CWRC Anthology

LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL

©2022 by Kyeng Aquila F.

Brought to you by christian writers and readers club.

Warning: This story contains scenes of rape, verbal assaults, and low self-esteem. Proceed with caution.

A story of Redemption and forgiveness 

Walking onto the stage was not hard but seeing the expectant faces of these young people touched my heart. Will this story create an impact on their lives? I had to tell the story from the very beginning despite how I feel

“I promise, to be with you in riches and lack, in health and sickness, in success and failure till death do us a path.” That was the beginning of it all.  The pain, the shame, the suffering, the shouts, the kicks, and the screams. The 15th of March indeed was a day I wished I never lived to witness. 

How I wish I could turn back the hand of time and warn my mother not to marry this monster. How I wish I could warn her before she got entangled in his nest of artificial love, comfort, and care before she got brainwashed. Nothing could be done, I was already in the mess. 

There were two things involved, I either stayed or ran away. These two options however had the same results. If I stayed, I would die at the hands of this monster, if I ran, I had nowhere to go and since he knew everyone everywhere, I would be taken back to him and I would end up dying. 

I was in an ocean of despair, I was completely lost, and I did not know who I was anymore. My essence, my personality, got lost in this ocean. I wanted to find myself, but I kept drowning. I needed someone to help me but who even knew what I was going through? Everything looked good outside, but I was a shell of myself. My name is Jiti Jamila and this is my story.

PART 1

When I was ten, my mum told me the story of how I came to the world. I was a result of her rebellious and stubborn ways. Mum was from a strong Christian home. She was expected to stay away from sin and all the temptations of this world.  She said she could no longer bear the pressure to follow all the rules of the good book so after high school, she ran away from home with her sweetheart. Mum always appreciated her ability to remain focused and get what she wanted. She wanted to enjoy life to its fullest and she wanted to study and become the medical doctor she had always aspired to be, but it seemed like you had to forgo one to become the other.

In her case, she managed to juggle the two. She got into the famous medical school due to her good grades and also kept the flame of love burning with her sweetheart Roger. That is all I know about my dad, just his English name. Sooner or later mum realized that you could not get everything you wanted the way you wanted it. She came to this conclusion when she was in her third year of medical school and discovered that she was pregnant.

Roger became her bitter heart. Mum said the day she went to tell Roger that she was pregnant was the day she saw the truth in what her parents had been telling her. Not only did Roger reject the pregnancy, but he was also equally leaving the country to continue his studies abroad. 

They had been together for four years, she left home because of him, abandoned everything for him, and went to medical school also because she wanted them to marry and become the power couple. She did everything for him and all this while he was planning on leaving her.

Roger finally left the country and mum shamefully went back to her parents. They were happy to receive her but things did not remain the same. She was constantly reminded of her sins, constantly condemned by church members, and constantly insulted by her peers. It was like being in medical school wasn’t that famous anymore.