VOICES UNHEARD

 

CHAPTER ELEVEN 

  A few blocks away from the house, Rachel found an empty store and sat down on the slab. She was breathing so fast as she tried to calm herself. 

The thought of what had happened gave her the goosebumps. She shuddered like she was in winter, even though the sun was a little scotching.

     Sitting down there for awhile, she tried to figure out what she would do next in other to be free from the torment she was passing through. Reporting to her mum had proved abortive. She was stunned to the fact that her own mother had her swear not to mention it to anyone,more like she consented to the molestation her step father had been brewing on her.

 A vehicle stopped in front of the store and a man got down. Reluctantly, Rachel got up, vexed that the owner of the store had come to send her away.

        "I was just about leaving." She said to the man and started walking away.

        "Wait, can I talk to you for a few minutes? It's okay if you decide to stay far from me, I really don't mean aby harm." The man said.

Rachel sized the man with her eyes, wondering what the man had to say. "Well, I guess I should find out." She whispered to no one in particular.

        "What did you say? The man asked, hearing her mumble some words though he couldn't fathom what she had said. 

Rachel shrugged lightly, "it's nothing. What is it you want to talk about? I just have a few minutes, I'll be off in a jiffy." She explained, so as not to be kept waiting.

      "Uhm... Well, I have been watching from down the road and I saw that you were running, maybe from someone. You should be in school at this time and it's suspicious that you're not. Are you in trouble of some sort? The stranger asked, quite concerned.

The question triggered her and she could no longer fight the tears that had been struggling to let loose, so she let them fall on her cheeks. 

       "I'll be fine. I just need to go far away from here, from everything." She answered him and walked away.

The man tried to stop her, but on a second thought, he decided not to, so he wouldn't be mistaken as a child abuser. 

       Rachel walked back home, ready to either devour or be devoured. "What's the worst that could happen? I share a man with my husband and he pays my fees, huh? She said now cold hearted. 

       She wiped her tears and continued blabbing. "After all, I told her about it and she didn't bother doing anything about it. I can't run away, where do I know." She weeped quietly, trying not to gain any attention from passerbys.

 She got to the house a few minutes later. The house felt calm to her, so she assumed that the nuisance had finally left the house and for the meantime, she could think about a better way to get passed the situation or maybe, surrender.

      Unfortunately, her peace was shortlived as she stumbled on her step father coming out of his room while going into hers. She pretended not seeing him and sauntered into her room. Her heart beat so fast, as she waited for her door to be burst open.

After a few seconds without anything, she felt relieved but decided not to undress but lie on the bed like that. 

        Not long after she had slept off, she felt unusual hands on her body. She stirred up from her sleep still dizzy. She saw her step father on her bed, trying to undress her and signaling her to keep mute. She felt so bad, frustrated, betrayed and like any other badly hurt person could feel like. She tried to struggle, but he was way ahead of her. She screamed, but he gagged her with his big palm and finally overpowered her. 

       He was about to have his fill of her privacy when someone entered into the room hurriedly. Anthony froze as he saw a man enter the room, someone he had no idea of. He jumped off the bed and tried to put on his shorts.

     "Don't you dare move." The man said, taking out his phone from his pocket.

Rachel quickly covered her and got off the bed. She was surprised to see that it was the stranger that had stopped her. She wondered what he was doing in the house, though relieved he had showed up from nowhere.

       "Who are you? The stranger asked Anthony. "What's your relationship with this child? He asked, emphasizing of the word, child.

 Anthony stared at the man, baffled for a few seconds. "Young man, I should be the one asking who you are. You just entered into my house without invite and you have the guts to ask stupid questions? He quickly put on his short, ready to fight.

       "Did he hurt you? The stranger asked very concerned and angered.

Rachel shook her head. "No, he didn't but was about to."

     The stranger grabbed her hand and took her out of the house. "We're going to the police station to make a report and I'll fully support you on this, as much as you're willing to take it." The man promised.

      "No." Rachel disagreed, taking her hand off his. "I would hurt my mother. I don't want to hurt her nor my siblings, I just want to live peacefully."

The man sighed in disbelief. "What do you mean? Does your mother know that this man hurts you? Where's your mother, where can we find her? 

       She nodded. "My mother, she knows, but she says she can't do anything because that's her husband."

The man's eyes widened in shock. "You mean, your stepfather was trying to..." He couldn't complete his statement. "Oh my God. Where can we find your mother?

      "I can take you to her, she has a food store a few minutes drive from here."

VOICES UNHEARD

     CHAPTER TEN!

