I completed school not long ago and yet to get a job but my parents expect me to send money home. I told them I wasn’t working but they felt I was telling a lie. “How do you feed then?” My mom asked. “How are you able to wear these beautiful clothes if you’re not working?” My dad asked me. I wanted to tell them it was all packaging but they wouldn’t understand so I let it slide.

I’m in a position where I meet big men and go out with them and some give me money. I have men who travel abroad and bring stuff to me. I mostly sell the ones I don’t need to raise money. I’ve begged the men to help me get a job. They are on it and I believe something would come out of it. But before I get a job, I have to date some of them so I get money.  I’m being honest here. Without them, life would have been terrible.

I send money home monthly. I don’t have a specific amount I send to them. Depending on what I get in a month, I share it with them. Because of this, my parents think I’m sleeping on millions. They call me and make crazy demands. When they have a headache, they call me to send money for drugs. They go around bragging to their friends that their daughter is a big girl in the city. “I have nothing, Ma. Stop making me appear big.”

Recently, Dad called and needed money for something I thought wasn’t necessary. He made a pledge in church in my name so I should send him GHC 500 to give to the church. I told him straightforwardly, “It’s your pledge and not mine so please go and deliver.”

This man says I’ve disrespected him so he wouldn’t regard me as a daughter again. Fine. So me too, I’ve stopped sending money home. I don’t even have the money.

It hasn’t been easy since. Every day, one relative or another would call and ask me to go and beg my father because of the curses he’s raining on me. My sister has called. My elder brother also called. They all want me to go and beg my dad.

I know the plan. If I beg him today, he would forgive me and start asking for money again. It’s the reason I don’t want to. Since we stopped talking, I’ve been at peace. My mom is also acting in solidarity with her husband so she doesn’t call or ask about me.

I’m at peace but I want to know, the curses, would it work, looking at what happened? I didn’t insult him and I wasn’t the one who cut him off. He did and I agreed. Do you think such curses would have any effect on me?

—Gladys

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