When the apple becomes salty

Amaka is the third of five siblings, the only daughter of her parents, she was loved and pampered by both the devil and Angel that knows her family, she was the sunshine, the best thing that ever happened to her lovely parents and to her siblings, she is their diamond.

One of the desires of every girl is to one day become a mother but the process of becoming a mother is paved by a smooth union so Amaka like every other young girl fell in love with the man of her heart, she was loved and in return she gave love and was all smiles on her wedding day.

The day Leo met Amaka was the best day of his life because he saw nothing but his other half and with that belief, he found his way into her heart. Everybody that knew them saw nothing but a blessed couple in them although Amaka's father had some reservations but she wasn't meant for him so he let her go but had something to tell Leo...

Leo, today you are taking my light with you, if this was a battle; boy you won. Amaka will no longer bear my name but yours. I raised her from the day she was born to the lady she has become but you are going to mold her into the wife you want. I once defeated a man in this kind of battle and took his light with me but one thing I did was to protect that light, I shaded it with everything in me and it never ceased illuminating so protect the light you took from me. Leo take a good look at my daughter, there is no mark on her skin, please do not give her one, she is nothing but a happy lady, please do not make her sad. She is only a woman and sometimes, she will go the other way; that is being woman and all she need at that time is your pamper, please always pamper her. Boy, I want to tell you this from experience and if you stick to it, you will definitely be a champion, never ever sleep outside, no matter what happens, always go home to her and for no reason, do not ever dice the food she cook for you. Today I willingly surrender her and everything she has become under your care, she will be your wife but always remember that you took her from another man.

Amaka married the man of her dream and they became one.

Amaka was a perfect wife, the kind of wife that makes her husband proud. She knows how to keep her home in order and in return Leo gave her what every wife wants from her husband; assurance! Assurance that he would be there for her and protect her against all evil.

The greatest thing a wife gives her husband is loyalty, every religion and tradition stipulates that a wife is subjected to her husband so no matter a wife's social status, she can be a boss in the office but under her husband in the house that is why the husband, the man of the house, the lord of his wife is regarded as the head of the family.

Amaka cherished Leo and lavished her time and money on him, she prepares the most delicious meal for him, gives him the finest wine and finest meat, she wasn't a sit at home wife and her husband is the first in her life. She loves him with every breath. And also she gave him one of the things that makes a marriage sweet; Alex.

Alex came into their lives not quite long after their wedding and they both loved their son, Amaka combined motherhood with work and to her, it was quiet exciting taking care of two guys because Leo was her first love but Alex stole her heart. It's been her dream to be a mother and she turned out to be a perfect mother which is what most wives lack. Being a mother is not a big deal but being a good mother is a different ball game, there are skills needed to be a good mother, its a bonus to those who has it. Amaka is one of those wives that posses the skill of motherhood. A wife like Amaka is nothing but her husband's Jewel but like her father told Leo two years ago, he took her as a woman to mold her into the wife he wants. This is quite true because Leo's taste differs from Amaka's so a time for compromise is always around and this is where the test of marriage begins. He called her on her cell phone as he stepped in from the supermarket and this was what he said...

Amaka, I have told you that I don't like the way you dress, you are my wife and must dress as I want.

Amaka and Leo were nothing but perfect couple, she was down to earth and all she wanted was for her husband to be happy, she understood every word he didn't say and knew what he would do in any situation but as much as she knew her husband, there was a part of him that confused her and the more she tried to understand it, the more she got bullied in love. Leo was highly possessive, he was the commanding type and Amaka was not only loyal but she feared her husband.

Leo made her quit her job as a sales executive because he wanted her to pay more attention to home and spend more time with Alex, she contested but her husband is the head of the family and his word is final. She became a house wife and as time passed, she began asking and reminding her beloved husband about her personal needs which he provided when he wanted. She became trapped in a web too dangerous to exit because she needed to protect and keep her marriage.

Amaka gradually became a victim and Leo the champion because he tactically molded her into the wife he wants. He stopped her from dressing the way she likes, from making the kind of hair she desires, he turned her into a slave in love and buried a chain of fear in her because she became troubled but too afraid to complain and with time, her beauty began to fade but she hid her pain under the smile she wear. She watched the sweep apple turned a salty apple within a short time of marriage.

