CWRC Anthology

HOPE

© 2022 by Idowu Kehinde Elizabeth.

Brought to you by Christian Wrighters and Readers Club.

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Twelve-year-old Allen woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of screaming. It was raining outside and somehow the window was open making cold air waft into his room in waves.

The terrifying scream had woken him up and he knew who it belonged to; it was his mother. She was being battered mercilessly by his father. It happened at least three times a week and never had he stepped out of his room once, he was too scared to.

It'd been happening for a while; ever since he turned eight. Allen's grip tightened on his blanket, he knew what would come next and each time was always worse than the last.

A quiet creak could be heard as the door to his room opened. He held his breath; maybe if he thought he was sleeping he would leave. He prayed to whatever god would care enough to hear him; he'd always heard his mom praying to God so earnestly in church even as the bruises on her wrists strained through the long sleeve she'd used to try and hide then.

If there was a God why would he let his mom hurt so much? Was he partial about those he listened to? Was it because his mom had cheated on his dad with a much younger man or was it because he didn't say 'thank you' to his friend Tiara who lived next door when she gave him a brownie she'd snuck out from her mother's kitchen. Either way that night he knew god wouldn't save him from the monster that was his father.

The screams of his mother had quieted with only quiet sobs Allen could barely make out because of the rain falling outside.

The wooden floor in his room creaked as the figure of his father neared his bed. He could already smell the alcohol.

He felt a weight on the bed and he braced himself. He didn't make a sound as his father did what he'd always done to him for the past five years.

And like all the other times there would be no one to save him.

...
Five years later, Allen walks into his classroom and sits down. Class hadn't started yet, it was still early, just how he liked it. The class was still mostly empty and he had a little bit of quiet to himself.

His earpods were in so he was completely oblivious to the world around him. Listening to music sometimes was the only escape he had.

His eyes were closed and his mind had drifted far when he felt a bang on his desk. He looked up and opened his eyes, color filled his cheeks immediately as he saw Tiara, their next door neighbor.

Allen removed his earpods and stared at her. She had the most beautiful brown skin with the warmest russet-brown eyes he had ever seen. They've been friends since childhood and he liked her a lot. But her parents didn't approve of him being her friend, they thought he was a bad influence on their child seeing how they were elders at their church.

"You could have waited for me so we could have both boarded the bus together." She sulked and to Allen she looked very cute with her lips puffed out like that. He quickly looked away before she caught him staring.

"Yeah, sorry about that. I'd wanted to leave that house as soon as possible."

Tiara sighed dramatically. "I know what you mean. My mom can be a chore sometimes."

Allen didn't say anything. If only Tiara knew why he had wanted to get out of the house. If she knew what type of people his parents were she would no doubt want nothing to do with him.

"Hey," Tiara had a worried look in her eyes, her eyes went to his wrists. Allen quickly tried to hide his wrists with his sleeve.

"I-It's nothing, you shouldn't have seen that."

"Allen..." His heart raced hearing her call his name.

"Don't worry about it."

"Are you hurting yourself?" Her voice was low. Allen panicked as he looked into her eyes. "O-Of course not, why would I do that to myself?"

Allen tried to lie to himself, he tried to pretend that he was okay, that everything was perfectly fine. He'd been inflicting pain on himself, cutting his body with a sharp knife just to alleviate the numbness he felt deep within himself; the numbness created by his father's abuse, the numbness created by his mother's neglect.

"Allen?"

He looked up at her. "If it's nothing then why were you trying to hide it from me?"

His eyes lowered in embarrassment. "Because I've been hiding the real me from you, the ugly me. I never want anyone to see."

Tiara was very surprised about this side of her best friend, it was a side she had seen glimpses of but had never been confronted with.

"Just forget you saw anything." Allen stood and left the classroom just as the teacher was entering.

Tiara went after him but he couldn't find him. She went straight to the park which wasn't far from the school. It was where he went when he wanted to be alone.

She found him seated by a lake his back hunched over.

She sat beside him and didn't say anything for a moment before turning to him.

"It's okay to be afraid, Allen, I won't judge you," she said quietly.

Everything was quiet for what felt like an eternity before he finally spoke.
"I was abused by my dad, it started when I was about seven. And I still am." He said the last part quietly.

Throughout his statement he didn't look at her. He felt so ashamed, so dirty. When she didn't say anything for a long time, he snapped.

"Say something! Anything! Anything but silence, please." He lowered his head and grabbed his hair. "Say you're disgusted, that you're sickened by the thought of staying my friend and I'll leave, I'll let you go, even if it kills me."

"I'm sorry," Allen heard her whisper. He raised his head and stared at her tears running down his cheeks. Tears were running down hers too, she had such pain in her eyes something inside of him hurt.

She moved closer to him and hugged him. "I don't think you're dirty Allen nor do I think you're disgusting. You're my friend, smart, funny and kind." She withdrew from the embrace and smiled through the tears.

"And I'm not going anywhere, neither is He."

Allen stared at her like he'd just seen an angel and in truth she was. He thought she would leave him for sure and that he would forever be alone but that hadn't happened.

"Who is 'he'?" He asked, referring to the last part she had said.

She smiled at him.
"The person who helped me heal from my problems, he can help you too."
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©Oracle

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