Bride Price

[valentine]

Bride, PRICE
.
Episode 1
.
My parents gave my hand out in marriage to settle a debt.
.
Yeah, I know it sounds unbelievably crazy (especially in this time and age) but it’s true.
.
I grew up understanding the basics to life, early, because certain things were more like an anthem in my house.
.
At a point in my life, I didn’t see myself ever getting married.

The more my mother made it seem as though marriage was “the ultimate goal”, the less interested in it I became.
.
I’d planned to strive hard to get the best I could out of life, then become a single mother.

I love children, so I knew there was no way I wouldn’t have needed a man to give me one of mine.
.
Regardless of what my parents would have thought or done, I’d made up my mind and had set out to achieve “this” when I met Israel.
.
Israel was to change my perception about marriage.

Israel made me see why being married wasn’t such a bad idea after all. Especially if the partner is someone you can’t possibly imagine your life without.

Israel was that person for me.
.
I could never picture a future, without Israel being the center of it.
.
Israel and I grew in love, faster than I could have imagined. We were good together. We were the envy of most but just like in your story, Moshood, Israel was not ready to settle at the time.
.
Israel was just trying to find his footing in life and didn’t even need the distractions that marital pressure brings.
.
As much as settling down with Israel would have meant killing two birds with one stone (that is finally getting married as my mother had always wanted and not just that, marrying the love of my life), I knew that it wasn’t a realistic expectation, not at that time anyways.
.
We’d spoken about this a couple of times and every time, Israel and I ended this discussion with mutual understanding.
.
I was more than willing to wait for Israel because unlike those guys who would seem loyal to a girl when they are broke, only to become someone completely different after they begin to see “real money”, I knew for a fact that Israel was different. I knew for a fact that all Israel needed to begin our marriage plans was just a steady source of income and because we were hopeful, I didn’t have a problem waiting.
.
My parents (mother most especially) had long been on my neck to bring a man home.

Israel was supposed to be that man.

I was eventually going to bring Israel home (at least for him to meet my parents) but before I got a chance to, father announced that evening, during dinner, that Samson and his parents will be coming over the weekend to officially make their intentions known.
.
Your guess was as good as mine.
.
“Sorry! Who is Samson, Sir?” I asked, bemused.

To be continued…
.
Moshood Avidiime

[valentine]

Bride, PRICE
.
Episode 2
.
“Sorry, who is Samson, Sir?” I asked, bemused.
.
My father turned towards his wife (who was now looking away, trying to avoid his gaze) then back at me. He cleared his throat and went on to tell me how Samson is a family friend that has always had eyes for me. He said Samson was from a very reputable home; Samson was well to do and isn’t out to play games.

Father said that he wouldn’t even consider our union if he wasn’t sure that Samson would make a great husband.

Father said that I didn’t need to make any hasty decisions.

He was kind enough to give me till the next day to come up with a response.
.
Father had gone on and on telling me beautiful things he knew about Samson.
.
He ended his very long speech by stressing how all of the things he’d mentioned are the most important thing any woman ought to look out for in a life partner.
.
Father suggested that Samson and I went on a date, to at least get to meet; get to know ourselves.
.
“I didn’t even need to think about this, mama. There is no chance in my heart for any other man. I already have a man in my life and he shall be my husband. He might not be ready to come over right now, to see you and papa but I am going to wait for as long as it takes him to be ready”. I hissed at my mother, shortly after my second date with Samson.
.
I’d indulged Samson, just to make my parents feel like I actually tried to make things work with him.
.
They had emotionally blackmailed me enough not to have seemingly yielded.
.
Our first date was not so bad. As expected, Samson was best behaved.

You know how it normally goes when two people who are looking forward to starting a relationship finally meet for the first time, yeah?

Shey you know that our true sides gradually unfold the moment we begin to get comfortable with each other.

That was exactly the case with Samson.
.
Samson appeared sweet on this first date. He appeared very reasonable too.