  Rachel was in her mother's food store attending to some clients who had come to patronize them. She needed to do more to raise money to complete her school fees or she wouldn't be able to join her class mates in writing the final exams.

       "Do you have the can milk in cartons? One of the customers asked.

       "No ma'am, we don't. But I can add up the ones remaining to half a carton if you don't mind." Rachel suggested. 

The woman shrugged lightly. "Just add them then, I'll get the rest later on, I'm in a hurry."

Rachel quickly packaged the good she had bought and proceeded to receive payment using the woman's payment card. 

        "It's a Monday morning, what's the problem? The woman asked her, staring at her suspiciously.

Rachel couldn't grasp the question so asked confusingly. "I don't understand your question ma. What happened to Monday? She asked, still working on the payment.

        "Your mates are in school, but you are..." She paused, gesturing at the whole place, "... You are here, working as a sales girl. Are you not a secondary school student? The woman asked, sounding concerned.

Rachel was about to lie that she had graduated from secondary school and was helping her mother's business, but on another thought, she felt there was no need, not like she owed anyone a serious explanation.

        "Actually, I haven't completed my school fees payment, so I had to pause school till I'm able to. Your payment was successful ma, do have a nice day." She finalized, handing over the card.

Unfortunately, the lady wasn't about to back down from what seemed like a fight. "Your parents should be able to pay your school fees with a shop as this. Why are they being unreasonable? 

         Rachel faked a smile, "ma'am, my mother is trying her best, so please refrain from using that statement, I'd appreciate." She answered and left her to attend to other customers.

That got the woman quite pissed off. "I know you're pregnant, that's the reason you're running away from school. What can I say, improper child upbringing." She said lastly, then left the store.

That statement caught the attention of everyone in the store, that some of them started murmuring within themselves. Rachel stood transfixed, as she stared at the woman, who drove off in her car. 

         She became destabilized, shocked that someone could think something of that nature against her, especially to the extent of accusing her to her face in public. Just then, her mother returned from the market where she had gone to get more goods. 

Rachel took that as an opportunity, excused herself and went back home. Her mother was confused at the sudden mood change but decided not to bother her till she got home, especially not in the presence of some customers.

     It took Rachel over half an hour to get home as she couldn't find a vehicle on time. As soon as she got home, she laid on the bed and burst into tears. 

It felt like her world was crumbling and she hadn't even started life yet as people would say. She thought about succumbing to the requests of her step father, perhaps since he had the money but refused to assist her freely.

But on the other hand, she didn't know how her mother would take it. The first time her step father made advances at her, she complained to her mother, who rebuked her and made her swear not to say a word about it to any soul. At that moment, she knew she had to make a drastic decision and act fast about it.

         She went to the kitchen to prepare noodles since she was hungry, only to bump into her step father coming into the house. She froze for a couple of seconds, before coming back to her senses.

       "Good morning sir. You, you returned too early today. I mean, I wasn't expecting to see you at home." She stammered briefly.

Anthony stared at her for a second then walked out of the sitting room hurriedly. Rachel assumed he forgot something at home and was glad he was in a hurry, hoping he would leave as hurriedly as he came in.

       As she got to her room, she quickly found two pairs of bum shorts and wore both, then placed wrapper round her waist, just to prepare for a war that might come. 

      She wished she was only hallucinating because of her reactions, but she didn't want to be caught unaware. After a while, she heard the front door open and close. She sighed loudly with relief.

        She was about to loosen the wrapper when her door came open. Unfortunately, the door knob had been spoilt for a while, so she never locked her door.

       "Sir, I thought you left already." She said, her heart now beginning to race so fast.

Anthony laughed mischievously. "I would have if I hadn't met you at home. Each time I stare at your body, I gives me goosebumps, I'd like to explore." He said, coming closer to her. 

She was close to the wall, so she had no where to run to. "Please, don't come so close or I'll scream out loud." She threatened him.

        "This isn't a busy area where people will hear you. The neighbors are all out, so no one will come to your rescue." He announced. "When was the last time you menstruated? He asked her.

Rachel was thrown off balance by that question. She became so disgusted standing in the same room with him. "Anthony, you are a married man. Married to my mother, why would you want to sleep with a teenager, are you not ashamed of yourself? 

        Anthony stared at her short of words for a while. "You called me by my name, seems you're ready to fend for yourself." He rushed towards her and threw her on the bed. 

Rachel screamed, but since he was stronger and bigger than her, he shut her mouth. Anthony loosened the wrapper she had tied on her waist only to find out that she was on bum shorts. Trying to unbutton it, he realized there still was another underneath, so he lost grip.

