STRINGS OF MARRIAGE

Family is considered to be one of the most important association of every individual. A family is where warmth is felt, tears gets wiped off, bruises gets tended to and loneliness gets tackled. But is this true for all families???

I sat in the the bus melancholic and somewhat depressed. I wish I had a choice to decline embarking on this journey.

“How do I tell my husband that I don’t feel like traveling to his parents house?”.

My husband is the first child of 5 children, three boys and two girls. They are all married except for the youngest daughter who will be getting married in two weeks time. This explains why I am traveling.

My mother in-law insisted that I travel down to the village two weeks earlier to assist with the marriage preparations.

The Bride herself was still in the city because of work but my husband and his family wants me to travel to the village for God knows why.

I sat on this 18seaters bus wishing for heavy traffic so I won’t get to the village early. Unfortunately, the road was unusually free that day.

I alighted from the bike and met my mother in-law seated at the front of the house with two other women chatting.

“Good afternoon Mama. Good afternoon ma”. I knelt down as I greeted my mother in-law and her friends.

“Welcome”. My mother in-law said coldly.

I entered the house and saw everywhere messy.

“Not again”. I said grudgingly.

I took my luggage to one of the rooms and retired there. I Love Coolvalstories. I laid on the bed to rest for a while. I was so tired and didn’t know when I slept off.

I woke to my loud ringtone. It was my husband.

“Hello. I forgot to call you..”. I said.

“You got to the house and started sleeping without doing anything. Now mama is complaining that she’s the one in the kitchen preparing food for you to eat. Does it make any sense to you?”. My husband shouted from the other end of the call.

I didn’t know what to say so I just kept quiet.

“Let me hear any complain about you again. You won’t like what will happen”. My husband said and ended the call.

I checked the time and discovered that I was asleep for only less than 30mins. It wasn’t even my intention to fall asleep. I was just tired.

I rushed out of the room and saw mama and papa already eating. I greeted papa who didn’t answer my greetings.

I entered the kitchen and saw that there was no food for me to eat. Mama only prepared food for herself and papa.

I resorted to washing the dirty plates in the kitchen so I wouldn’t be useless. I was still washing when mama walked in.

“Please leave my plates. Go back to sleep”. She said frowning.

“I am sorry ma”. I said with my head bowed down.

“Why are you sorry? Am big enough to be your mother-in-law? Please o.. I don’t want trouble, go and continue your sleep”. She said as she forcefully removed the plates from my hands.

I couldn’t leave to my room. I just stood there as I watch her do the dishes.

“Why are you still standing. It’s like you are looking for my trouble. Get out of here!!! Good for nothing woman”. She thundered.

I had no choice but to go back to my room.

I laid on the bed and began to cry. I began to miss my mom like never before. She died while giving birth to me.

I don’t know what it feels like to be loved dearly by another woman. I grew up with my father and my stepmom. It was hell.

I always thought getting married would make me feel loved but here I am being treated like a rag.

I know my mother in-law is not wicked. I see how she treats and respect my co-wives.

“Why does she hates me?”. “Am I cursed?”.

With a heavy heart, I fell asleep.

The next morning, I woke up hungry. I looked at the house and I saw it needed intense cleaning. I had no choice but to get to work though I was seriously hungry.

I cleaned all five bedrooms in the house. By the time I was done, it was already 11:15am. I was already exhausted.

“So, if I don’t tell you, you won’t know you should have to paused and prepare breakfast before finishing up with the cleaning?”. My mother in-law said to me while I was trying to rest.

I stood up immediately.

“I was just looking at you to see if your sense will remind you that you need to cook. You don’t seem to surprise me at all”. She said shaking her head.

“Take this money and go to the market to get things for Banga soup. if you like sleep there. It’s not like I have any expectations for you”. She said and handed me some money.

I changed my clothes and moved straight to the market. I was so hungry and decided to buy food from a restaurant before proceeding home.

Thank God I ate in the market because it was from one work to the other. I didn’t rest the whole day.

It continued till few days to the wedding when everybody started traveling home. That was when my eyes began to see even worse treatments.

