“Use This Soap and Take Cold Showers,” My Dad Said. What I Discovered Later Still Haunts Me
Growing up, my dad wasn’t the emotional type. He rarely showed affection, but he was strict about one thing: hygiene. Every day, without fail, he would look at me with a grim expression and say, “You smell terrible — take a cold shower. And use the soap I gave you.”
At first, I thought it was just a weird phase. Maybe teenage hormones, maybe something else. But it wasn’t just once. It became a routine. He insisted on cold showers — never warm — and always with that one specific bar of soap he kept replacing in my bathroom. I’d take showers three, sometimes five times a day, trying to scrub off whatever it was he thought he smelled.
The strange part? No one else ever said anything. Not teachers, not friends. Just my dad.
Even my mom, who had always been my confidante, said nothing. She looked uncomfortable whenever it came up but stayed silent. That silence spoke louder than anything — especially coming from her.
I started to doubt myself. Was it just me? Did I actually smell bad and nobody else had the heart to tell me?
Then one weekend, my boyfriend came over. We were hanging out in my room, and I finally worked up the courage to ask him.
“Do I smell weird to you?” I asked, nervously laughing.
He gave me a puzzled look. “What? No, not at all. Why?”
I hesitated, then told him about the cold showers, the special soap, and my dad’s constant comments. He looked concerned but tried to brush it off. Later, he went to use the bathroom.
He was gone for a minute or two. Then he came back — pale, speechless — holding the bar of soap in his hand.
“I don’t think you should be using this,” he said quietly.
That’s when everything changed.
He showed me what was inside the soap. It had been hollowed out and something else had been placed inside — something that wasn’t soap at all. I was too shocked to speak. He suggested we call someone. I didn’t know what to do. My mind was spinning.
Looking back now, I don’t know how I didn’t see it sooner. All the cold showers, the way my dad watched me, the strange smell of the soap that never seemed quite right — it all came crashing together in that moment.
We contacted authorities. The investigation is still ongoing, and I can’t share too much — but what I’ve learned has changed how I see my own home, my own parents, and everything I thought was normal.
Sometimes the things we trust the most hide the darkest secrets. And sometimes, a simple bar of soap can uncover a truth you were never meant to find.