Growing Up In A Polygamous Family : My True Life Story Part 2

Hello guys, happy Sunday. Today I want to share with you the remaining part of my story. If you missed the part one, you can find it below

https://steemit.com/polygamy/@ewuoso/growing-up-in-a-polygamous-family-my-true-life-story

I don't really understand what my dad's problem was. He is not that heartless a father and I cannot say he hates us or our mum but all I know is that he was partial in dealings with the first wife and second one. My dad knows some of the things going on in the house but he tends to look the other way. Could it be that he fears the first wife since my mum was not there to fight for us. I guess the question will remain unanswered since I cannot ask him again. It is too late and I am no longer bothered.

My dad had pens of pigs as he had an animal farm in our compound then. Since I was a son in the house and not a maid, I guess cleaning and taking care of the animals should be done by every children in the house. Though my dad instructed everybody to see to that but as usual my step sisters and brothers had their way of boycotting it.

For anybody that has had any encounter with pigs, the person will know how dirty and smelly they can be. We were supposed to clean the pens once in a day and feed them twice. When my dad first started the piggery, my siblings joined in the cleaning but after they experienced the smell and all, they stopped cleaning thereby leaving more pens for me to clean. I couldn't have reported since I was going to be eating out of the food their mum cooked and I don't want to go hungry so i decided to keep quiet. I was always the fall guy for them as my dad was always scolding me for their own wrong doings. If I tell him that I was not responsible, he will call the person and tell him or her to clean it and leave. Unknowingly to him, hey don't always clean it instead they will just leave it like that. I am always left with no choice than to do it.

The pens are too much for me so I will have to do it twice in a day. Before I go to school and after I get back from school. With that I will still come back to little food. The pains were nothing compared to the shame I felt as a result of the fact that I needed to always attend to the pigs every morning. Like I said earlier, the smell of their waste product is disastrous. You don't need to touch it until the smell is perceived on your body. Mere staying inside the pen for some minutes is enough.

All these were the struggle I went to everyday. Only my close friends understood the reason why I had to stink everyday. What about those that don't care and those that don't understand. They make jest of me always. It is not their fault though. The funniest thing is that I was still in the primary school. I wonder how small I was going to be then. This is some 18 years ago or more.

I remember a day that I almost wished I was swallowed by the ground. I was supposed to go to a crusade with my friends. Her mum was supposed to take us. I just concluded cleaning the pigs and they were already waiting for me. I rushed to take my bath but it was still so obvious that I was with the pigs. When I got into the car, everybody covered their noses and the mum said to my face that I stink. I felt so ashamed. Though the woman did not ask me to get down but I wish she did. She would have saved my face a little. Till we got to the crusade, I did not say a word.

All these while that I was facing these harsh treatment, I was sending letters to my mum through my dad's driver. They were always letters that explained my pains. They were always suicidal. I do threaten her that I was going to drink the drugs meant for the pigs then die. She always replied and was always begging me. She told me all I was going through preparing me for the future. I thought she hated me. Fast forward to this day, though I am not financially buoyant but I can fend for myself because I am not lazy and not because of the education my dad gave me.

No matter the situation you find yourself in, push a little bit more and you will be surprised how happy you will be. I felt like I was not going to survive it but I did and I am glad I went through what I went through.

Thank yhu for eading