That gave her an opportunity to escape from him. She ran out of the house as fast as she could without looking back.

VOICES UNHEARD

      CHAPTER NINE!

  Lucy sat on the kitchen chair lost in deep thoughts. She had been bothered for awhile about her daughter and how to go about her educational finances. Since the death of her brother, it occured to her that it hadn't been a small feat and also, it was up to her to take up the full responsibility.

She decided that she would talk to her husband and try to persuade him to help out, since she was in her final level in secondary school. 

       Earlier that day she bought condiments for his favorite "nsala soup" which was usually her way to his heart. She had to close her store earlier than usual so she could have more time to accomplish what she wanted. She refused any of her children helping her in the kitchen as she hoped the energy she used in making the dish would help her get what she wanted.

It took her a few hours to prepare the meal, then she sent her children to her neighbor's house and asked them to stay out till it was 8 pm.

      Her husband, Anthony, returned home later that evening reeking of alcohol, though he wasn't drunk. She hurried went to welcome him and take his bag from him.

        "Good evening my love. How was work today? She asked him, consciously pretending not to perceive the reek of alcohol on him.

        "Ohhh, it was blissful. We had a birthday party for the company's co-founder. So there was a lot to eat and drink, yeah, I enjoyed it." He answered smiling calmly.

Lucy's heart sank, because that could mean that he wasn't hungry and her plans would be a waste. Perhaps, she should have prayed against wasted effort, she said within her.

        "Oh, is that so. Well, I've prepared a bath for you already. So, you should have your bath first, them join me later." She opined.

        He rolled his eyes over to her with a touch of surprise and confusion written all over his face. "You prepared water for me to bathe? Is it some kind of special water or something? He asked.

Lucy laughed coolly. "No, not really. I was home early today, so I thought I could do that, it's not something serious." She encouraged.

He shrugged lightly. "If you say so." He answered, loosing his tie and taking it off. He searched around with his eyes, but could not fathom what was happening.

       Lucy went ahead to dish his food and waited for him to join her downstairs as she had requested. It took him over thirty minutes and she wondered if he was going for a show or something.

      "You must have enjoyed the bath since you took quite some time to take yourself out of there." Lucy commented as she saw him walk into the sitting room, just across the dinning area.

Anthony chuckled softly. "It's been a while I had a warm bath, perhaps that was the reason. Besides, I really needed it." He replied. "Uhm, who made dinner? 

      She blushed casually before responding. "I did, and you would definitely love it." 

He looked around like he was searching for something. "You made dinner and..." He paused momentarily . "Hold on, the kids, what happened to the kids?  

      "Oh that, I sent them to the neighbors. I wanted an alone time with my husband you know."

       He nodded. "I wondered why the house was so calm, which was unusual." He continued. "I am quite full, the birthday party? He tried to explain.

Her face hardened as he started talking about being satisfied. "Love, it doesn't matter. You'll just have to find a way to eat some of these. I didn't spend so much time in the kitchen just to be ignored." She complained.

       "Alright, alright." He tried to pacify her. "I'd eat some of it, though not much."

She calmed down. "Now, that's fair. I made your favourite dish, you cannot afford to miss it." She said as she dished out some of it in a plate in front of him and some for herself.

       "You always know how to get to me, right? Anthony smiled, gulping down some of it. "This is very delicious. Did you add anything special to this? He asked excitedly as he continued to pounce on the meal.

Lucy smiled gently, trying not to laugh in order not to choke on the food. "I've always been a good cook and you know it."

       "Yeah it's evident." 

They continued eating quietly for sometime till Anthony broke the silence. "Luu, I know you want something from me. I've enjoyed your meal, so you can spill it out now." 

Lucy felt a little embarrassed. "Am I that easy to read? Was it that obvious? She asked.

       Anthony smiled. "Actually, the warm bath water gave you away, but then, I'm your husband so I know some of your tricks." He continued eating.

She delayed for awhile trying to find the best way to start. "I need your help. I've been trying to gather up some funds for something important but, it hasn't been that easy, but I know you can help me."

       "What's important that I don't know if yet? He asked, now showing more interest.

She hesitated for awhile before speaking up. "Rachel, I was informed that she would have to forfeit school if her fees aren't completely paid."

      His countenance changed. "How has that got to do with me? You know I can't possibly take care of another man's child."

      "My love, I know. But, she's in her final level and changing her school would be quite difficult for her. Please, just help me this last time." She pleaded.

