Secrets

My dad is Nigerian but he lived in Kenya for a very long time, as a matter of fact that’s where he met and married my mother and I am the first of their three children. He told the story of how his “village people” were bent on wiping out his entire family over kingship tussle and land dispute matters.

He lost his entire family to this but he was lucky to be alive because a kind friend of his father’s came to his rescue and whisked him off to Nairobi, Kenya.

It was tough trying to adjust to life in a totally different environment but the resilient and die hard attitude of a typical Nigerian kept him going.

Besides, it was a place for him to thrive and that is exactly what he did. All connections to his roots were severed except with his cousin Natachi who stood by him when everyone else was against him. She was the closest thing he had to a family so he guarded their relationship jealously. She always kept him abreast with things that were happening back home, and after some time it was obvious that Dad was feeling homesick.

A few years down the line, he had a eureka moment and suddenly decided that he was no longer going to live his life like a fugitive. So with the help of Aunty Natachi he was able to buy a palatial home in Lagos. Then he also started visiting from time to time.

When I wanted to go to college, Dad came up with the idea that I should study in a Nigerian University. It didn’t make sense to me and I hoped that my mom would take sides with me but instead she supported her husband. It was a lost course for me so I grudgingly came to Lagos to live with Aunty Natachi.

I had only seen pictures of her and we talked on the phone a couple of times so I already knew the type of person she was. She wasn’t exactly friendly and I already envisaged what living with her would be like. I made up my mind quite early not to be in her way. I did my best to always avoid her because she looked like she was constantly on a fault finding mission and I wasn’t going to indulge her.

I was hardly home because I was always far away in school but whenever I was around, Aunty Natachi and I managed to tolerate each other and that worked just fine for me. For someone that was my father’s favorite cousin, she didn’t act the part towards me. It felt as if she had a personal beef with me.

No matter the duration of a holiday (whether long or short break), I never spent it in Lagos. But as I grew older, I realized that I was really missing out on a lot of things. I should be balling with my mates and networking with like minds but I was always quick to jump on the next flight to Kenya because of this woman. That pattern was about to change in my final year. No way was I going to let her stand in my way. I was tired of allowing her run things only in her favor.

Apart from all the fun activities I had lined up for the holiday, I also needed materials for my final year project so staying back in Lagos would do me a whole world of good.

In the past, I would be bothered about how to cope with my aunt but I was no longer that naive little girl from Nairobi, I am a full blooded naija girl that has refused to be bullied, so if she was uncomfortable with having me in my father’s house then she had another think coming.

Staying back in naija for the first time in almost four years was an eye opener. There were pieces of information that I had missed or did not pay attention to in the past but they were suddenly making sense.

I began to suspect the dynamics of the relationship between my father and his so called cousin and I doubted the story that they were related. For instance, Natachi shares the same last name as my Dad. I never thought anything of it until I did the math. There’s no way these two could have the same surname based on how they were related.

Secondly, my supposed Aunt is a single mother. Her son bears a resemblance to my younger brother and he calls my father “Daddy”. I remember asking why he does that and my Dad said, “I’m all he has that is close to a father so why not”.

Then I tried to figure out Natachi’s nastiness over the years. Could it be stemmed from jealousy towards her lovers child? A lot of things didn’t add up, there was more to what they were telling and I was going to find out what it was.

I didn’t know anyone to ask so I had to look inward. Who among the domestic staff could give me what I wanted? Of course it had to be the driver.
Drivers tend to see and hear a lot of things so he was my best bet.

Mr George was my new bestie. I have always been nice to him but I had to do more especially now that he was going to be my driving instructor. That was no only reason I could think of to get closer to him. At first he wasn’t much of a talker but as soon as he got comfortable with me, it was easy for me to press the right buttons to get all the gist I wanted.

Overtime it became clear that Mr George’s loyalty was to my Dad because he was a good man unlike his “wife” Natachi who was mean and nasty. Now I had established the fact that Natachi was my father’s wife and the little kid was his.

It was time to confront my father and I hoped that in his best interest he didn’t try to deny anything. How could he do this to us especially to mom? She was his backbone and the brain behind his success.

How could he do this to her.

He must have thought that I was dumb and would never figure out his lies.

I remember the look on his face when I asked him about the relationship between him and Natachi. The man must have thought that I was either dumb or stupid. How long did he think he could go on with the lies and not get caught?

So it turns out that Natachi was my dad’s childhood sweetheart whom he promised a happy ever after before he left for Nairobi. Several years ago when his uncles were after his life, she hid him in her parents home for weeks and no one knew about it.
He promised to return for her as soon as things got better for him in Nairobi but life happened and he met my mother. After all these years he felt terrible that she had refused to move on that is why he felt indebted to her and had to marry her. It was a dumb explanation and I didn’t even know how to feel about it.

I owe it to my mother to tell her the truth but I also know that this is going to break her. My parents have a very beautiful marriage, they are very happy together and there’s no doubt that they are crazy about each other.

I don’t know what to do now. I am confused. Should I tell mom everything or keep going with the story?