Nails on the wall

Once upon a time, there was a father who had four sons. 

He never really prioritised his sons or gave them the love and attention they needed - well, except for one who was his favourite of course.

As time passed, all four of his children grew up. 

His favourite son grew up to become a spoiled brat - having been ever so pampered, he continued making demands from his old father - and his father, fearful of losing his favourite son's love, continued to fulfill them.

The other three sons had to work extra hard. While their father was busy doting on their brother, the three of them struggled at school and at home – but they persevered. They soon grew up, each successful in their own fields.

One day, the father got very ill and sought help from his sons. All of them came, except for the favourite.

"Don't worry dad, brothers will take care of you," the favourite son said.

"Why can't you do it, son? You are my favourite," the father replied.

"My brothers are wealthier and more successful than I am, so let them care for you!" the favourite son explained.

The father was devastated with his son's reply but he had no other options but to allow his other sons to care for him.

For the following weeks, the three sons took good care of their father - they fed him, bathed him, took him to all his doctor's appointments and made sure he had everything he needed. Yet, the father continued to wait for his favourite son.

Every morning, he would eat his breakfast and wait at the door for him. And every evening, he would make phone calls hoping to ask his favourite son if he will visit soon. Sadly, his phone calls were never answered. And his favourite son never came to visit.

Missing his son very much, the father’s health started to deteriorate. He became bedridden and unable to attend to his own needs. 

At the time of despair, the three sons obediently devoted themselves to their father. Their priority was to get their father back on his feet.

Watching his three sons by his side every day and night, the father wept in silence. He felt remorseful for all the years he had neglected them. He wanted to apologise but felt very embarrassed to do so.

One night, the three sons found their father crying in bed.

“Dad, forgive us if we had done anything wrong,” they said.

“No, you have done nothing wrong,” the father replied.

“Why are you crying then?” they asked.

“I am crying because I feel so guilty for treating the three of you badly all these years. And I am ashamed of myself every time I have to depend on you,” the father cried.

Wiping their father’s tears, the sons said, “You must not feel ashamed. You are our father and this is our duty as your sons.”

The father closed his face with both his palms. His cry intensified.

“As a father, I should have fulfilled my duty as well. I should have raised all my four sons with equal amount of love,” he said between sobs.

“Don’t cry dad, you need to save your energy to get well. And you will get well, we promise you that,” the sons replied.

Few weeks passed and the father’s health improved. His sons were very happy with his progress.

One day, as the father and his three sons were enjoying their dinner together, the father decided to take the opportunity to apologise to his sons for his past mistakes in raising them.

“I hope we can have a good relationship now. Let’s start over,” he said.

The three sons looked at each other.

“Dad, if we ask you to do something, will you do it without asking any questions?”

“I will do anything for you,” the father replied.

“Every time you remember something from the past where you have failed us as a father, we want you to hammer a nail on this wall.”

For the following days, the father did exactly as told. Soon, he ran out of nails.

“Look, son!” said the father pointing at the wall full of nails. “This proves how sorry I am of my wrongdoings.”

His three sons replied, “Dad, you nailed the wall every time you thought of a memory where you failed us as a father. Now, for every time you are sorry for being such a lousy father to us, we want you to remove a nail.”

And so the father did.

After a few weeks, finally the wall was cleared of nails.

“Look, son!” the father said pointing at the wall with no nails. “This proves how sorry I am of my wrongdoings and how much I look forward to a new beginning.”

The three sons hugged their father.

They then looked at him and said, “This wall is our hearts, dad. You may have removed the nails, but look at how disfigured it is.”

The father broke down and cried helplessly.

“We love you, dad. We have always loved you. Even when you treated us like we did not belong, we continued to love you. But the hurt and pain you caused us will take a long time to heal. And we cannot start a new relationship, a new bond, pretending that everything will be fine.”

“What can I do?” asked the father.

“Show us how much you love us,” said one son.

“Show us how important we are to you,” said another.

“Give us a reason to trust you,” said the third.

The father nodded as he held the hands of his three sons. But just as they leaned forward to embrace each other, they heard a knock on the door.

“Dad! I am home!”

The father rushed to the door and gave his favourite son a big hug.

“I missed you so much! Are you well? Have you eaten? Come inside, let’s sit and talk,” the father accompanied his beloved son into the house, ignoring his other sons.

The three sons stared at the disfigured wall for a while and smiled at themselves.

“Some things never change.”

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FA ABDUL is a passionate storyteller, a media trainer, an aspiring playwright, a director, a struggling producer, a photographer, an expert Facebooker, a lazy blogger, a part-time queen and a full-time vainpot. - Mkini