THE GREATEST IS LOVE

CHAPTER FOUR - THE PAST

Dinner was left untouched on the table while the family of four sat in their living room to find the way forward. Mrs. Jeetah with a bowed head began the tale of her life's journey. A tale she had drowned out of her life and shredded to irreparable pieces.

She was an only child to her lower-class parents. Her name was not Grace Williams but Omolewa Mowumi Anjorin. She is a Nigerian by birth and a Motswana by Naturalization; a bright student with an equally bright future but was unfortunate to be given to her parents by God. After her Secondary school leaving examinations, her parents collected a huge sum of money from a rich middle-aged man that had his eyes on her. He promised she would continue her education after the wedding and they moved to his big mansion in Lagos. It was a Cinderella story gone wrong.

A once loving man became her worst nightmare overnight as he demeaned her, destroyed her self -worth through emotional and psychological abuse and he definitely did not send her back to school as he promised. She felt cheated and blamed her greedy parents for selling her to the highest bidder, for the wedding present was a two storey house and a big shop for her mother to start a business. The emotional abuse became worse and graduated to sexual and physical abuse especially since she was not able to conceive on time. After a year of living in hell, she decided to leave her marriage. Three attempts failed as she was caught, beaten and left locked up in the Master's bedroom. Once when her mother came to visit, she had poured a bucket of dirty water on her and cursed her out of the house. That was the last time she would see her mother; the woman who was supposed to be her pillar, friend and even defender.

On her second-year wedding anniversary, her husband beat her up mercilessly and she got hospitalized. A month later on the day of her discharge, she left unnoticed. Her husband had paid his way out of being accused of domestic violence not that it could be helped anyway as the police believed domestic problems should be handled at home by the elders. The dreary night she left the hospital led her into an even more unfortunate situation as she was gang raped by three men who left her even more scarred. The next morning found her in a hospital bed once again.

These series of events led her to trace an old school friend in Lagos who she was not able to visit due to her imprisonment. She was welcomed and helped back on her feet. It was not long after that she discovered her husband had announced her disappearance and reward money was promised to whoever could help find her. This prompted her to act fast.

Two days later, her friend's husband arrived from Botswana to take his wife with him. The man after hearing her story helped her to legally get her name changed and began processing her passport and other travelling documents.

Omolewa entered Botswana as a student of Accounting. Her friend's husband could not afford to sponsor her after first academic year was over so she began to date men with money to get through, graduated and got a good job, got married and killed her entire past.

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Grace Jeetah stood up from where she sat and began to lash out at her daughter.

"Is that what you wanted to hear? My past is terrible and dark and I will never ever forget those who made my life what it is!!!" Baboloki tried to console his mother without success. Her heart was hardened by the dream that was snatched out of her hands, by the injustice she suffered in her parents' and husband's hands. Nothing could compare to the several grueling counselling sessions she had to go through.

"You think you have nightmares?" she laughed bitterly. "You have no idea what I went through. You are enjoying your life little girl and so I hope you will begin to appreciate the sacrifices I made to be the mother you have."

Naledi looked at her mother's cold face and shook her head in disgust. "And so, what mum? You will not be the first nor the last. There are people with greater suffering around the world and you were blessed to have a friend who got you out. Millions of little girls are being trafficked daily for sex and some die when no help came. If I were you, I would give thanks to God and count my blessings."

Mr. Jeetah stood up angrily to reprimand his daughter.

"Daddy, don't go there please. Mum is not even remorseful about what her daughter went through. Look at me!!! I look like a mental case...you knew what was wrong with me and decided to allow me to suffer than allow your secret identity to be exposed." She stood up.

"I want to go and sleep. Maybe I will finally get some sleep tonight."