I found it hard to fall asleep. I was staring at the ceiling with tears streaming down my face. The crickets outside were the only thing breaking the silence of the night. I pulled out a knife from under the pillow; the silver of the blade caught the light of the moon, making it glisten.

I had managed to hide it under my shirt when I was doing the dishes, and now, holding it, I knew that what I was about to do was the right thing. I turned to look at Zithembe: he was sleeping, unbothered.

This was the only way for me to be free from him. I took Zithembe’s phone from his nightstand and called the police. I spoke in a soft whisper, telling them that there was an emergency. After that, I called the ambulance. I placed the phone back quietly.

Then I took a deep breath and pushed the knife deep into my stomach.

The knife landed with a thud when it fell from my hand. I lay on the bed and stared at the ceiling. In the distance, I could hear the ambulance sirens followed by the police.

I heard the bang on the door. Zithembe’s eyes were wild when he woke up and saw me lying next to him. Then I lost consciousness.

***

When my eyes opened, I was welcomed by the bright light. I looked around the room, scared that I might still be back at Zithembe’s house.

“Our sleeping beauty is finally awake,” a voice spoke. I looked around the room again, my eyes trying to adjust to the brightness of the room, and saw a nurse with a warm smile on her face. “Don’t sit up.” My head was pounding and my throat was dry. The nurse walked over to adjust my pillows, placed a straw between my lips, and helped me drink water.

“You took too long to wake up, you were asleep for about eight hours.” She took a deep breath as her eyes lowered to my stomach. All the warmth that was on her face was replaced by sadness. “After being stitched, you regained consciousness and you were hysterical, so the doctor sedated you.”

How could I ever forget? Everything came rushing back, knocking the air right out of my chest. Panic took hold of me. “Zithembe,” I said under my breath.

The nurse placed her hand on my shoulder to calm me down. “He was arrested.” I let go of the breath that I had been holding and laid my head back on the pillow and cried. I was finally free.

“He’s going to jail for a very long time,” the nurse continued, and nodded her head before she left the room.

Tell us: Do you think Bongiwe would have ever managed to escape if she didn’t do what she did?