THE PERFECT PARENT

Kenneth, a widower, had managed to raise his children well. At least he thought he did. His son Daniel was set to join university and his daughter, Miriam was almost through with high school as she was in her final year. He had put his hope in his son Daniel whom he believed once through with university would turn out into a great professional. Daniel was a bright young man who excelled in his studies. Kenneth wanted him to study law but Daniel wanted to study art and design. After a bit of back and forth, Daniel finally agreed to study law.  Kenneth decided that he would empower his son in his field of study so that he can excel and become a great and sought after lawyer. Daniel had a proper upbringing by all standards, raised in a godly environment. His father insisted that he must join the Christian Union once he joined university and got their pastor to emphasize on this. According to Kenneth, his son Daniel was a good boy.

Daniel wanted to live his life not the way his father wanted but the way he wanted. He felt that through the years growing up he had been living his father’s life and subsequently living a lie. It was now time for him to live his own life. The first thing he did when he joined university was to change the course he was to take from law to art and design. He did not join the Christian Union but joined a group of young men who were up to no good. Within no time, Daniel was taking alcohol and experimenting with drugs.

News reached Kenneth that Daniel his son was doing drugs but Kenneth refused to believe it. Whenever Daniel came home, he packaged himself as the perfect son and the father had no reason to doubt him. However, by second year, Daniel was so lost in drugs that it could not be kept hidden anymore. He rarely attended classes, he failed most of the exams and he was no longer interested in school. He had become a serious addict and was always high.

Kenneth was heartbroken and at a loss for words. His brilliant son who had scored A’s in high school was now a junkie who couldn’t function normally. Daniel no longer interacted with his friends or neighbours and spent most of his time locked up in his room. Kenneth denied Daniel any kind of access to money but Daniel always found a way of accessing his drugs. Kenneth did not understand how his son was able to achieve this.

Kenneth did not want anyone to know that his brilliant son with a promising future was lost in the world of alcohol and drug abuse. What worked to his advantage was the fact that Kenneth behaved like an introvert while at home and did not socialise much. Kenneth was able to keep him hidden and away from the critical and judgemental eye of society. He could not handle the gossip and ridicule of people who could not understand the depth of his problem and pain. He figured that it was not a societal problem but his problem and so he would handle it his way.

Daniel did drop out of university and he sent him to a rehabilitation centre. Every time Kenneth left his son at the rehab centre, Daniel would sneak out. It became difficult to keep him at a rehab centre. It was a difficult thing for Kenneth to endure. He watched his son ruin and throw his life away. He however held onto the belief that his son would change. A neighbour and close friend found out about Daniel’s problem and tried to speak to Kenneth about it but Kenneth denied that his son was an addict. The friendship between the two took a beating because Kenneth felt that his friend was intruding on his personal life and crossing boundaries. Kenneth could not be helped, he had chosen to go through this storm alone. It was heavy and difficult but Kenneth refused to be helped. He chose to paint a picture of a perfect parent with perfect children but this was not the case. He could be helped though but only if he spoke up and reached out for help.

THE SILENT STORMS' SERIES