Monday, April 17, 2023

7 Years Ago He Raped Me And Ran Away, Now He Is Back And Wants My Son- Part 2









By the time my step mother came back, I was totally unconscious. I spent the next 2 months in the hospital treating not just my tears but terrible STD infections, he was sexually active, a part of his life nobody else knew about.


I missed my exams; I missed a whole year to say the least. I was confirmed pregnant and my father refused me getting an abortion. Francis absconded without a trace. The police in Aba put out a search warrant on him but it did not yield any results.


I left Aba and came down to Lagos to meet my father. I went back to school but this time around was allowed to be in Arts. My grandmother took care of Samuel for me while I started building the blocks of my life back.


I got into LASU to study Law and was done 2 years ago. I served in Kano State but refused to stay over in the north because of my son. I wanted to be a part of his upbringing too and be able to explain why he does not have a daddy in his life just like other kids in school.


I started working in a law firm in Ikoyi, and been a rockie, I was tasked with doing most of the paper fillings in court so I was always on the move. It was on such official errands, this time around to Ibadan, that I ran into the devil himself; Francis!





We had stopped to eat with the driver, using the official car meant it had our logo by the side. I was not in the mood to eat heavy so I was just on the table eating my meat pie while Deji, the driver was busy attacking his semo and egusi soup.


He walked up to our table and stood some few yards away from me, Deji enquired; “Oga wetin you dey find?” it was at that point I looked up and saw the bastard in flesh and blood. I could still remember his looks vividly; the looks of a beast that took away my innocence and almost destroyed my life.


For a minute I froze completely and just stared at him, lost in my thoughts. Anger from the deepest part of me was brewing up so quickly. He knelt down, at the full glare of everyone in the room. I could hear some idiots say “say yes, say yes”, apparently they thought he was about to propose to the love of his life. Nonsense!


He busted out crying, crying profusely while I just sat there not knowing how exactly to hurt him. I wish I had a gun, the table knife from the cutlery set didn’t look sharp enough to me that can slight his throat.


I had goose pimples all over my body; I was shaking not for fear but for rage. I just wanted to hurt him so badly the same way he did me but I was caught off guards. If I knew I would ever see him again, I would come prepared. 


“Madam, do you know this man? Why is he kneeling and crying now? madam don’t mind all these lagosians o, they can pretend for Africa, he just wants to beg for money ni ma”.



Deji lets go, and for you, turning and looking at him still kneeling on the floor, i don’t ever want to see you again. The next time I see you I will kill you and I mean it. I brushed him aside and hurriedly dashed off to the car. Deji came in behind me shortly and entered the car.


Francis also followed and was knocking on my side of the windshield, beckoning on me to wind down but I refused. He was crying so hard but I was not ready to listen to anything he had to say. All through the trip back to Lagos, the events of that day, 7 years ago kept flooding my mind. I thought I had healed completely from his actions but my wounds were fresh and bleeding afresh.


The next 2 weeks were terrible. My productivity levels dropped tremendously, my boss called me into her office and said; “you obviously appear to have so much going on in your head, I will not pressure you to share but I can allow you take some time off to get your acts together. Is that okay?” I nodded in affirmation.


I was shocked when Deji called me 3 days to say “madam, that yeye man we saw that day for Ibadan came to look for you in the office this morning”. But I didn’t give him my address, how did he know the place? Oh my, he must have read the inscription on the car that day. No!




By the time I resumed back, he had made several visits to the office. And on such unplanned visits, he was ushered in by my boss who wanted to know why he had been a constant face in the reception hall.


According to her, he confessed all that he did. He is now ready to face the law and be punished for all he did to me. He is the pastor of a church on the Island and dos not mind leaving all that behind. He is begging for my forgiveness and wants to know when I will be ready to charge him to court.



All he asks is to meet his baby, before he goes to prison. He knows he was once a rapist but now he has turned a new leaf but will gladly serve his time in prison.


What should I do? Deny my son the opportunity to know his father, make him realize his father is a rapist and live with that burden or shame for the rest of his life?


What should I do?