Before marriage, think long and hard about what you are getting into because marriage is not manage. Don’t succumb to family pressure and no matter the situation, take a look at your husband to be immediate family. How does this man treat his parents and most importantly, how does his father treat his wife? But most women fail to study who they are going to spend the rest of their lives with the moment they leave their fathers' house, they get over clouded by material possessions of a man then fail to see his inner creature, most women understands that a particular man is full of shit but believe that settling down with such man would change him to good but take it right now; a monkey can never change to a sheep. It is true that the hands of her clock begins to tick the moment she is born but that doesn't mean that there won't be dawn after dusk so rushing into marriage without understanding the principals contributes to the hidden pain most women bear and the blame goes to he who she is bestowed to. Perhaps that is why Amaka asked and kept asking...

Why did Leo change, why do men change after marriage?

Amaka found herself trapped and as much as she wanted out, she was still in love with the beast that has destroyed her life, the only thing she could boast of in the three years marriage is Alex in whom she found solace. She would talk to him like she was talking to a grown up and Alex paid attention like he understood her, she doesn't want to separate him from his father so whenever she is outside she pretended that all was well in the house.

One day Leo came home very late and found her awake but instead of answering a simple question because she inquired why he came home by that time and also refused to take her numerous calls to him, instead of a simple explanation, he descended on her, he flogged her with his belt and punched her like she was a punching bag and in the process, gave her a visible bruise on her jaw and she also sustained a bruised eye. She cried and cried but he was out to deal with her that night.

The next two days was like hell because he locked her up and refused that she spoke with no one. Amaka endured this for the next two weeks and to worsen it, she was raped four times by the man she saw paradise in, the man that paid her bride prize, walked her to the altar and promised to take care of her and to love her till death do them part. Leo however realised himself and fell on his knees then begged her to forgive him, he blamed satan for all he did and looking at him on his knees, Amaka accepted his apology.

However, it's been three years of pain and like so many women out there, she hid her pain under the smile she wear. Another night came and the beast repeated it's fury but this time, she was locked outside because she refused to bow to his sexual demand, she was in her monthly circle but he doesn't care so her refusal attracted a punishment and this is at least the sixth time she was locked out in three years so that night she made up her mind that enough is enough, she cried to God to give her the strength to pass the cold night. Amaka had finally realized that the saying that one has to fix one' s marriage isn't working for her, she came to terms that she wasn't going to die because she is married, she once had a peaceful home and was under the care a wonderful man who trained her so she made up her mind to end the torment and God already gave her one easy step; she was outside so Leo cannot stop her from leaving and all she needed to do was to scale the wall once it's dawn. She cried all night and the only thing she kept saying to herself was...

I am done looking for love where it doesn’t exist. I am done coughing up dust in attempts to drink from dry wells.Enough is enough.

Trying to fix what you cannot fix isn't a wise idea, you might try but the best thing to do the moment you realise that you are causing yourself harm and endangering your life trying to fix it is to back off and that was exactly what Amaka did. She tried her best to fix her marriage, to get her beloved husband to love her the way he used to but the more she tried working it, the worst things turned so that morning when Leo opened the door for her to come in she understood one thing.

She understood that it was time to go so as he stepped back into the bedroom, she went straight to her son and as she carried him out from the bed, she picked the keys to the gate and wasted no time so by the time Leo realised what happened, she was already in the taxi heading back to her father's house singing all the way as the taxi cruised the high way...

... I walked away from you
You worked over me but your lies have unfold
You blamed me for everything
But it was you Leo, you cheated on me
You left me outside in the cold
You betrayed the vow we took
And everytime I see your face
I cry knowing that you want me dead
For all the pains you put me through
Justice will one day get to me

Amaka moved on and nothing anyone did was able to change her mind, her father was all out to deal with Leo but she begged him to leave the fight for God. So after two years of officially separating and in the course of divorce Leo traced her that day to a restaurant and all he wanted to ask her was for one more chance...

- Amaka my darling, my love please forgive me, I have been a fool all these years, I know that you dread me but please forgive me, give me this one more chance and I will make it right baby, please do this just for Alex

And this is what Amaka said...

- Leo, I trusted you but your action opened my eyes, the scars you cannot see are the hardest to heal, right now you don't mean nothing to be so fuck off.

Leo begged her, he begged her and begged her because it's simple and true, you don't know the value of what you have until you loose it but Amaka had made up her mind because refusing to see how bad something is destroys us that is why today, we hear of wives killing their husbands and husbands killing their wives. But mostly, the unhappiness in marriage contributes to infidelity. So back off the moment the apple becomes salty because there is nothing left in a salty apple.