The Love Letter

When I was about 11 years old, this neighbour friend of mine, who was about 15 years old, wrote a love letter to me stating that he likes me and would want to marry me.

I was excited. Excited because this guy finally noticed me. Puberty came a bit early so I was alright…you know😉

As much as I was excited, I was surprised. Surprised because since this boy and his guardian moved into their flat next door, about 3 years ago, he would always tell me he wanted to be a Pope.

He would go on about how he’d never fall in love with any lady, how he’d never get married and how he’d dedicate his whole life serving God. Hence, my surprise.

But I was still proud of myself knowing that I made even the guy that wants to be a Pope fall for me.

The day I got the letter, I decided not to reply immediately. You know, play hard to get for a while. In the meantime, I was gathering up questions I’d like to ask him.

It’s funny that as a child, I knew I had to ask questions. Even though they weren’t questions like what’s your vision or goal and all those other questions relationship counselors tell us to ask😂.

So one day, I penned my thoughts down to him.

First, I appreciated him for liking me. I made him feel like he was the shark and I was the fry/fishling😂. Then I went ahead to ask questions like why he wants to marry me since he said he wants to be a Pope, if he still wants to be a Pope or not. I asked him what he saw in me that made him like me and so on. I kept the letter and went to church the following day.

On getting back from church, my parents called me into their bedroom and showed me my letter to him! What? How did they get it?? I later found out it was my little brother that saw it and handed it over to them😒.

They asked me what was going on and I explained to them. They asked for his letter and I showed them. They told me not to give him the letter and to not speak to him again. They said he doesn’t really love me and that I shouldn’t destroy my future by getting into a relationship now. They said I shouldn’t worry about the guy and that they’d take care of it. I thanked them and left.

Few days later, I still wasn’t settled. I was curious. I wanted an answer to all of my questions. So the smart me tore another sheet of paper and wrote another letter, trying to remember what I had written in the first one. When I was done, I folded it and found a way to give it to him.

The following day, the guy’s guardian called my dad out. My dad came back, went into his room, brought out his best belt, called me out, said nothing to me but gave me the first belt landing. I fell to the ground. He decorated my body on the floor as he wiped me not too hard, but hard, with his belt.

As he beat me, he asked me what his instruction was concerning replying the letter. I just screamed, hoping my mum or anyone would come to my aid. But no one did.

When he was done, I laid down there, crying my heart out. Was I really beaten because of love?? Not like I liked the guy but then. I blamed my parents for not allowing the curiosity in me to be satisfied and I blamed the guy for not being smart enough with the letter. How does he intend to take care of me if he can’t even take care of a letter?! I never talked to him again till we moved out of that flat.

Many years later, he sent me a friend request on Facebook. Not until I saw his name on Facebook and remembered everything that happened did I realize that I had held bitterness in my heart for a long time. I did not attend to the hatred that nursed in my heart and it affected other areas of my life.

I accepted the friend request and he apologized for what happened years back. I was quite embarrassed. I forgave him and apologized too and that was when I realized that my heart wasn’t heavy anymore. The burden had been lifted and peace settled in.