‘Godwin wants to marry me now after his mother has kicked the bucket’ (1)

'Godwin wants me back after breaking my heart!' (1)

The story of Esther and Godwin is a must read. It’s emotional and there are some lessons to be learnt from it. God win and Esther were childhood sweethearts. They grew up in the same neighbourhood. Attended same secondary school but Godwin being three years ahead of her finished secondary school first. When his WAEC result was good, his parents flew him abroad to further his education. But that never broke them up. The relationship even sizzled the more. Godwin was always writing her and sending some gift items to her. But when Godwin eventually introduced Esther to his parents as his would-be-wife, something happened.

Enjoy the story

When Godwin left the shores of Nigeria, he never ceased communicating with Esther. “He was always writing me and I was replying his love letters. Assuring him of my undying love. He would also send me some gift items. Those mundane things he knew that I cherished, I never lacked them. Body moisturizers, soaps, perfumes, makeup, jewelry, medicines (food supplements)  for my mum.  I had lots of them and was even dashing out some (jewelry in particular) to my siblings,” she reminisced.

For the five good years that Godwin lived in Atlanta, Georgia , he never allowed Esther to doubt his love for her. “He was sending his photographs to me and he had mine as well. He promised me that once he was through with his education, he would come home for his one year compulsory national service. And afterwards he would love to live in Nigeria and manage his father’s business. That he would take me to Lagos where his parents were based after doing the needful. That our traditional marriage would be the talk of the whole village. He advised to remain a good girl for him and that he would never fail me because we were meant to be together. All these he wrote in his letters which I carried about in my handbags. I read and read them over and over again. I showed my mum some of his letters and she too was happy for me and prayed that God’s will would come to pass in my life,” she enthused.

When Esther was through with his secondary school education, she couldn’t further her education. “Mama didn’t have money to sponsor my education. When my father died, life turned upside down for my family. It wasn’t easy for my mother to pay my school fees and those of my four younger sisters. But Godwin was there for us. He was sending money to me though it wasn’t  much because he too depended on his parents who made sure he never lacked money over there.  He never failed to send money for my school fees and the school fees of my four sisters. The remaining money, Mama would put into her petty trading. She was selling fruits. When I wrote my WASC exams and cleared my papers, Godwin insisted I should write JAMB that he would be there for me,” she said.

The very year Esther gained admission into Abia State University to study Linguistics was the same year Godwin graduated and came back to the country for his national service. “Our relationship waxed stronger. He was coming to visit me on campus and at times he would also visit my mum in the village and gave her some financial gifts and medicines. My village was next to his. We hail from same Abia state, same community but different village. I was looking forward to when he will introduce me to his parents,” she giggled.

When Godwin was about to wind up his National Youth Service and Esther was already in her second year in the university, he decided to bring her home to his parents. “I was excited. I told mum about it and she wished me well. My younger siblings were happy for me. They had already started seeing how they would leave village and come over to live with me in Lagos when I eventually tied the knots with Godwin.

“But I never knew that day was the worst day of my life. Yes, the day I was introduced to Godwin’s parents was indeed a disaster for me. It was the day I had the worse experience in my relationship with Godwin. When I sat with his parents and Godwin made the introduction, his father welcomed me but his mum frowned. I noticed her sulky face towards me. Even when she tried to smile, it was at his son and her husband but when my eyes met hers, she would look at me scornfully and I was really worried. I was shaking out of fear and I asked myself severally what did I do wrong. When Godwin and I were having lunch, I told him in a hush tone that his mother didn’t like me. That I noticed the expression on her face. Godwin covered up for his mum that she was always like that at first but that with time she would like me. I had no appetite at all, though I was hungry initially but his mother’s coldness to me killed my appetite. When Godwin noticed how worried I was,  he then  told me the real truth. The reason his mother disliked me!”

To be continued later