He got annoyed and left the dinning room without uttering anymore word to her. Lucy, seeing that her plea had fallen on deaf ears bent her head in tears and disappointment. She hoped the situation had turned out better than it actually did. 

      She wondered what she would do about Rachel. After a while of sitting, she decided that she would go ahead with a different plan, no matter how hurtful it might be.

VOICES UNHEARD

  CHAPTER EIGHT!

  "Dele." He heard his step mother call from the sitting room. He hurried quickly to find out the reason for the call, or he would be punished. 

           "Yes mother." He screamed his lungs out, for he knew what would follow if he didn't show any sign or effort of response. 

He got to the sitting room panting forcefully. "Mother, you called." He said, holding his stomach up, like he got full from the short run.

Esther stared at him for a while, then back to the magazine she had been reading. "What were you doing before I called you? She asked, taking a sip from the juice on the side table and dropping it back.

       Still panting slowly, he replied. "I uh, I was on my bed just about to sleep mother." One could see the fear written all over him.

She gazed at him momentarily before speaking up. "Is that all? 

Dele wondered what she was up next as he had answered her, yet she still pestered him, or so he thought.

       "Yes mother. I don't feel too well, a slight headache has been troubling me since morning. I thought resting would help." He explained.

She got up and walked to the kitchen, while he followed after. "Is that so? Why didn't you tell me about the headache or am I the cause of it?

      He shook is head. "No mother, I didn't mean it that was way. Besides, it's just an headache and I didn't want to bother you about it." He responded.

She dropped the glass cup in the sink, then turned around to face him with a slight frown on her face. "Do you want your father to think that I do not take proper care of his only son? 

He shook gently. "No mother, please that isn't what I meant. Headache happens to me once in a while." He paused for some seconds. "I was stressed from school, so I needed to rest mother." He clutched his shorts tightly, scared that what he was thinking could happen.

      She sighed lightly. "I've sent the house workers home, they'll return tomorrow morning. Now, the house is yours to enjoy, so..." 

Dele wished the ground would open up and swallow him whole. Deeply, he wished for death since no one was able to save him, not even his beloved father, who was hardly home.

Dele quickly knelt on the floor. "Mother, please don't punish me, I have tried to be a good boy for days, please." He pleaded, now sobbing loudly.

      "Owww. Unfortunately, you just made things worse, go to my room and wait for me." She commanded. 

Dele got up like a wounded soldier and headed to the room upstairs, knowing that no amount of pleas would change the horrible lady's mind. Her heart was as tough as a stone, a manipulator, a sadist and a deadly poison, that was his conception of her.

      He got to her room, rather the room she shared with his father. He undressed completely and laid on the bed, facing downward and weeping slowly.

A moment later, Esther came in, undressed as well and joined him on the bed. 

      "You have such a beautiful body and it makes my body crave some more." She said kissing his shoulders passionately. "You can't blame me entirely. Your father is hardly home, always travelling for one trip or the other, but I'm a woman you know." 

She turned him around to face her and while she thrust him into her, he screamed. She gagged him with a cloth she grabbed nearby to prevent him from making a sound.

       She forced him to succumb to her ungodly desires, she enjoying the whole torment, while he wished for death so he wouldn't have to face such pain anymore.

When she was done, she asked him to dress up in front of her, she watching while he did so. "You must not say a word to anyone to any soul or else, you'll face even more of me than you ever know." She threatened. "Do you understand?

 Dele shuddered. "Yes, yes... I understand." He stammered briefly.

       "Yes? She raised her voice frowning deeply. "Did you just say yes?

        "I'm sorry mother. Yes mother, I understand." He answered.

She murmured to herself. "You can go and have that silly rest you mentioned." She dismissed him.

Dele started walking out of the room, a little glad that the whole issue was over, at least for the moment. 

        "By the way." Esther continued to say, he stopped halfway quite scared. "Your father will be returning this week, so you have to be well behaved. If you try any silly act, your meals will be reduced, your school will be changed and any other idea that comes to my head.

        "Yes mother." He answered.

Dele got to his room and laid on the bed for a while crying uncontrollably. He removed the clothes he was putting on and thrashed it, then he went ahead to have a shower to wash himself of the filth. 

       He still felt dirty even after three attempts of showering. He went back to the bed and laid down after changing to a new clothing.

      "I hate this life, I wish I could die." He murmured. "I'm only twelve, why's life so wicked to me. Mum, why did you have to die, left me in a cold world like you never cared. I want to come along, I'm tired of this world." 

He lamented till he fell asleep.