You do remember the sad and pitiable story of the damsel, don’t you? She allowed herself to be fooled twice by the same bloke until a very honest bloke came to her rescue. Call her naïve and you wouldn’t be far from the truth. Please permit me to refresh your memory, in case you’ve forgotten her story.
She is a lady any man would call marriageable material. She lives in a country with very peculiar laws on marriage: A wife is allowed to choose whom to marry and live with every four years. The damsel had many suitors but the real competition was between two men. Both were handsome and from good families. One was very sweet-tongued.
He promised her heaven on earth, claiming he was as pious as Yesu Kristo himself. He also pledged to shower love on her to prove he cared for her.
Being very honest, the other gentleman tried as much as possible to paint a very true picture for her. He told her life was not a bed of roses so she should not allow herself to be fooled by the sweet words being whispered into her ears. He, however, promised to do everything in his power to make life comfortable for her and the children.
Oblivious of the fact that the former chap was only singing the tune she wanted to hear, the beautiful lady did not even ponder over it before making her choice. She fell for his sweet promises and gave him her heart. She was thus betrothed to him and they later got married.
For four years, the beautiful damsel saw none of the goodies promised her. The sweet promises had all turned into bitter realities. Indeed, the man who promised her heaven on earth made life a living hell for her. The once beautiful lady, who was the cynosure of all eyes, soon became a pale shadow of herself.
Shockingly, however, she allowed herself to be hoodwinked again by the sweet-talking bloke. He showered her with all manner of gifts in order to delude her into believing that he truly loved her. He also bought vehicles for chiefs and elders of her village to convince her to continue staying in the marriage.
The honest bloke did make some promises in order to win the heart of the lady. But they were promises he could satisfy and was determined to redeem if given the opportunity. They were promises that could help improve the lady’s standard of living and secure her future. But his plea fell on deaf ears, since she had already fallen again for the ‘I-Care-For-You’ bloke.
Soon after she made the choice, she began to realize that she had made the same mistake twice. The man, once again, started showering cowries on his girlfriends, leaving the wife to struggle and fend for their children.
How to pay for utilities and the children’s school fees was a headache. She endured another four years of severe hardship and struggled to cope with the rising cost of living. She was heard on many occasions expressing regret for not choosing the honest bloke.
It, therefore, came as no surprise when she finally dumped the sweet-tongued bloke and gave the honest bloke a chance to prove his love. Her children were ecstatic when she broke the news to them. They were excited because they were hopeful that the honest bloke would fulfill his promise.
Four years into their blissful marriage, the sullen-looking faces of the damsel and her children had turned into smiles. The honest bloke had indeed proven to be a man of his word.
Her daughter in the nursing training college couldn’t thank her step-father enough for taking care of her nursing allowance. The son, a trainee teacher, also expressed same sentiments for the restoration of his allowance. The two sons in the senior high school also sang praises of their step-father for relieving their mother of the huge financial burden through the FREE SHS policy. Her two unemployed sons are now NABCO trainees, so they support their mum with the GHC 700 they each receive monthly.
It was therefore not surprising that the damsel flatly refused the romantic overtures of her ex-husband in 2020. She did not fall for his mouth-watering promises this time. The ex-husband did not take the rejection lightly as he went about bad-mouthing the damsel’s husband.
Almost seven years into the marriage and the lady still looks beautiful and appetizing, but has lost some glamour because of the financial challenges her husband was going through.  But the good news is that his finances are improving by the day. Though not a perfect marriage, it is obvious that her current husband is far better than her sweet-tongued ex-husband.
Yes, the husband does not provide as he used to because he no longer has a reliable source of livelihood. But he does his best to fend for his family and provide a roof over their heads. He has also explained to her that he is not as reckless and irresponsible as her ex-husband wants her and the whole family to believe.
It is now confirmed that the ex-husband is planning another proposal in December 2024. The shameless bloke that he is, the former husband is promising the damsel and her children heaven on Earth, while bad-mouthing his rival. He is doing all that to hoodwink her into falling for him again.
The main disadvantage for the current husband is that his financial situation has not been the best in the last two years. So his rival, the sweet-talking bloke, is taking advantage of the situation to hoodwink his ex-wife’s children that he could give them a better life than the one they are experiencing now.
Surprisingly, some of the children have so soon forgotten the mistreatment they endured at the hands of the sweet-talking bloke. And they are gradually falling for his sweet and utopian promises.
You see, all the sweet promises are good. But I trust that a damsel who has tasted two different marriages will always match the promises to her past and current experiences. And we all know that foremost on her mind will be the popular Akan proverb, “If nakedness promises you clothes, listen to its name.”
See you next week for another interesting konkonsa, Deo volente!