HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GRANDPA

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*Edited*

        Few weeks after, Grandpa turned 80 and we were to go to Ibadan, Nigeria, to celebrate with him. I was glad to finally leave Lagos for a while and be with my cousins. What a relief! The night after we got to Ibadan, my other cousins also arrived from Lagos. I was happy to see them, and we all decided that we would sleep in the same room. My grandpa's house was very big with lots of spacious rooms.

After dinner, my cousins and I decided to rehearse the special and surprise song we were planning to sing to Grandpa the next morning. But my younger cousins were not cooperating, so we told them to leave the room and go outside to play. I was left with three of my older cousins: Jude, Sam and James. Sam and James taught us the song and we sang along.

I was getting tired, so I sat on the bed, but James asked me to sit on his legs and I did that happily. There was a very awkward silence in the room when James asked: "Jane, have you ever had sex before?" "Hell no, I'm just 10!" I said. James and Jude laughed and said: "Oh, don't 10-year-olds have fun too?" Sam thought it was inappropriate for James to ask me such questions, so he cautioned them and threatened to report to Grandpa if they try anything funny with me. I was happy that someone was finally standing up for me. James and Jude laughed so hard at Sam for what he said, but I was glad that they stopped talking about it. As children, we quickly forgot about it and got back to singing. Shortly after, we all slept off.

There were two beds in the room. Sam and James slept on one while Jude and I slept on the other. At about 2:45 a.m., I felt hands on my body, it was James and Jude. The room was dark, but I could see their eyes from the faint light that shone from outside. "Shhh," James said, with his hands across my mouth. "Let us show you how it is done," he laughed mischievously. All that has ever happened to me in the past flashed through my head again as my cousins touched me. I struggled to scream but James's hands were over my mouth.

Hot tears flowed from my eyes into my cousin's palm. I didn't want this to happen again. "Guy, free am. she don dey cry," Jude said in pidgin. "Ehn Ehn, and she be pikin oo," James said as he got up. I cried uncontrollably that night and left the room to go sleep with my mum.

Why me?

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