A few days later, my sister called me—and what she told me made my blood run cold. My dad wasn’t sick at all. He was being harassed by loan sharks.
Apparently, about twenty years ago, he had taken out a home loan to buy our small flat and cover basic needs like schooling and food. Over the years, he kept borrowing more to pay bills, make repairs, and who knows what else. He never finished paying it off, and the debt had spiraled out of control.
Now collectors were showing up at their door, demanding payment. My own mother had lied to me just to get money. I wasn’t shocked that my dad had debts—I was shocked that they thought deceiving me was acceptable.
I called my mom, and she broke down in tears. She said they’d been struggling for months, but Dad didn’t want to ask me for help. She had secretly called me, hoping I’d be more sympathetic if I thought Dad was sick.
My younger sister, it turns out, had already been helping them financially for years. I know it might sound harsh, but I can’t take responsibility for decades of bad financial decisions. They had plenty of time to manage their money better, but they didn’t.
Honestly, they should never have had kids—or at least stopped after one. But no. They wanted a big family they couldn’t afford.
So now I ask myself: is it fair to expect financial support from a child who grew up in poverty because of their parents’ poor choices? Source: brightside.me
