She called Peter behind their class and broke the news to him. He stormed away without uttering a word. She was confused. He thought about it and concluded that he still had a lot to achieve and could not afford a baby so Dorcas was left with just one option: abortion.

She was one transparent individual, her parents saw that there was something wrong from the word go. She confessed that she was pregnant but did not want the baby. It was hard for her because her parents were too strict and made it clear that they were not getting involved as they were not there when she got up to no good with an irresponsible boy.

Dorcas was shattered to the core. Her performance in academics dropped. Her pregnancy took a toll on her. She couldn’t bring herself to let her parents go to Peter’s house because he had been crystal clear from the beginning about the baby. She failed her grade while Peter progressed to the next.

As much as it was hard, she wanted to give the baby up for adoption. Her parents supported the idea because what would people say? They helped her with all the paperwork and procedures, and all that was left was for her to give birth and give the baby away.

She didn’t love this child. It reminded her of how she didn’t listen when she was warned. Peter had moved on to other girls and all they did was boast in public whenever they saw Dorcas. She gave birth and did not even clothe the baby, the adoptive parents did. She truly despised that bundle of happiness. She was now hard core. She didn’t care about anyone or anything any more. The bubbly little girl was no more.

Years went by. Peter completed his matric and went to university and Dorcas was in Grade 12. It seemed like they had forgotten all about their baby.

***

Tell us: What do you think about the way Peter treated her?