Lauretta has been in an orphanage since few days after her birth. She had suffered several nightmarish experiences from moving from one adoptive home to the other. She was tossed around and each home gave her painful scars to last a lifetime...inclu...
The next set of parents that adopted Laura was Mr. and Mrs. Moloi. Laura was very much excited. After three years, she has found another home. Mr. and Mrs. Moloi were also a resident of Gaborone. They were middle class and were very much in love with each other. At least that was what it seemed. Laura was given her own room, one befitting a girl of her age. She had hope that just maybe, she this would become her place of rest.
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Laura was taken to buy new clothes by her new mama and her father was the perfect picture of a doting father and husband. She could not have asked for a better family. She was now in Standard four and continued to be a bright student. Like a shadow, misfortune continued to follow her...
They lived in peace and harmony for six months then tragedy struck. It started two weeks after Laura's 10th birthday. Patrick Moloi was fired at work and it changed his life.
"How could they do this to you darling? You have been working hard." Lorato said in confusion. Unknown to her, Patrick had found a new love in alcohol just after the previous year's office Christmas party. It has started as a little flirting with the bottle then it progressed to something he could not do without.
Laura came back from school one day to find her mother weeping. She was shocked. Her mother has never cried before at least not that she knows of. She dropped her school bag. "Mama?" she said softly. "Are you okay?"
Lorato knelt down and hugged her daughter tightly and cried the more. Laura was heartbroken. What could have gone wrong in her absence? Just then, the front door swung opened and Patrick came in; drunk. Lorato stood up abruptly.
"Patrick! What have you done to yourself!" she cried in shock. Her husband was not one to give in to alcohol.
"Shut up Love!" he yelled and staggered to their bedroom.
Lorato ran after him with Laura trailing behind.
"Patrick, you will find another job! Put yourself together. We will find a way." She was hurt to see the love of her life in such a wasted state. He looked nothing like the man she fell in love with several years earlier. Patrick that was usually clean shaven and neat now looked like a mountain prophet that has made a home with wild animals and other creatures in nature.
Patrick ignored her and locked hi,self up in the bathroom.
Trying to take control of the situation, Lorato hugged Laura and told her to change from her school uniform and grab something to eat in the kitchen. Laura's heart was breaking at her father losing his job and even more for her mother who has now become the only breadwinner of the house.
The next day, Patrick woke up early with a head splitting headache. He moved around on the bed and realized his wife was no longer there. He got up from bed and staggered to the bathroom. He could not remember what happened after he left the bar. But he was relieved that he made it home in one piece. As he washed his face with running cold water, he remembered the fight he had with Lorato before he left the previous morning.
"Stop feeling sorry for yourself and move on. Darling you can get another job. Mine won't sustain us forever." Anger filled his entire being as he remembered his wife's words. He wiped his face with a towel and went to the kitchen. His wife and daughter were eating breakfast.
"Dumela, Papa." Laura greeted him. Lorato ignored him and went back to eating.
"Am I invisible or what? I'm still your husband!" he said firmly. Lorato dropped her coffee mug gently on the table.
"I am not ready for your egoistic performance this morning. Keep it to yourself." She replied gently.
"You are treating me this way because I'm now jobless."
"You are so pathetic Patrick. It's all about you now." She turned to Laura.
"Darling, eat up your food. I don't want you to be late for school." Patrick left the house afterwards and did not come back home until three days later...dead drunk.
The two adults kept malice with each other. There was no day that passed that they did not argue or throw harsh words at each other. Laura did not know what to do about her situation. Should she call Mma Dikobe?
Two weeks later
Lorato packed her belongings and her daughters'. Patrick was lying drunk in their bedroom with another woman who was even more drunk. The two weeks had been hell for Lorato and Laura. They went through physical and emotional abuse in Patrick's hands. It was either a slap forLaura or five blows on Lorato's face. Laura felt helpless and hopeless. Was she going to spend the rest of her life this way? She hated how her father treated mother but what could she do? She was only a nine year old.
"Mama, where are we going?" Laura asked in fear.
"To somewhere safe." Lorato replied with tears running down her swollen face. As they packed the rest of their luggage inside the car outside, a gunshot was heard from inside the house. They both turned and looked back.
"Get in Laura!" Lorato shouted. The little girl obeyed her mother quickly. Lorato got inside the car. With shaky hands, she tried to start it to no avail; she was almost paralyzed with fear.
"Mama!" Laura cried. More tears ran down Lorato's face. All of a sudden, the driver's side door opened and Lorato was roughly pulled out of the car. Patrick kicked her hard. Laura covered her ears with her hands to drown her mother's screams. She was brought back to the present when a gunshot went off again. Blood smeared the car's right side windows and everything went silent. Patrick ran back inside the house and slowly Laura got out of the car and walked towards her mother's lifeless body in a pool of blood. She knelt beside her,
"Mama! Mama!" realizing her mother was not moving, her face twisted in agony.
"Nooooooooo! Mama wake up! Wake up!" Lorato's eyes were opened ...left in their shocked state.
"Don't leave me! Don't leave me I beg you! I love you Mama! Please! Help!!! Help!!!"
