Months had passed by and I realized playing along was the only way to get out of that hell hole because all other ways had failed. I knew that David would come that day. I got up with the little energy I had, took a bath and made some rice and beans. When the food was ready, I ate and got some energy. I felt some life come back into me. I was feeling so fresh that I could feel the air blow through the window, the air blowing over my skin. Though the window couldn’t help me escape, at least it helped me breath the fresh air outside that house. It was a good feeling after such a long time.
Hours later, I heard the sound of a car outside the house. I checked the window and it was David, of course. He took about two to three minutes unlocking the door since it was locked with so many padlocks. I used that short time to breathe in and out in order to activate my acting skills. I sat sexily on the chair looking through the door as David finally walked in. He was so surprised to see me all cleaned up and looking strong. “Am I dreaming or something? What’s all this about?” He asked to check out the house to find out if perhaps someone came to my rescue. He couldn’t believe my new attitude. I was so nice to him and showed that I wasn’t afraid of him anymore. I gave him a warm hug to welcome him but deep down my heart was crushing. All I wanted to do was grab a knife and stab him right in the chest. You can’t do that, you’re a good person. And besides it’s just a matter of time before you can leave here. My conscience assured me.
“Relax, there’s nobody here, I just realized that I could live like a queen without having to go through this pain here. If I obey you and do what you want me to do, I know you will give me anything I want, just like before, right?” I had my hands all over him and my legs across his on the sofa.
“Wow my queen, now you’re talking some sense. Believe me I really didn’t want it to come to this. You pushed me.” He put his hands on my thighs and legs.
“No my love, you don’t have to apologize, it was all my fault. Let’s just leave our past behind us and move forward.” I started touching him all-over. And pecking him on the cheeks.
“Oh baby, if you were this nice I wouldn’t have treated you so badly. I like this new attitude of yours.”
I felt so disgusted from the inside. I was at the point of puking but I held it back in. I promised myself that I would report this man to the police immediately when I got the chance.
I convinced him to sleep over that day. He had too much to drink from the alcohol he came with from his car. I made us some snacks for dinner while he continued to drink his alcohol. We ate the snacks and he seemed so drunk that he couldn’t keep his eyes open anymore. He was gentle with me and just cuddled me until he fell sleep. I felt like killing him when I saw him fast asleep but I was too much of a coward. Calm down. It’s just a matter of time and you will be out of here. My conscience brought me back to my senses.
I slowly got out of bed without him noticing. In his drunkenness, he had forgotten to lock the door and left the keys on the table. I grabbed the key and slowly opened the door. Without knowing the direction to take, I just took off. At that moment, running away from that place was the only thing I could think of so I ran like a lion was chasing me. Indeed, I was running away from a lion in the form of a human being.
I had run for about thirty minutes when I saw a car stop in front of me, almost knocking me down. I put my head up only to see that it was an old woman.
“Young girl, do you want to get yourself killed? Why are you running like someone is after you?” The old woman was concerned. She was elegant and dressed up in suit and heels. She looked like someone who works in a law firm.
“Am sorry ma’am, I didn’t mean to cause you any trouble. Could you please give me a lift to my house. I will tell you about everything on the way,” I replied.
“Get in, let’s go.” The old woman was kind enough to give me a lift. I was so scared to tell the lady what I had gone through because I knew she wouldn’t believe me. I couldn’t bring myself to trust her. I told her there were some thieves chasing me, that’s why I ran off. I was so nervous and unable to explain what I was feeling. I was happy that I escaped from that horrible man David but I was just as worried about him getting to me once again. She saw that I was shivering and had bruises all over my arms. “I can help you young girl, you need to trust me. What happened to you?”
“Well, let’s first get home to my mom and I will narrate what happened.”
Five minutes later, we were already home. I left the woman standing outside the door and I forgot to offer her a seat inside the house because of the excitement I had to see mum after such a long time.
“Mom, mom, mom, am back home.” I called out to my mother. But when I got in the room she was asleep. I shook her till she woke up.
“What happened to you my baby, I got a letter from Mr. David stating that you had eloped with your boyfriend from school.” Mom looked so confused. She was so happy that I turned up because she had been so worried about me. After all these months, she hadn’t changed one bit. She still slepts with the lights on and wore the same big dress to sleep. She grabbed me softly and hugged me so tightly like she had missed me for years and started checking my body to see if I was okay. And that’s when she saw so many bruises all over my hands and body.
“No mom, I was kidnapped by that monster David and he has been doing a lot of horrible things to me. That’s why I have all these bruises all over me. I miss you so much. I was so defenseless, mom. And I thought I would never escape from that place.” I hugged my mom and cried out to her. And she held me tight.
“You mean Mr. David, is that dangerous? I can’t believe he was capable of doing all this to you right under my nose.” My mum was so shocked and hurt that she couldn’t let me go from her arms. “Am sorry my daughter that I wasn’t there to protect you. But I won’t let him harm you anymore. We need to leave here immediately and go somewhere very far before he comes for you, my baby.” She got up and started to look around for things to pack so quickly when the old lady that I left standing near the door walked in. It startled my mum because the woman was a stranger to her and she didn’t know that I had come with her. Before she could become more scared over how the woman got into the house, I introduced the lady and told my mum how she helped to bring me home. She was so thankful to the lady that she couldn’t stop folding her hands to thank her.
“Well I’m sorry mum, this is the lady who helped drop me home. Please come in, sorry I didn’t offer you a seat,” I replied.
“Am okay, don’t worry. And am sorry I overheard your conversation, but you don’t need to go anywhere. I am a lawyer and I will fight this case for you. The man has to pay. I know men like David very well and their weaknesses are young girls. You will get justice, young girl. For now pack what you will be needing because we are going to my house. You two will be safe there.”
We hurried and picked just a few things and left for the lady’s house.
20 April, 2023