   

Wednesday, April 12, 2023

7 Years Ago He Raped Me And Ran Away, Now He Is Back And Wants My Son- Part 1

I wasn’t doing too well in school, well, the truth is, I never liked sciences but my parents wanted me to be a medical doctor hence I had to take science subjects which were not really my forte.


My dream has always been to wear the wig as a lawyer and appear in court to defend people and cases, all that dream has long disappeared. It has been 3 years of struggle since I started my senior secondary education in Owerri.


If only my mother hadn’t died from that breast cancer that tragically took her life, I would have still remained in Aba with her, but now am in Owerri with my step-mother who does not really believe children have a say in what to do with their lives. 


I cant say she disliked me but giving me an opportunity to chose, the same way my mother would have allowed me was a far distant cry. So I ended being a good and obedient daughter and followed her wishes. But my grades were not encouraging, not at all.



As the final exams approached, she decided to get me a private lesson tutor. I initially liked the idea since it will afford me the perfect excuse to leave the house to the extra moral lesson center with my friends since most of them were already attending same.


But my excitement was quickly dispelled when I realized I was to have a one on one personal tutor, worse is, he will be coming to the house every evening to take my classes. This means, I get to stay at home longer now and face the house chores too squarely. 




The first week was hell. The guy was so boring with his teaching and the fact that I had to attend to my step sister in between the classes just made it worse for me. By the second week, our interaction had improved and I realized he wasn’t that bad after all.


2 months passed by quickly, Francis was now an integral part of my day. From school, I will hurry back home to clean the house and every other instruction my step mum had dropped for me. All this was so I have enough time with Francis, lesson or no lesson.


He was the choir master and youth leader in the church and also an engineering student at the state polytechnic. I felt safe around him. You should have seen the way he prays when we about to start a class, he was spirit filled, or so I thought.


I normally don’t have classes on Sundays but my exams were starting in a weeks time, we needed to do a revision of all we have been doing and hence the extra day was added. It was also meeting day, so my step mother had to leave for the town hall. It was just Francis and I in the house. I had no reasons to be scared because of how well he had been behaving himself.


I remember I was 18, my feminine features were well pronounced. I had a size C cup bra and a waist size of 34. Not bad for an 18 year old girl. I also just finished my menstrual circle for the month; my breasts were bloated and extra sensitive at that particular period.








When Francis came, I realized he was gazing more at my chest than he usually does. I went in and added an extra sweater just to wade off any silly ideas. On my return, he asked; “are you feeling feverish?” To which I responded in the negative.


1 hour into the lesson, he requested for water as usual. I stood up to go get it and I could feel the weight of his gaze on me, scanning my backside in the skirt I wore. I was beginning to feel a bit uncomfortable because he normally does not pay attention to me or my body parts before now. 


Little did I know he had something planned for me, as I bent down to fetch water from the water dispenser in the dinning section, little did I know he had tip toed behind me and grabbed me from behind. 


Jesus I screamed, what are you doing? Please I beg you leave me alone please. All my pleas fell on deaf ears. He lifted me up and brought me to the sitting room, I was struggling to break free his hold but he was way stronger than me, he slammed me on the 3 seater couch, I hit my head on the arm railing at the edge of the leather seat. The pain was sharp and instant, I felt it right through my bones.


With that, I lost my coordination as I reached for my head, I could feel my hands slightly soaked with my own blood. My head, my head, he looked up to see what had happened to my head and dismissed it with a wave of hand. I could hear him say from afar “If only you had not struggled with me, you won’t have this cut on your head, but it’s not deep”.



He tore through my clothes, while I battled with not losing total consciousness. He went ahead and violated me. I was too weak to shout but still, he covered my mouth with his big sweaty palms. The taste of his salty palms in my mouth was awful, I puked the moment he removed them. I can’t recall exactly how long it took but the pains all over my body suggested he was at it for a while.


By the time he stood up, I was motionless and barely gasping for my breath. He quickly wore his shirt and zipped up his pants. “I am very sorry, it’s the devil that took over me, please forgive me”, and with that said he turned and left me.




To be continued

Ripples Beyond My Heart - Part 1

  “ It can’t be, it shouldn’t be, this can’t be happening to me “, what can’t be?, asked Ibrahim as he turned around with a sharp stare whi...