Woman Of Color ( on hold)

2: victim of circumstance.

Yakubu glared at Simone as she clung helplessly to a tree branch. "Simoney," he sneered, "get ready to hear a story that will make you feel terrible. And that's not all; we'll still rape you after this," he added, winking in a sinister manner.

"You may have thought it was your period the first time you bled," he continued, "but little did you know you were being raped by your own brother, Monkeli, night after night." Simone couldn't contain her emotions and burst into tears. "I loved you! How could you?" she exclaimed in her dialect.

"Enough of that!" they yelled, pushing Monkeli off the tree. Yakubu and Nashiru quickly unzipped their trousers, arguing about who would go first. Simone tried to jump from the mango tree, but they stopped her, tying her hands and legs with the same rope they had used on Monkeli.

Desperately, Nashiru stripped down to his boxers, declaring, "I'll go first." Simone cried out in her language, "No! Please!" But it was too late. Nashiru brutally tore off her dress, and Simone moaned helplessly while clutching the tree branch.

Suddenly, Monkeli hurled a stone at Nashiru, who fell to the ground. Yakubu took over, but Simone's cries for help grew louder. Monkeli knocked Yakubu down from the tree using a long timber, and Simone fainted.

"Sister, wake up!" Monkeli yelled, his voice filled with despair as he untied her. Azeezat collapsed to the ground, devastated, and confronted Monkeli, questioning why he had done such a thing in their dialect. She wept and chanted an elegy for her daughter.

Hamza, in a somber mood, sat down, realizing his own guilt and inability to prevent this tragedy. Azeezat confronted him, expressing her anguish, but Hamza remained silent, torn by his own culpability.

***

A flashback revealed the events leading to this tragedy. Azeezat had knelt before Hamza in tears, pleading for them to accept Simone into their family. At first, Hamza resisted, but Azeezat's determination eventually swayed him. He agreed to take Simone in as their second child, and the village elders were shocked by this decision. Still, they accepted it, and Simone became a part of their family.

The matter was brought before the head chief, who passed his judgment. He ordered that all men responsible for the crime should be castrated. Nashiru, Yakubu, and Monkeli were pushed forward for punishment.

The head chief considered Simone's situation and suggested that she should leave the village to escape the stigma surrounding her. He believed that this would be the best way to protect her. The elders agreed, brooding over the matter in silence.

Azeezat confronted the chief, demanding to know why Hamza was spared. The chief explained that there was no concrete evidence against Hamza, and Simone herself had not accused him. Azeezat was furious but realized the painful truth.

Simone approached her mother, her voice tender and forgiving, urging her to let go of her anger. Azeezat, overcome with remorse, fell to the ground and covered herself in sand as a sign of her repentance. Simone lifted her mother and comforted her as they walked away together, both in tears.

***

The story took an unexpected turn when Gafu, known as the penis slicer, arrived. He had waited for three years for clients, and now he was delighted that they had arrived.

"Who will go first?" Gafu asked, met with a chilling silence. He threatened to make the choice himself, and eventually, Yakubu was selected. They forcefully stripped him and placed his genitalia on a desk. In a moment, Yakubu's nightmare became a reality as he watched his own penis fall to the ground.

Next in line was Monkeli, whose suffering had only just begun. However, Nashiru had already managed to escape beyond the village borders and into the city.

Monkeli's penis was partially severed before they discovered Nashiru's escape. A frantic search for Nashiru ensued, but despite hours of effort, they couldn't find him. Gafu ordered the guards to report to the head chief.

The head chief's verdict was swift: Nashiru was banished from the village. Monkeli returned home in excruciating pain, where Simone did her best to alleviate his suffering. Azeezat peered through the window, struck by Simone's compassion. She realized that, despite everything, her daughter was still an angel, tending to her own brother's pain, and she couldn't help but cry in her dialect.