The Andersons

She had a motor accident when she was 16

The accident almost claimed her life but she miraculously survived

The devastating effect of the accident left her with one of her eyes totally blind,with her left ear deaf, her upper lip and six teeth removed

Her left hand was half burnt and she had a dislocated hip

Her father was quite wealthy

She was flown abroad and the doctors got to work on her

She had 83 surgeries in all before the doctors came to the conclusion that they could do no more to help her

After years in the hospital, she needed to be reintroduced to the society

She was twenty-six years old by this time

She had spent ten years away from her siblings

She was anxious on the drive back home

She had looked at herself in the mirror over and over again

Her face had been rebuilt as best as the surgeons could but she was scared Those who saw her after the accident would look at her with pity and pretend to care while they really didn't

She started developing anxiety attacks

The doctors had envisioned this and she was given pills for this

She got home

Her five siblings were there but they all reacted in different ways

One said good afternoon and did not hug her or cry on her shoulder as she had expected

Another one was engrossed in a discussion with a friend and greeted her dismissively 

Two hugged her and fawned over her a bit

The last child was just two when the accident happened and did not really know her, so the last child just hid behind their mother's skirt

She took in all the reactions in a strange way

She felt the ones that dismissed her didn't really care whether she lived or died

She felt the ones that fawned over her were only pretending to care while they really didn't

She felt she was neither loved nor wanted

She was the only one who knew the picture she had in her own mind of how they were supposed to welcome her back home

They acted as individuals with their own minds and independent of any kind of influence

After the welcome party, she was encouraged to return to school

She got admitted into a private university

She started trying to fit back into the society

She had some marks on her face that could easily be covered by makeup

The metal plate in her head was easily covered by a wig

She wore a set of false teeth

Three of her fingers were prosthetic

One of her eyes was prosthetic

One of her ears was prosthetic and fitted with a hearing aid

Seeing her naked would evoke different feelings from different people

Some may feel drawn to her out of sympathy, others may be revulsed by the sight

The effect varies from personality to personality

Those who had gotten to know her and her heart may not even see others may even be drawn to her courage and her strength

She however didn't want to be seen as different or treated as different

She wanted to be treated like a normal person

It was not too much to ask but it was a tall order

People are shocked by whatever is shocking

It is only natural

To achieve her end she stayed in a private hostel all by herself

She did not go out without wearing all the enhancements and biological augmentations she needed to wear in order to look as normal as ever

She graduated with only one desire in her heart

She wanted to get married

When she got home she told her father what she wanted

Her father told her he would work on it

After several weeks of consultations, her father came back to her to explain to her that arranging marriage for her was not a problem

She must understand that he will not be buying her a slave or a toy

He will be bringing a man into her life

The man will be enticed with a huge dowry and a steady source of income

The man will be encouraged to love her and treat her fairly but there will be no guarantee that the man will be faithful to her

If the man conducts himself properly towards her and keeps his indiscretion to himself, she must accept it

Her father said it was the same counsel he had given to all his children, both male and female and he was not singling her out for the speech

However, given her peculiar situation, marriage would be best for her if she met a man for herself who would choose to fall in love with her rather than an arranged union

She didn't understand what her father was saying

She did not meet anyone who was remotely interested in her even online in the last four years

She was already thirty years old

She was willing to be married to anyone who would just wake up and say good morning with a smile

A man she can talk to 

Someone with whom she can have a level of conversation

She was just tired of not being understood!

Her father made the arrangements

The dowry placed on her for marriage was half a million dollars

Young men from every walk of life applied

Her father selected only prospects from respected families

Young men who have traveled abroad and seen the world

He preferred medical doctors who would empathize with his daughter's condition

When he saw that the number of his preferred candidates for final selection was not encouraging enough, her father increased the dowry to one million dollars

He also added two houses

A townhouse in New York and a mansion in Abuja

The number of prospective husbands soared

He sat down and interviewed the candidates himself

He wanted to pick someone with a heart and who had good influences around him in terms of friends and family members

He had background checks done

He wanted a softie, a kind-hearted man

And he got one

When he told his daughter all about his choice, she rejected it

She said she wanted a man, not a ninny

She wanted a man like her father

Her father was flattered but he told her that would be a problem

A man like him will never apply to marry any woman

He would go out, find a woman he wanted, and marry her regardless of her financial status or situation

She insisted she did not want to be anyone out of pity

She wanted a man, a real man

Her father gave her the list of all the candidates and the video recordings of his interview with them

She screened them for days and eventually picked a candidate

Her father arranged for them to go out on a date

It was a hit

He treated her with respect

They were candid with each other and had a good laugh about the screening process and his application

He told her he never believed in love without the funds to make love glow

Nobody should keep a pet or a garden if he or she does not have the ability or capability to make such thrive

She told him she understood

She shared her story

He listened

She told him her innermost fears and the issues she had with self-esteem since the accident and surgeries

He responded by holding her hand and walking with her through the restaurant greeting all the patrons at their tables one by one and introducing her as his girlfriend

It was the most daring thing she had done in years

He made her laugh so much, she forgot she was in public

By their third date, she was comfortable enough to show him her scars

By their sixth month of dating, he told her he didn't need the dowry again

He told her he had come to love her for her and would like to be her man for life

She reminded him that she was something different without her clothes on

He told her jokingly that he had a friend who had slept with a one-legged sex robot before

She laughed so much, that she started coughing

He was everything she ever dreamt of in a companion

 

PS: They got married a year later

Her father placed the dowry in a trust fund for her

Her father reminded her that love goes through many seasons

The wise adapt while the unwise stick to an ideology

She must be a wise daughter and adapt to the union

She took her father's counsel to heart

Her marriage is sixteen years gone

She had gone through three miscarriages and adopted a daughter

Her husband still loves and dotes on her

She is happy and she is growing in wisdom daily as regards meeting her husband's needs and not getting lost in the process