A LIFE-RESETTING SLAP

One thing about growing up in Africa with Nigerian parents is their methods of discipline or should I say punishment. If you were a child who grew up in Africa, especially Nigeria and you never cried your head out because of the punishment your parents gave you, I can say you do not know what God has done for you. I've received the worst punishment from my mother in particular who was very strict on me as her first child being that she was very young. My dad wasn't the type to always look into what we did but anytime he mistakenly looks it comes with a life-transforming punishment that we will always live to remember.

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I looked at how my mum overlooked a lot of things my siblings do these days and shook my head because I knew if it were me back in the day, I would have gotten a free slap if I didn't get anything. Two years ago, I went home to celebrate Christmas with my family. I got home and met my mother cooking. She needed a bit of assistance with washing the meat because she was tired and asked my little brother to help her out. The boy started complaining that he didn't like washing meat. I was in the room when my mum called me to help her out saying she asked my brother to do so and he was complaining about it. I was just about to do so when I had a rethink.

My younger sister who is seven years older than him was walking in from work when my mum told me what my brother said and together we coincidentally landed him a very good slap. The fact that when we were his age we wouldn't dare say No and being that I'm 11 years older than he is and have to do what he was asked to do was very disrespectful. However, my sister and I ensured he washed the meat and did other house chores afterward just to teach him not to take our mum for granted because she had grown soft. After that incident, my sister and I remembered all the punishments we got, some of which were really unfair and put fear in us as kids.

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One such punishment was the day we closed from church and I was outside waiting for my dad near his car as I always did. Turned out he was looking for me inside the church which was new because I usually wait for him outside. So when he came outside he saw that some of my friends surrounded me near his car and came to me screaming as though I had done something wrong, according to him he's been looking for me and I've been talking with my friends. Before I could say Jack I received a life-resetting slap that sent me spinning around followed by a smooth brush that took me some feet above the ground and l landed face first on the floor.

Everyone around was shocked as to why my dad would beat his 10-year-old son as though I was a criminal. It was the first time I received a beating from him and it made me really scared of him. Turned out he just lost a lot of money that day and took out his frustration on me. Getting home I could hardly open my eyes and when it was checked there was blood inside my left eye. My mum was already panicking, praying I did not go blind, but the nurse who checked said there was nothing to be afraid of since the blood didn't run deep and was noticed on time. I was given some me meds and eye drops, but my dad never spoke about that matter to date.

THIS IS MY RESPONSE TO HIVE LEARNER'S PROMPT FOR WEEK 108 EPISODE 1