Post by @the.archive04

Just 3 weeks after my family and I paid K130,000 with pigs, store goods and garden food for my bride price, my wife was found having an affair with her boss at their weekend company function. Sandra was my course mate in university. Both of us graduated in Construction Management. Life in university was full of temptation and events, but both of us told each other that if we graduated, we would go out. Luckily, we were so close, and when we finished getting our degrees, we quickly rented a room at Waigani and started working. Her family knew mine and my family knew hers. When she got sick, I would help her mom take care of her at 3 Mile because I don't know why, but she used to get sick unnecessarily. Whenever there were deaths in my family, she would come and help my family in the kitchen. My family loved her so much because she was a university graduate, but she went so low to boil the kettle for tea for the family and even fetch water from the river for cooking. When she asked me to attend family gatherings at her village, I used to go, but her family would stare at me. They would be like, "Our daughter just graduated, we haven't even eaten her money yet and this boy is already feasting on her money." Even though I tried to blend in, I was never really welcomed by her relatives. We were both just young graduate workers and our pay wasn't that big. But as a man, I decided I should give bride price so I could at least be respected when I went to her family. I thought when I told my family, we would just put K80,000 together. But to my surprise, they said, "Don't be stupid. She graduated from university and in our family work, she always helps. Don't be stupid and take only K80,000. Her family will laugh at you." So my family contributed, and even my close friends contributed. It went all the way up to K150,000. The money was split, K130,000 would be given as cash and the rest would buy pigs, store food and other things. In my culture, when someone contributes to your bride price, you contribute to theirs too. That's why many families contributed. It so happened that on July 17, my family took the bride price down to her village. I tell you, their mouths were closed. They were almost trying to bow to me when my family and I arrived with the money, pigs and food. We had no kids, but the money, pigs and food were just something Sandra's family didn't expect. They thought I would take K80,000 or less, but I took more. Life was good after the bride price. Whenever I visited her family, all of them would greet me, make my favourite meals and treat me differently. I was now respected more. Then in August, one of Sandra's bosses was going to transfer to another company, so they held a small party. She attended while I stayed home since I had nothing to do. It was getting late and she didn't return. I was calling her phone, but it kept diverting. I kept calling until her boss, Dorn, answered my wife's phone at 1am. I was shocked. Here I was calling and there she was with her boss in a private room. Boss Dorn told me Sandra was washing, so he answered the call. Aio, I knew what had happened. I tried to get the location of my wife and realised she was in one of those motels at Boroko. I just regretted everything. My family had worked so hard and given K130,000, pigs and food, only for her to be with another man in a motel just three weeks later. I did go looking for her and complaining, but I kept thinking about how I would tell my family and her family. I even thought about asking them to give our money back, but I was already late. I knew they had probably already shared everything, drank beer and started using the money. I packed my things, got a taxi and went back to my family. Now I was left to pay back the K130,000 to my family, and also replace the pigs and everything else, all on my own. What a lesson. But honestly, I'm glad I didn't have any child with that woman.#fyp #shortstory