I Didn’t Know Leaving Him Would Cut His Life Short

He was a blind guy. Blind from birth—I’m not sure. He lived abroad and schooled there, so he was very clever with his senses. He moved around the house freely; you might think he had eyes. I worked in the house. His parents also lived there. I did their cooking, cleaning, and general care work but didn’t live in the house.......CONTINUE READING THE ARTICLE FROM THE SOURCE>>>>>

He was called Yofi. One afternoon, while serving his food, he said he was going to describe me and see if he would get it correct. He only got my complexion right. He said I was of medium height, but I’m a little taller than him. He said I was plump, but I’m slim. We became talking mates when there was nothing for me to do.

One day, he asked me what a man like him would do to have me as his girlfriend. “I can’t see you, but your presence is more intense than you can ever imagine,” he told me. I told him I had a boyfriend, and that was the only reason I wouldn’t date him.

He was home alone on Mondays and Fridays. He didn’t work on those days, so I was always alone with him. He persuaded me. He was so desperate he said he would pay me to be his girlfriend. I asked him, “What do you really want—a girlfriend or someone you can sleep with?” He answered, “I’m a boy in love, hoping I can feel the warmth of the woman I love.”

While he was abroad, he dated a white girl. They did it secretly because the lady was embarrassed by him—that her friends would know she was dating a black boy who was also blind. He said the lady abused him, knowing very well she was all he had and he couldn’t leave her. When he moved to Ghana, their relationship ended, and it was the last time he slept with someone. It had been eight years since they broke up.

One afternoon, I allowed him to touch me. He could do everything but not knack me. I saw tears in his eyes as his hands ran over my skin. I told him, “I’m ready. Let’s do it.”

At first, I did it out of pity and maybe for the effort he put into getting me. I didn’t have a boyfriend—I lied to him. After the first time, we couldn’t stop. Whenever he was alone, I availed myself. It wasn’t out of love but because he knew how to work my body. I did it for selfish reasons, but he grew attached and obsessed as time went on. He was doing too much too soon, promising me heaven when I didn’t have my own place on earth.

When I got home and didn’t talk to him, he got mad. When I asked permission not to work for a day and his parents granted it, he was so mad at me he cried when we talked. He kept saying, “You’re all I have. If I don’t hear from you, it feels like I’m losing my breath.”

I’d never had a man love me this intensely, and yet I didn’t feel anything for him. He gave me thousands, but I didn’t collect any. He said we could travel to the US and live there, but I simply couldn’t connect. When I left the job, I didn’t tell him. I just disappeared, hoping he would move on once I was away. But less than a week later, his mom called. She said, “If you agree to marry my son, we’ll bless it and support you in every way each day. He loves you.”

I cried. I didn’t think he would have the courage to tell his parents about us. I told her, “I’m not ready to marry. I’m going back to school to fix my future first.” “Don’t worry, we’ll do whatever you want after the marriage,” she assured me. I shook my head, but I told her I would think about it. I changed my number. I didn’t hear from them again.

Seven years later, his dad walked into the office where I worked. He noticed me quicker than I could say jack. He said, “I don’t want to say you’re the reason, but when you left, he had more health crises than normal, and they came in quick succession. He died two years later.”

I was never myself again for several weeks. It still hurts even as I write this. I didn’t know it was that deep, but even if I had, what could I have done to be his saviour?