BEYOND THE SCARS

BEYOND THE SCARS 1

"Wake up, madam!" my granny hit me with a pillow. I rolled over and fell on the floor with tangled sheets. "What's it, mama?" I opened my eyes. Someone is coming to marry you tomorrow, and when he comes, I want you to be ready to go back with him.

"Really?" I asked, surprised. "I don't even know him. How can I get married to someone I hardly know? Besides, I want to go back to school. I'm not ready for marriage..." I said, but she replied, "I've told you my own part," and left my room. I couldn't sleep the whole night, thinking about what my grandma told me.

The next day, I was sweeping the compound as usual when Mary, my friend, came to meet me. "So, you're getting married?" she asked. I just dropped the broom and ran inside; she followed behind me. I sat on the bed and started crying. She kept asking me why I was crying, but I couldn't say anything because I was so pained and speechless. She just held me, and I cried in her arms.

"Why are you crying, Blessing?" she asked again. This time, I lifted my head from her hands and explained everything my grandma told me to her... "And you know I want to go back to school," I said with a shaky voice. "I just can't bring myself to do this marriage thing." Did you ask her if the man will send you to school?" she asked. "No, I didn't, but I know nothing good comes from her, that's why I'm scared. I don't even know the man." I continued crying.

Just then, my grandma walked in. "Why are you crying, madam?" she asked. "So, you don't want to get married? So, you can leave this house? Why?" "Am I disturbing you people?" I cut her off. "You really have no idea how much you're disturbing us in this house. Well, the man is already here. I want you to be ready and come out in the next fifteen minutes. If not, you will see the other side of me." She stormed out.

I stood up and watched her go. She turned back and gave me a wicked glare before closing the door.

Let me tell you about myself before I continue... My name is Onenu (meaning Blessing), and I'm the second child of my parents. I have three other siblings who are adorable, and one other who is a pain in the ass. Since I finished high school (without a certificate), I have made plans in my head to go to college because that has always been my dream and desire. But things never happened the way I hoped, though. Yeah, my parents are alive, so I'm not an orphan either.

You must be wondering why I'm staying with my grandma, right? Well, my parents separated when I was just two years old, and yeah, I partially grew up with my mom. I said partially because my dad came to take me and my siblings when I was six years old, so I went to primary school in my dad's place, which is not really far from my mom's place. My parents are both from different State - my mom is from Ogoja cross river state,while my dad is from Benue state. My mom came to take me from my dad's place when I was in primary five, and she was about relocating to Lagos State. Since then, I have been with her; I haven't gone back to my dad. Well, my childhood wasn't smooth, though. I went through different kinds of torture and abuse in the hands of my stepmother and uncles... That's a story for another day, though.

So, it was when I dropped out of SS2 because my mom said she didn't have money to continue funding me in school. So, she decided that the best thing to do was to send me to her mother's place in Cross River State (the greatest mistake she made). Since I came here, I have gone through lots of suffering and torture in the hands of my grandma and younger sister. Yeah, you heard right - my sister grew up with my grandma, so she got my grandma's character, and she's my grandma's favorite. So, whatever she says or does is always right to my grandma. I have been the one doing all the chores since I got here, while my sister just roams about doing nothing. If I complain, my grandma will take sides with her, so I stopped complaining. After all, she's a lady; she will also grow up and get married someday... Since I came here, my grandma constantly calls and asks my mom for money, even when she doesn't need it. Sometimes, she and my sister conspire and lie to my mom, saying she's not feeling well when she's perfectly fine. They were overdoing it, so I reported their trick to my mom. When my grandma found out, they started treating me even worse... Maybe that's why they're trying to get me married off."