Hell on Earth 5
(based on a true story)
………………………………………………………
I didn’t quite understand what she meant by if I wanted to keep or abort the pregnancy. My husband made it clear that why he married me was so I would give him more children. So, the idea of aborting the child which could actually make my monstrous husband happy didn’t go well with me. I told her that and she gave me a quick enlightening lecture.
She told me that having a child for my husband would mean I would forever remain with him and in bondage. She said that if I have the baby, there would be no chance of me ever leaving my husband again. But if I get rid of the pregnancy, I stand the chance of leaving the marriage and living a better life. Ultimately, she said that keeping the baby would hinder the sweet thing she and I were having.
That was something I would never want. Anything that would stop the happiness Shantel brought into my life should go. I didn’t mind whatever it was. Immediately she mentioned ending what we had, I made my decision. I told her I don’t want to keep the pregnancy. I Could see how happy she was.
She came around two days later with some drugs and gave me instructions on what to do. She also came with plenty of sanitary pads. She said I should make sure I wore sanitary pads always immediately I took the drugs. She warned that I would bleed heavily and lengthy while the drugs took effect. She also warned that no matter how I felt, I shouldn’t tell anybody about it. She left with a promise of coming to check on me the next day.
I took the drugs as I was told and within hours, I started bleeding. I changed sanitary pads frequently as instructed and I kept the excruciating cramps I felt to myself. I had felt pains way worse than that, thus it was not difficult for me to endure that. The next day, Shantel came as she promised. I believe you see why I loved her.
She came with lots of fruits, food and vitamin tablets. She petted me like a loving man would pet his wife in labor. She asked how I felt and comforted me. She stayed a while and left. Lest I forget, my closeness to Shantel further deteriorated my already strained relationship with my stepdaughter.
She had accused of of turning her closest friend against her and promised I would never have peace. She was fulfilling the promise effectively. Just a little after Shantel left that day, my husband came home with a lady. As usual, he banished me from our matrimonial bedroom and I went to the passage which had always been my refugee camp.
And because of my bleeding, I visited the toilet very often. Mostly to clean up and change the pads. I did that all through the night and I couldn’t sleep until very early in the morning. I was sleeping on the floor of the passage when my husband kicked me very hard on the thigh. I jumped up with a start. Then I saw my husband, his daughter and the woman he brought home staring at me.
My husband pounced on me and started hitting me. While he hit me, he was shouting and cursing me for killing his child. I didn’t know how he found out about the abortion. I didn’t know which of the ladies told him I was aborting a child. He continued hitting me, cursing and threatening while the others stood and watched.
He hit me until I had no atom of strength left in me. That was the second day I thought I would die. But he didn’t kill me. He was determined to make my life more painful than death. He bundled me into a store where things were kept and locked the door. He swore I would die the way I killed his child.
I spent two days in the store with no food and no water. The blood didn’t stop coming neither did my strength return. Whenever I look back at what I survived, I usually tell myself that I have nine lives. But in reality, I am not a super human. It was God who chose to show mercy on his poor daughter.
Two days later, I was let out of the store. But it was not by my husband. He left me there and disappeared as he always did. He had probably forgotten he locked his dog in a cage. I was let out by my stepdaughter, but she didn’t do it out of goodwill. Shantel made her promises she couldn’t resist.
When Shantel saw the state I was in, she cried like someone who lost a dear one. Please don’t blame me for falling in love with a fellow woman. She was the sweetest thing I had. She was my personal guardian angel and even until now, I consider her as that.
She cleaned me up and gave me energy drinks. I couldn’t eat any food that day but Shantel gave me liquids that revived my system. She didn’t leave that day, she spent the night in the house nursing me back to health. If humans are gods, Shantel was my god. The next day, I felt better. I had regained a reasonable amount of strength and I could eat a little solid food. Shantel made sure I had plenty to eat.
But while I was happy for regaining my strength and for the care Shantel gave me, I was very frightened by what my husband could do when he gets back. I told Shantel about my fear and she kept quiet.
She did as if she didn’t hear me even though we were very close. She kept a straight face like someone thinking. Then she turned to me and asked “how long do you intend to live in this hell you call marriage? Is it not time you got out of it?”
I told her leaving the hellish marriage would be the best thing that could happen to me, but I didn’t know how to leave. She looked me in the eyes and said “let us kill that stupid man. That is the only way you can leave”.
Join me on the next episode of ‘Hell on Earth’.
Remember, we can be your writer
TOCHUKWU ANOZIE
