Family Secret

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I was through with my high school final examinations, and while I was waiting for my results, I decided to leave the village for the city. I desperately needed a change of environment then, as my grandmother wouldn't give me some space to mingle with my friends, attend youth events, etc. I love meeting new people and learning from them if possible, and I thus desire to change my environment for a while. Fortunately for me, one of my uncles, a man so close to my dad, traveled to the village then and was in need of someone to stay with them for a while while the wife undertook a course for her master's program. Without much thought about it, as that was what I had wanted, I left with him the next day. The wife is such a humble, lovely, and respectful being. I felt at home with her; she was so open to me on a lot of things about her marriage. I saw how my uncle was treating her harshly, and infidelity was part of it. Most times, he doesn't hide his infidelities, and his actions always make the wife unhappy.



Mr. Joseph (my uncle) is a well-known businessman in the town, with many servants assisting him with the business. He is very rich but gets easily influenced negatively by his wealth. He felt he could get any woman of his choice outside of marriage and live life with his money. This act of his wasn't comfortable with the wife, but at the same time, she didn't want to leave her marriage because of her little kids. Several times, she pleaded with the husband to change, but he never cared a bit and would beat her up if she refused to go to bed with him. They had five kids then, and their first son was already in secondary school.



One day, my uncle felt so sick that there were big rashes all over his body. so much fever and other symptoms were showing up. He was rushed to the hospital for a diagnosis. The doctor requested different types of lab tests, including one for HIV/AIDS. The result came out, and lo and behold, he was HIV positive! The wife cried out! She already knows that she won't escape the same infection. She feinted at some point. I couldn't help but give her emotional support to the best of my ability when she regained consciousness. The next day, she ran the same test, and the result was positive.
It was at this time that my uncle realized his mistakes; his act of infidelity didn't only affect him but the wife as well. They did test their last child, and luckily for her, she was negative. HIV and AIDS are infections that can be managed with the help of antiretroviral drugs, but they are permanent, meaning that one has to be extremely careful when living with people with the infection. They have kept the result hidden from the children since then. It's been over 15 years now; they are fine as long as they take the drugs judiciously, but on several occasions, I have advised them to let the secret out to the children now that they are all grown. One of the children just graduated from the university as a medical doctor. Now this is the main reason I kept calling my uncle and the wife to let out this secret to the kids. Living with them all these years has been so risky because they might not have been careful enough to prevent themselves from getting the infection because they aren't aware that their parents are HIV positive.



This family secret kept lingering until recently, when one of their children, who is now a medical doctor, somehow found the results of his father's HIV/AIDS test conducted years ago. He questioned the dad, but he lacked the words to express himself, as did the mom. The five siblings are already aware of this secret, and none of them are taking it lightly with their parents. They have all conducted HIV and AIDS laboratory tests; fortunately, they all turned out to be negative. However, this one secret has been tearing apart the bond they once had as a family.

This is my entry to the inkwell creative nonfiction prompt with the theme "secret"

Please note, the images used here are as designed by me using canva app

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24 comments
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Bang, I did it again... I just rehived your post!
Week 152 of my contest just started...you can now check the winners of the previous week!
!BEER
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Hmmm... That's a very serious secret to keep from the kids. It's kinda understandable that it was a secret when they were 'kids', but keeping it a secret when they are already teenagers and young adults could have easily turned to a very serious issue.

I'm glad their children didn't contact that disease from their parents. It would have been a very sad turn of event.

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Indeed my dear, it would have been bad if the children contracted the infection while the secret was still ongoing.

Good morning kene
Hope you had a splendid night rest 😍

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Children deserve to know the truth about their health status at some point in their growing-up stages. I understand that to avoid being discriminated against, their patents can keep such a secret.

Thankfully, they dis not contract it. That's a heck of a secret to keep from the children, though.

Well done.

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Yes, they deserve to know at least as they grow older and can process the information

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Men! The audacity, and the woman still remained there, what a world, I know a family like this too, though the woman left the marriage after 22 years, I wonder what these men are looking for outside, don't they ever get tired, now he has brought his punishment upon the wife too. I can stand a lot of things but men that cheat, is a capital NO for me, I won't endure at all.

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Some women can tolerate so much mess all in the name of that children are involved. Some men are terrible, can't satisfy their wants. I also detest an infidel man

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I think the reason he didn't tell the children earlier is because of the lack of understanding of HIV by the general public. He was protecting them.

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Well, they didn't tell them because they were tender then but at least now that they are all grown, they deserve to know at least to protect themselves from getting the infection

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Secrets really can tear a family apart. It seems like the one silver lining is that your uncle realized that he was playing with fire, and that his actions could harm his entire family. It is so fortunate that there are drugs to help manage the disease as well. Hopefully your family members will pull together and support one another.

Thank you for sharing your creative nonfiction story in The Ink Well. Please remember to engage with others in the community. We ask everyone who posts in The Ink Well to read and comment on the work of at least two other stories for each one published. Thank you!

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Thank you so much for your feedback. Of course I know the importance of engagement. I have already supported two authors, I will drop my link and state the two authors I supported.

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A secret that affected many lives and continues to do so. Many times we act without measures and without thinking about how that influences those around us. it's good to know that the children did not suffer from the terrible disease.
Thanks for sharing.
Good day.

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Exactly...some things don't suppose to be a secret as some point because of the negative effects it can be

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Ah, why did he have to cheat on his wife, he has made everything in his family complicated now.

I pray for God intervention on this family matter

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Omg! To see that it's a true life story from you shocked me so much. My heart vibrated because it's something I only read online. Some people are easily influenced by their wealth to do bad things especially hurting people around them just like him hurting his own wife.

Also, if they had explained to their children on time, and not for them knowing themselves, it wouldn't have resulted to being gradually separating and the tight bond decreasing. So sad but he implicated his wife 😢

One needs to be careful having unprotected sexual intercourse with different people because disease like this exist.

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My dear, it's really terrible
The truth is that people don't think about the consequences of their actions

So sad the wife got affected
I hope the kids will forgive them for keeping the secret all these years

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It is truly said that the infidelity of the husband affected the wife. Thankfully the family is not positive with HIV. However the father’s infidelity affected them too as not the bond between them has changed.
It is good that there is now medication to treat them. This is a sad story.

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It's a indeed a sad story. Atimes men don't think that one single action from them can affect his family. I hope the bond between them returns back again gradually

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Very interesting your story and may it serve as an experience for men who like to have women out of wedlock. Have a nice day

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Exactly 💯.
U have a point here
Thank you so much for your warm visit

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I am happy that the children's tests came out to be negative. HIV is a dangerous and frustrating disease. Your uncle led his passions to take him to this dangerous point. The Kids must have been shocked when they found out that their parents are HIV positive. The children must be careful and test themselves regularly.
Thanks for sharing.

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You are very right...they should test regularly to be on a safer side
Thanks for your warm words
Much appreciated

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