He seemed to be a great listener.
.
Samson and I spoke about a lot.

While he genuinely appeared interested in me and seemingly wanted to make things work, I on the other hand was looking for the first thing to pick up on; to hold on to as the reason Samson and I “wouldn’t work out” but he was so smooth; too smooth.

The only reason I left that table; that night telling myself was the reason I could never be with Samson is that I already have a “love of my life” and no one could ever take his place.
.
Samson and I spoke on the phone the days that followed.
.
There was always something to talk about with that guy.
.
I won’t lie, for a split second, I actually imagined “something” with Samson.

Then we went on that second date and I got a glimpse of what could be my future with the monster, if I am unfortunate enough to accept his proposal.
.
At the time it was “what could be my future with Samson” but here I am, living that future; married to the same man; the same monster.

To be continued…

[valentine]

Bride, PRICE
.
Finálë
.
The way Samson bad mouthed people; the way he spoke down on a waiter; his ideology about marriage; how he thinks an ideal wife should behave; his perception of an ideal husband; what he thinks are the rights of his in-laws and what his supposed plans are for me; for my children, were more than enough reasons not to have imagined a life where I would be addressed as Mrs. Samson.
.
After that confrontation with my mother, she was to vaguely let me in on their little secret.
.
Apparently, my parents had gone ahead to borrow a very large sum of money from Samson’s father to offset what I can’t even begin to wrap my head around.

Samson’s father died shortly after but not before he told Samson about this loan my parents had taken from them.
.
Whatever the amount is, it was more than enough for Samson to have demanded that I be the “price” for its repayment, since it was obvious that my parents didn’t have that kind of money to pay him.

And whatever this amount is, it was obviously more than enough for my parents to have thought Samson’s proposal fair enough; enough to have sent me off to marry Samson, regardless of how much I tried to kick them out of it.
.
During the eve of my bridal shower, Samson bluntly told me that he would not put in a dime to whatever nonsense my friend and I had set out to organize.

He said “Bridal showers” are just an avenue to waste money; money these hungry girls don’t even know how hard it is to make.
.
He’d said this, caring less about what five of my very good friends who were present with me at the time, would think.
.
I cried my eyes out that night.
.
My friends had been the one pushing us to even do the bridal shower. A marriage I was not happy about, “what would have been my business with throwing a bridal shower in the first place?”
.
These same friends ended up contributing money to ensure that we went ahead with that bridal shower.
.
Had you been in attendance for our wedding, Moshood, you wouldn’t even need a soothsayer to tell you that the bride was not happy to be marrying the groom.

My gloomy face ruined all our wedding pictures.
.
Our first night together as newly weds, Samson practically raped me.
.
It didn’t take long before the animalistic side of him began to manifest.

Samson abuses me mentally; verbally; psychologically at any slight provocation. With the rate at which he does these, I still wonder why he hasn’t yet raised his hands on me.
.
Samson womanizes like no man’s business and even brings these women home sometimes.

Anytime I try to stand my ground, demanding respect as his wife, he reminds me that I was only an item he’d gotten in place of the debt my wretched parents could not afford to pay.

He’d always end by advising me to know my place.
.
We have a baby boy now.

He is just a year old.

My best friend has advised me to run away to a far away land and begin life but that is not even an option for me to consider. It’ll mean my son and I would practically have to beg to survive because I don’t have a dime to my name.

I can’t go home to my parents either. They will practically bundle me back to Samson.
.
I have asked my parents to tell me how much they owed Samson’s father. Even though I don’t have a job or a trade right now because Samson have completely forbade it, I’ll at least, have an idea and then strategize on how to go about buying back my life from this monster of a man’s hand.
.
I don’t know what to do, Moshood.
.
Please, if any of your readers can help fight my case and get me away from this bondage called marriage, I’ll forever be indebted.
.
I am just twenty five years old and this is definitely not the life I dreamed of.

The End

Moshood Avidiime

[Author]

Posts