Three days to the marriage, my husband’s immediate younger brother, Kelvin arrived the village with his wife and their two kids.

Mama couldn’t hide her excitement. She was all over Sandra, Kelvin’s wife.

“My sweet wife!!”. Mama kept on eulogizing Sandra.

I felt a sharp pain in my chest. I can’t remember the last time mama praised me like this. I just kept on watching the show of love with so much pain and didn’t even realize tears were already dropping from my eyes.

I quickly got hold of myself and joined them in the palour.

“Welcome sir”. I said kneeling in front of my brother in-law.

“Thank you”. He said patting my back.

I went to where Sandra was seated and greeted her. I played with the kids for a while before I excused myself and went back to the kitchen.

“Where is this girl? Don’t she know she’s supposed to carry your luggages to your room. This is why I don’t like her. She can’t think with her brain. Elizabeth! Elizabeth o. LIZBETH!!”. Mama thundered angrily.

I couldn’t hear her because I was pounding yam in the kitchen and it was so loud.

Mama walked into the kitchen and took a bowl and filled it water. I continued pounding the yam hurriedly because I thought she came to complain that the food was taking forever to get ready.

Mama walked to where I was and emptied the bowl of water on my body. I was livid.

I have never been that angry.

“What’s the meaning of this Mama?”. I asked angrily without processing the question before letting it out.

“You must be stupid. I have been calling you nonstop but you intentionally kept me quiet. Who do you expect to take the luggages inside? Must I tell you everything?”. She asked angrily.

“So you poured water on me because of that? Can’t Sandra take their luggages inside? Am I a slave that will…”

I was still speaking when Kelvin walked into the kitchen and slapped me on my face.

“Where are your manners?”. He asked.

“My manners are where your wife kept hers”. I charged at him.

Mama gave me another slap.

“You must be out of your mind. Leave my house immediately”. Mama said and started pushing me aggressively.

She fell during the process. This worsened the whole situation.

Kelvin pounced on me and started beating me for falling his mother. I had to run out of the house to save my life.

He came after me but some good Samaritans intervened on my behalf.

“I will never allow her into my house. She must leave my house”. Mama insisted.

“Please let me get my clothes”. I pleaded

“You mean those rags? I will bring them to you”. Sandra chipped in.

One by one, Sandra began to throw my clothes on the floor and mama even joined her.

I told her where my phone was and she brought it outside and threw it on the floor. The screen on my phone broke a little.

I bent down and picked every of my properties with tears.

I checked my phone and saw my husband had called over 9 times.

I packed my things and staggered out of the compound. I began to walk around the whole village like a vagabond.

I got tired and sat under one tree to process the next step to take. I couldn’t think of anything. I placed my head on my palms and began sobbing.

“Don’t do that okay”. A man said.

I was taken aback.

“I have been following you around but you didn’t notice. I saw what happened. Those people don’t deserve you and they don’t worth your tears”. He said smiling.

I hissed and carried my bag. Without saying anything, I just started walked out on him.

This man kept on following me. I got pissed. I turned back and shouted at him…

“If you follow me again, I will shout that you want to kidnap me. Respect yourself”.

I stopped a bike and told the bike man to take me to the park.

From the park, I boarded a bus to my base. It was a night journey.

I got to my house around 5:45am.

The first thing I saw in front of my house were my boxes, with my clothes littered everywhere on the floor.

I was destabilized. I knocked on the door severally without any response from my husband.

I just sat on one of my boxes waiting for the Boss of the house to come out.

Around exactly 6:18am, my husband came out of the house and poured a bucket of water on me.

“You dare show your face here? I give you 20mins to get these trash from my compound. Just 20mins”. My husband said.

“What is my offense? What did I do wrong?”. I asked with tears.

“It is not your fault. The fault is mine. I got married to a nonentity who can’t even give me a child talk more of respecting my family. You are useless to me Elizabeth! Leave my house if you don’t want to die”. My husband said and went inside.

I packed my things to my neighbors side and pleaded with my best friend, Faith to come pick me up.

To be continued...