LOST
Episode one
Kpa kpa kpa, that was the sound of dad bēating mom again.
It’s our morning breakfast in this house and everyone is tired of complaining.
Days like this, I just stay in a corner watching how he bēats her to his satisfaction then leaves.
Mom and dad have never lived in peace for three days without dad hītting her.
She has a visible mark on her head which is a result of the belt dad used in hitting her that brōke inside her head.
Because of this, mom has been covering her head with either a head tie or a cap.
She hasn’t made her hair for years now. She cries whenever she sees other women making theirs and there’s nothing she can do.
I heard dad used to hīt her while they were dating and she didn’t pay much attention to it because when he leaves the house, he will come back begging and promising to change and she will just forgive him.
After forgiving him, he still continues with his ways until they finally got married and it became worse.
I’m an only child in the house.
I always feel bad about that because mom said she was pregnant with my little brother and it was just four months into the pregnancy when my dad came back one evening.
Mom was waiting for him at the dining table and she accidentally fell asleep.
When he came back, it was obvious he was late and he didn’t seem to care.
He walked in like nothing happened. Mom got upset with him and scolded him for coming back late and keeping her waiting all night when she should have been sleeping.
That day, I was sleeping in my room when dad pretended to go to the room, but then he came back and hīt mom right on her stomach.
Mom felt a lot of pain and started screaming, but he didn’t care.
He hīt her again and then went to the room.
Mom fell to the floor, crying and in pain, and suddenly she started blēeding.
Dad came out of the room, saw her blēeding, and that’s when he rushed her to the hospital.
They took me with them too. I felt so bad for mom, I was crying in the hospital, and dad scolded me for crying.
Mom was lying in the bed without saying a word.
Then suddenly the doctor said, “If you had rushed her any later than this, you would have lost her, but unfortunately, the baby is gone.”
Dad pretended to cry, but I didn’t believe those fake tears.
He was the cause of the blēeding, and he was crying. That was the first time I started seeing him differently.
To me, he was like a wild beast, and he made me hate men in general.
The next evening, mom was discharged from the hospital, and I could see the tears in her eyes.
She was lost in her thoughts, and dad just shook his head every now and then.
He wasn’t the one feeling the pain of losing a child. I had lost a brother because of him.
He still went about his daily duties like nothing happened, while mom was always quiet, mourning. Sometimes, I would remind her that she still had me and that all hope wasn’t lost.
I even pleaded with her to run away from him, but she would defend him.
Mom has never said anything bad about my dad. She always portrayed him in a good light, like an angel.
But I had my own picture of him, a woman beāter who didn’t care about his wife or child.
I had just prayed for one thing: for God to remove him from our lives for good.
I could live without a father.
The most embarrassing day for me was when I invited my friends over to hang out at my house.
My dad is wealthy, and my mom used to work until he asked her to quit and become a full-time housewife.
She did it to save their marriage, something he wouldn’t do for her.
When my friends and I walked home together after school, we waited until my dad arrived before entering the house.
But when I opened the gate, I was shocked to see my mom running towards me for shelter, wearing only her underwēar.
My dad was chasing her with a belt, shouting, “Come here, you stūpid woman.”
When my friends saw this, my dad went back inside, but the dāmage was already done.
They had witnessed what was happening in my house. I asked them to leave, and I sat outside crying.
My family always embarrassed me, even in front of my friends.
I had always portrayed my family as perfect, but now they had seen the truth with their own eyes.
That day, Mom apologized on his behalf and even said, “Catherine, never marry a man who bęats a woman.
You’ll end up like me, and I’m not happy here, just holding on.”
Those were her words to me.
My friends mocked me in school but lying but they just didn’t understand.
But then, the day came when he bėat her again, as usual.
When I came back from school, he was sitting comfortably on the sofa, sipping juice.
I greeted him and asked, “Please, where is my mom?”
There was no response. I searched everywhere in the house but couldn’t find her.
I was so hungry, I just dropped my bag and lay down on the sofa, waiting for her to come back.
Thessycute Ekene
