I Am Woman – Episode 14
I Am Woman – Episode 14
A Story By Brian Ngoma
He opened the door widely and stood in front of us motionless. We couldn’t see his face clearly but could almost hear his heart beat and sweat dripping from his face. His silence was dead as night and as scary as a ghost. It was like he was in a trance of some sort. A spiritual person could have said he was possessed. A medical person, mentally unstable. As he stepped forward, we could see his furrows and burning eyes as he stood wondering what to do with us. He took another step forward and I shouted.
“Get back Enoch!”
Still quiet he moved further.
“What do you want from us?” I shouted.
Kasuli was crying and holding me tightly. We moved back to the wall whilst on the bed. Enoch moved to the edge of the bed.
“So you thought you could embarrass me and walk away with it?” He asked breathing heavily.
“We can talk about this in the morning,” I tried to reason with him. “Look at the time Enoch, its 01:40.”
“I don’t care about that. I am here to give you what you deserve. You think you have grown. Disrespecting everyone in this house.”
“Who have I disrespected?” I asked trying to calm him down.
He was quiet for a while seemingly thinking and snapped, “My father and mother feeds you and you dare go behind his back and tell the company to stop giving him the money.”
“No Enoch. Your father will continue getting the money from next month. We just needed it for some clothes and other necessities but what I got is enough.”
“So you admit now?” He smiled wickedly. “He asked you about it and you made him look like a fool. Do you know that you guys are a handful?”
“Yes we know Enoch,” I answered.
“Then why do you treat my parents with no respect,” He paced about.
“If that’s how it seems, we will stop disrespecting them Enoch. Now can we please talk about this in the morning. Look at Kasuli, she’s scared.”
Enoch laughed, grabbed and pulled Kasuli from me. It happened so fast that I didn’t contemplate it. One second, Kasuli was in my hands, the other she was in Enoch’s. I knew that Enoch wasn’t playing with us. He had come for revenge. His silence since the last incidence didn’t mean he had forgotten and buried the issue, he was planning on when to attack next and that was it.
“Tinashe!” Kasuli scre-med.I stood up and started begging Enoch not to hurt Kasuli.
“She’s just a child please, let her come to me.”
“But you are not a child, are you?” He asked.
“No I am not.”
I knew where this was going and scre-ming for help couldn’t have helped. The neighbourhood my uncle’s house was located in had mind your own business kind of neighbours.
“Let her go Enoch,” I pleaded with him.
“In exchange for what?”
“Me,” I answered hesitantly.
With a smile on his face, he let go of Kasuli and she ran to me. I held Kasuli in my arms and told her everything would be fine. She couldn’t stop crying and telling me she needed mama.
“Follow me to my room, I will be waiting for you on the door and if you dare try to do something foolish. Your sister and you won’t ever enjoy city life again,” he left the room.
I looked at Kasuli and told her to go back to sleep. She refused and said she won’t let me go anywhere. She was crying profusely and holding me very tight I couldn’t get away from her grip. I knew Enoch would be back and I had to hurry up lest he had his way with the both of us.
“He won’t do anything to me I promise,” I assured her.She looked at me and said, “You are lying Tinashe.”
Tears were dropping from my eyes. I couldn’t control them. I regretted going to Papa’s company. Perhaps that was the reason Enoch was so upset with me.
“Tinashe we don’t have the wh0le night, its 02 already,” he shouted from the corridor.
I got up, looked at Marlon’s letter on the table and left Kasuli in the bedroom. I told her to close the door and close her ears because we might be talking loud with Enoch, I lied. Brave as she was, she closed the door. I went into Enoch’s room and found he had removed his clothes except for his p-nts. As soon as I entered, he told me to lock the door. He got up from his bed and came to where I was standing.
“Are you scared?”
Fool, I thought to myself.
“Don’t be, I will be gentle.”
“Enoch I am your cousin, can’t we talk about this please.”
“Cousin ni ndiyo,” he pulled me and laid me on his bed.
I watched him take away his p-nts down looking at me while I was fully dressed. He put his p-nts on the other side of the bed when the door banged. It was Kasuli shouting my name and crying. Enoch immediately got away from me and looked at me furiously.
“Shut her up!” He said angrily.
I got up and went to the door. I opened it and there she was, angry and upset. I had never seen her that angry before. She carried with her in her hands a knife she had gotten from the kitchen.
“Didn’t I tell you to sleep Suli?” I asked her calmly.
“Let’s go Tinashe,” she said.Surprised, I asked, “Where Suli?”
“To mama.”
It then dawned on me that we still had time to leave the house. I told Mr Lubase about leaving but I didn’t know where we could go. Kasuli was right, we had somewhere to go and that was Mama’s place. I then remembered the piece of paper she left me at Papa’s funeral. It had her physical address. I wasn’t going to give in to Enoch’s selfish and wicked desires.
As I wanted to turn around to stand up to him, I saw him charge at me fiercely and pushed me aside with so much power I hit the wall. Trying to get myself up, I heard Kasuli scre-m once and went quiet. I fell in,side the bedroom and Kasuli was still in the corridor. I got up and saw Kasuli laying on the floor with Enoch standing beside her. He came towards me.
“What have you done to her!” I shouted.
He grabbed my hand and pushed me on the bed. I tried to get away from his tight grip but failed. I bit his ear and while he was scre-ming from the agony, I rushed to where Kasuli was. I shouted her name but she wasn’t responding. Without anticipation, Enoch grabbed me by my hair and pulled back into his bedroom. He pushed the door and didn’t lock it with the keys and came at me. I tried to put up a fight but the more I tried, the h-rder he hit me especially in the stomach. I decided to stop putting up a fight. My mind was on Kasuli and the sooner he was done, the better. Fighting back made him angrier. His eyes had even changed their colours.
That was the first time
I saw such color
Springing in his eyes
His muscular arms
Where his piano and drums
For this abominable song-
A rape chorus
No shame at all
He made his intention known
Where could I have escaped from?
The closed!
Like a Jew
Met with jihadists
My clothes were ripped off me
It was hopeless pleading
Or saying it wasn’t fair
For he left his sense of reasoning
At the market square
…
Where could I have escaped from?
The doors were closed
I could sight his walking stick
Making a kick
Shouting made no mark
He was set to swim
Wide as he was,
He needed an accommodation
My legs were made
To pave the way,
To give the satisfaction.
One went East
And the other west
Ah!
There my strength less body laid
Like a billboard that boldly says
“FOOD IS READY”
…Food is ready
Come and taste
There was no barrier anymore
My skin from his,
His beast from my stream
Left only, was a whistle
To tell him
“thr-st in’
To be continued
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