister,
Ronke.