Samantha

I looked at Bavumile’s happy face making me glad that I had twisted my mother’s hand to let me do this even though she was against it.

But I guess having a mother as a minister has its own perks.

Even though there were dozen of guards outside they still wouldn’t allow to take off his chains and my mother’s influence could only do much.

I liked seeing this calm side of him, like being outside is what relaxes him.

He laid down and looked at the blue sky with his eyes closed. “I had a step father.” Bavumile said breaking the comfortable silence.

“He had 3 kids and they all hated me, my step father molested me.” He took a deep breath “I used to tell my mother but she didn’t believe me or it was because of the fact that we depended on my step father that she chose to turn a blind eye.” He said, his voice cracked a bit.

I didn’t interrupt him, knowing that this might be the only time he would ever talk about that day.

“Later on my mother started beating me so bad that my skin would open up, my mother was once sweet and loving but after that man she changed. So one night my step father took me out and we went to his friends house there were 6 of them in there and they all took turns on me.”

“I came back home not knowing how to walk, my mother didn’t once look at my direction, something snapped inside me that night. When everyone was asleep I took a butcher knife and started with my step siblings, I then went to the main bedroom and stabbed my step father so many times that I even lost count, I left my mother for last I wanted to take my time with her, for failing to stand by me, to protect me and to love me. She apologised but I didn’t care because it was too late.” He looked at me his eyes filled with tears but he didn’t blink so that tears wouldn’t fall “The neighbours heard the screams out of fear they called the police. I stabbed my mother 56 times.” He looked up again “Are scared of me now?”

I should be filled with fear, I should be shaking with fear, having to be in a presence of a person who had murdered so many people but instead I shook my head, my heart bled for him, it hurt on his behalf. The fact that he had to endure all that pain as a kid and having no one to turn to must have destroyed him so much that he thought that the only way to get rid of his pain was to do what he did.

“No.” I said wiping the tear that had fallen.

“You don’t?” He asked surprised.

“I don’t.”

“You are the only only one that I had told about this and probably the last.”

I held his hand and gave him a sloppy smile “Thank you for trusting me with your truth.”