My story would be about a girl, who was supposedly maltreated by the one who bore her.
She would speak for herself.
I was called a witch, idiot, fool, think of any name that's evil. It was mine. Mama thought I had an evil spirit in me,so she inflicted "holy" wounds on my body. The scars I bear on my left cheek and at my back were precise incisions from a blade...
Father was never there to see her treat me like an animal. Every juvenile mistake brought a great whipping, beating. She would step on my head, strangle my neck, and threaten to end my life. "I will kill you today, this stupid child!!"
She would say.
One many occasions, I prayed to just die there, under her feet.
I grew up in fear of what people would do to me. I feared everybody was like her. I was the top of my class, every year of my primary school. But even when my classmates called me friend, I found it hard to trust them.
At twelve, I met a girl,who like me was the punching bag of her mother. And because the both of us were results of teenage pregnancies, we found common grounds to build a friendship.
I opened up to this girl 'like no man business.' She opened up to me too. I found solace in pouring my heart to her. She laughed to my jokes, I did not even know I could be jovial. Talk less of make someone laugh. She was a friend.
And when Joy moved out of the neighborhood, I was alone again.
At many nights, father would come down to find me crying in our backyard. I would refuse to go inside, because I did not want to see my mother, my persecutor.
At thirteen, I found daydreaming to be the perfect way to escape reality. I would envision a prince coming to save me, take me to a Faraway castle, just like in the stories I read. It worked fine.
I also got a journal from one of my aunts. She said "Take. This will help you alot." I wrote in what I went through, my thoughts. It was therapeutic. But it didn't take the pain away..
Will this story always be gloomy?
I was going to do it. I told my journal that I would put an end to my miserable existence. What had God brought me here for? I asked myself.
I somehow ran away to a creek. I did not know how to swim. My plan was to drown myself, as no one was around who might save me. I was ready to do it. To sail across to death's warm arms...
Somebody touched me.
* * * * *
I felt a hand on my shoulder. The touch sent chills down my spine. Who could it be? Had she found me out....?
The hand stayed there, it was warm and friendly. But I was too afraid to turn.
The wind blew softly, making a slight whistling sound. Trees rustled, and I felt calm, inside out.
I turned around, to find myself in a room. Sitting across a man I've met only once in my childhood dreams. The man smiled at me. There was a fiery sense of peace in his piercing eyes. Almost like he could see through me. His presence calmed me.
Tears unrestricted, rolled down my tired eyes. I barely knew the man, but I recall I was telling him one thing "change my story, turn things around in my favour"
He knew me. He told me things about myself that no one else knew. He said that he saw me all those nights, when I cried in my backyard. He said He's always been with me.
I was angry then. I asked him why he let me go through all this if he was always with me. He consoled me with another touch. My eyes opened to a bright future, with him.
My days have been bright as daylight since that encounter. I accepted to be His friend. A friend of an all time Saviour. And he's been with me, ever so loyal he is.
If love were human, he'd be that man. None other than my darling Jesus. He who can wipe away tears forever, and give joy unspoken of. He who can mend the broken hearted, heal their wounds so that the scars disappear. He makes bright dark situations.
My friend Jesus is love. In Him I enjoy peace, joy, favour, and undiluted love. Hallelujah!
©Princess Ebenezer.
great
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