Well, a lie is a lie, but, we have different type of lies, some lies are told to protect, some to deceive, some to cover up shame and some just for fun. But one thing is certain, every lie has its consequences. I have told lies, and I have been told lies. Some were easy to brush off, some are not, some are funny, but there are some that leaves lasting impacts or is it impression.
Whope growing up with my siblings, we weren't wealthy, and our parents did their very best. There were countless times we had to manage what we had, there are times when our wants had to stay unattended to because the family’s needs came first. I was the closest to my dad, and somehow, my siblings saw me as the bridge between them and him. If they wanted anything, they would push me to go ask him. If they were confused about his actions, they would need me to give answers. And, in my overzealous effort to play the peacemaker, I became...a liar.
I told my brother a lie that my father is building a very big mansion. When my siblings complain that my dad is not giving and doing enough, in my bid not to want them to resent him(my dad), I decided to tell them something that would make them patient, and that is that.....dad is building a mansion, that’s why he’s not giving us much, he is even furnishing it very well, to great taste, so when we move in, we won’t lack anything...those were the things I told them, I painted vivid images in their mind, a house that would make people’s jaws drop.
When it wasn't even taking longer, I added that.... Dad is saving to buy a family car and wants to get bicycles for each one of us, I was their comforter, comforting them with lies. I love how I see them laugh and happy then, they would listen to my dad at once and do everything to please him, just so my dad won't change his mind from doing what he wants to do, or so they believe.
Theres a truth in all of this, my dad was indeed building a house, but it was nothing big or fancy just a simple bungalow. When we eventually moved in, the house wasn’t even plastered. We stepped into a home without windows, with only two doors, one to the front and the other at the back of the house. That was when reality of my lie settled in, my siblings were disappointed, and they almost ate me alive when they saw the house and there were no bicycles or dads car also, the reality dawned on me also, I felt the weight of the expectations I had placed in their hearts. Even though I meant well, they hoped and looked forward to it all, I hurt them.
I have been been told lies also, and there's one that still baffles, it came from a very close friend. We were even flatmates. We shared secrets, covered for each other, laughed, cried and all. Suddenly she started acting differently, she get irritated easily, she's careful about most things.
I asked her one night if she was pregnant, we were close and I didn't find it out of place to ask, but that was how she was doing. I did not want to believe or ask at first because she's the type who always says she can't fall in love or do stuffs with guys, she said her heart it very hard, well, am not concerned, I never meant to date her, we were just friends. But, for a while, she has been spending a lot of time with our new neighbor, a guy who moved in less than two months ago. I asked and she laughed it off, she said it was just some mood swings and all. I wanted to believe it, but the way she's doing, I can't brush it off, she can't eat like before, she wears oversized cloths and all.
I found out the truth in the most unexpected way. The guy himself told me....She aborted the pregnancy, he said it so casually. The guy was responsible for the pregnancy, but how could she? Did she not want it or did the guy asked her to, what pained me most was that she looked me in the eye and denied it. I saw her the day she aborted it, she was in pain, rolling on the bed, with little blood stains, I asked and she still said it was her period, it do act somehow at times...that's what she told me. After the guy told me, I asked her again and she still said same thing, that then, it was just her period acting up, when I told her I know she's lying and I knew the truth, she still denied it, even when she knew I knew the truth.
There and then, I realized how deeply people can hold on to lies, even when exposed. Its not just deception, there are times its about fear, shame or the desperate need to control a narrative. I wasn’t angry because she aborted the pregnancy. Its her body and its her choice, I was hurt because I thought we had the kind of bond where the truth wouldn’t be a burden. It made me wonder how many times people lied to me and I believed them because I trusted them.
Lies are funny atimes, some start as jokes, some as a means of protecting something or something else. But no matter how well intentioned those lies are, they all carry consequences. Some disappoint, some breaks trusts, some hurt, some are just funny and some teach lessons. But one thing is certain,.sooner or later, the truth will find its way out.
All pictures are mine.
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