Martha entered while I was starting to write my homework. “How was school young sister?” she asked. I lifted my head and hid my face.

“I am fine, thanks sister,” I answered. She walked and watched as I wrote my homework.

“These days you are becoming bigger and more intelligent. You can write your homework on your own,” she said cheerfully as she looked at my book. I smiled as she went out. I went out so I can help my sisters with sweeping the outside. I nearly fell because the pain in my legs persisted.

“Shamiso, are you OK baby? If you are tired sit down, the girls will manage,” my stepmother, Melody said. I didn’t know when she had come home.

I went to sit down and noticed that Bright was staring at me while he sat under the tree. I was afraid to look at him so I sat there facing the ground. He stood up and walked to where I sat and gave me sweets. My stepmother was cutting vegetables in a dish close to me.

“Bright, you are growing fonder of Shamiso, that’s good of you,” she said happily.

I took the sweets and held them, I couldn’t eat them. I was angry and in agony. If she only knew what he did to me, she would know that this was no love, no caring at all. I was beginning to hate Bright, what if this didn’t end? Would I be fine? I wished my mother would come back.

Melody asked me to go and call Lovemore at the shop. As an obedient kid I went. I found him with his friends near a bush. I saw him saying his goodbyes and I stood to wait for him. He saw me and then he began to chase me. I ran and we were alone in the bush. I fell down and he got on top on me.

He removed my panties then he held my hands. I tried to fight him but he overpowered me and did the same as Bright did to me. Tears flowed on my face.

“Don’t ever tell anyone, I will kill you. This is what you get for looking for me,” he said as he forced his thing inside me. I was in pain, I felt traumatized. He left me there bleeding. How could they be so heartless?

I couldn’t sleep. I couldn’t wait for my mother to fetch me. This happened for months in the absence of my stepmother. My father tried to cheer me up when he came but I started to feel unsafe. It only happened when my father went back to work. I cried every night. They would rape me every day. They actually were happy that it was harvest time. This meant Melody would leave with Martha and Nomatter and leave me with the boys. It was like I was a toy to them, changing me and discarding me as a used tissue. I wanted to die.

***

Tell us what you think: Do you think the family really doesn’t see what is going on? What would you do?