Losing her parents, being raped and facing the demons at home, it took her a while to notice that she was pregnant. She didn’t know who to trust, so she made a call to me. It was a surprise to receive the call. She told me she needed money, but she didn’t tell me what it was for. I gave it to her, but she was short of a few Rand. After writing her final exams she went for an illegal street abortion. Her bleeding didn’t stop but she didn’t want to tell anyone about it. Luckily Lizzy and the pastor found her in a pool of blood. They were shocked, thinking that she might be dead, but she was the one who killed.

She was admitted to a local hospital but she wasn’t getting well. She needed blood and her body was weak. Doctors needed a payment of R12 500 but no-one in her family had it. Her family’s blood type was not a match with hers and no-one was there to help her. I hated her for what she had done and I didn’t even want to see her. Lizzy came to me to tell me to not do evil against Sarah. Maybe she was right. I loved Sarah so I went to see her doctor. Our blood type matched 100%. Somehow DNA was collected but this nightmare wasn’t ending anywhere soon. It revealed that Sarah was my blood sister.

How was this possible? Not a half-sister but a full blood sister. All along I had dated my sister, of all people! We were both so confused and I didn’t want to leave her side anymore. I was my sister’s first boyfriend after all. The question now was where did I belong? Where I am now or in that house of demons? I was attacked at Sarah’s place and she almost died in that house.
The news was like daily bread. Everyone was talking about it on the street. How would I treat her as a sister? Could I forget those moments we spent as lovers? I forgave whoever was responsible for the stories, and may the Lord forgive them. As for my sins, I would let it be the fate of God.

Maria dumped me via SMS and Lizzy saw it before I could and found out what kind of person I was. My life was getting more and more complicated. I didn’t even apologise to Lizzy. What kind of person had I turned out to be? It took one week for the police to arrest the rapist. He was old enough to be our father. How could he do that to my little sister? Mom promised to tell the truth about our birth right. I hoped and prayed that she hadn’t sold my sister to those witches. How about Sean? Was he really my brother?

Sarah’s family knew she was adopted. That’s why the demons didn’t have full control over her. Mom called a family meeting. My stepfather didn’t want it to happen and ended up having a heart attack. I wanted to know and Sarah wanted to know. It turned out that my mom was not my birth mother. My birth mother was killed by our father, a man who used to rape her. She was ashamed of being the victim of rape. Sean’s parents had no children before Sean and they took me in as their first born. The demons’ favourite family took Sarah. I was 10 months older than her and I wasn’t even aware of her as my sister.

Our father was sentenced to 18 years. The police files show that the man who raped our mom and impregnated her was the same man who raped my sister after being released from prison. I knew for sure that my sister was like mom, a rape victim. What was I, then? A rapist maybe? I slept with my sister. We didn’t know the next move. Sarah’s old family took over the house she used to live in. Those I lived with were not my real parents, they might chase me out sometime soon. I had been a good kid to them but so had Sarah. She accepted the demons once, that was something.

Sean continued to treat me like a brother. The worst part was that my mother’s relatives were not South Africans. Proudly Zimbabweans. How was I supposed to trace them? I didn’t even know their language. My stepmom accepted my sister but she went through a lot. Her Matric results were bad and she failed. My stepfather was recovering well and he also accepted Sarah to join us. Sarah wasn’t comfortable being near any man. She wanted me, only me. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to study part-time or go to school full time.

Her Matric statement was good even though she failed Maths and Accounting. All those other subjects she had above Level 5. Our real father, the rapist, was facing his trial and we had to attend court. I had to find Lizzy and apologise for my bad behaviour and she was waiting for it. Mom had booked psychological classes for Sarah and she was doing well. She decided to write her Matric part-time.

Lizzy and Sarah made their friendship good again. I was happy in a relationship and our new family was doing well. Sean went to a high-quality varsity, and Sarah and Lizzy joined him. I loved being part of this family.

***

Tell us: Now that the family has been sorted out, do you think the demons will still have their hold on the house of Sarah?