Ashanti

Prologue

October, 1996 ~7:30pm (Supper)

The dim light flickers and brings noise to the dining room full of silence.
Mary Grace sadly picks at her Peanut Cobbler, Esther glares at her from across the table, scratching her deep red fingernails into the dinner table. The food on the porcelain plate makes Mary Grace regret asking for thanksgiving dinner, the smell makes the singular banana she had for lunch start to regurgitate.

Before Esther could scold Mary Grace for playing with her food, a loud sound erupts from the other room. Esther assumes that it’s her husband, Pastor Roland, and she’s correct.
Pastor Roland walks into the dining room with his pastoral robes on, he slowly slides his finger on  Mary Grace’s back.
Esther glares at Mary Grace even more out of jealousy, she absolutely despises that Pastor Roland is more interested in Mary Grace than his own wife, so she keeps on trying.
“How was bible study, my love?” Esther bats her eyelashes, hoping Pastor Roland would notice her new hairstyle along with her nails that are Pastor Roland’s favorite color.
“It was nice. I assisted in another exorcism along with Father Cassidy.” Pastor Roland rubs his thumb on Mary Grace until he reaches her neck, then he grabs it. “I thought I taught you to not play with your food. Come on, Mary Grace, you’re 11 years old, yet you still disrespect my orders?” Pastor Roland shouts.
“Our orders, dear.” Esther corrected.
“Shut up. You unwitted whore. I should divorce you this instant.” Pastor Roland yells at Esther and she starts to cry. “How is your offspring more of a wife than you’ll ever be? I should’ve married our daughter, and killed you after she was born.” Pastor Roland continues to hiss and growl at Esther while Mary Grace starts to cry too.
“Father please….Please let me be dismissed.” Mary Grace manages to get a few words out  while choking on her tears.  Pastor Roland slams her face into her large plate of food, not only breaking her plate, but triggering her nut allergy.
Mary Grace begins to tear up and choke, Pastor Roland pushes her face deeper into her dinner, making her inhale it until she manages to finish the entire meal.

9:30pm

Mary Grace softly cries in her room, her bloodshot eyes are practically bulging out of her head. She came up with the idea to keep her mouth firmly closed when around peanuts, so her throat was rarely closed while her face was covered with hives and rashes. Mary Grace is unable to blink without the raging burning sensation so she’s unable to sleep it off.
Pastor Roland enters her room while softly chuckling, he walks closer to her bed and eventually turns her over.
“I wish you had birthed my seed, little one. Your mother is half the wife you could be, and I can’t let anyone take that away from me.” Pastor Roland slowly raised Mary Grace’s gown and  committed a heinous act that left Mary Grace frozen. She wanted to cry but she couldn’t, her tears made her eyes burn even more, Pastor Roland eventually leaves his daughter by herself. Mary Grace felt like she was ripped open, she can feel the blood dripping down her legs until she closes them, rolls over, and tries her best to fall asleep.
Mary Grace prays to stay asleep forever…But that doesn’t happen.

July 13th, 1997
Ashanti was born, Esther stands over Mary Grace, wishing she was dead. She firmly holds her cross, pre-sharpened for the act that will satisfy her every need. Esther uses her sharpened cross to cut Mary Grace’s stomach open, she slowly pulls Ashanti out, quickly cutting off any vital organs attached to the baby. Mary Grace screams and shouts in agony, which gets Pastor Roland’s attention, he runs to Mary Grace’s room and tears up to see another one of his children born.
Esther turns around to see Pastor Roland, she picks up a blanket and safely wraps Ashanti and sets her down. Pastor Roland realizes that Mary Grace is slowly bleeding out, so he gets up to try and save her but he falls, he begins to scream and beg for Esther to save Mary Grace. “This baby is a spawn of Satan himself…Therefore I shall kill not the sin but the maker of sin…” Esther picks up her sharpened cross and Mary Grace’s umbilical cord before continuing. “Both of them.” Esther lunges at Pastor Roland and jabs her sharpened cross into his right eye, while screaming in pain, Esther wraps the umbilical cord around his neck and tightens it until he takes his very last breath.