TORN

CHAPTER 1

Chapter 1:- Past.

                              PAST

Folakemi Adeniyi walked hopelessly down the lonely and lifeless road with  a heavy bag hung to her back. As she walked, she was drowned in fear. She was more scared than ever. There was no single being on the road apart from a few cars which passed by like an hour after the previous.

It was 12:00 midnight already, when she got to her destination. She was told by the guy who was to help her with her illegal trip abroad to wait at a particular bus stop, named 'Ikeja'.

She stayed at that particular spot for over two hours. Waiting for the guy to come.

The time was already 2:00am and there was still no sign of him coming.

The cars which were passing by occasionally had retreated, leaving everywhere quiet and scary.

It was late at night and an eighteen year old young girl was not meant to be outside at that time. But she preferred staying there, because to her, it was a lesser hell to be outside this cold night than to be at home.

She was fed up of being treated like trash, fed up of she and her mom being abused physically and mentally by her dad.

All this had to end, and it could only end if she was far away from this country. With a heavy heart and loneliness. She set out to get her visa and passport illegally. She was willing to do anything to separate her from her family. She was filled with the excessive pains and emptiness, life kept giving her.

She was just thirteen when her dad wanted to sell her off to a gambler in return for the money he lost through gambling, which he couldn't pay back.

When she was fourteen, her dad wanted to sell her off to a rich Alhaji, for some petty cash.

Two years later, at the age of sixteen, he almost forced her into prostitution.

Her mom, witnessing all this, couldn't bear it. This made her go against him severally, landing her some serious beating, which made her end up in the hospital.

Her dad hated her for being a girl and cursed her mom for it. Her mom had to put up with each insults and physical assaults because of her.

On one of the many occasions where her mom was admitted to the hospital, she called her, gave her, her life savings and begged her to travel out of the country. She told her to not worry about her, for she can take care of herself.

Two years after her mom's plea, she decided to travel abroad.

She took her mom's savings and hers which she got from her work place which she worked occasionally as a sales girl, when she needed money.

She decided to travel abroad illegally and when she had made it big there, she will come back home to take her mom.

Like every other young adults, she felt immediately she stepped her feet abroad, she would be rich.

Folakemi was an SSCE (senior school certificate exam) holder. She didn't get the chance to further her education to the university.

She left secondary school at the age of fourteen about four years ago.

The owner of the shop she worked at paid for both her primary and secondary school education, out of pity.

Her dad, seeing how nice her boss was to her, tried to marry her off to him for more money.

She was a girl, so what?

Did that mean she had to go through this heart shattering turmoil?

Does she have to be a guy to experience all the good things of life?

There and then she made a promise to her mom, who fought endlessly for her, to make it big in life.

Her determination to bring something good out of her life, brought her to the bus stop at that late hour, erased every form of fear in her and made her wait two hours but not relent.

Why was the man so late? Was he planning on duping her?

Thinking of that, she began to shiver. All of her and her mom's life savings, can't go just like that. How would she go back to her house? Her dad would kill her.

What would she tell her mom? Wouldn't her mom be disappointed?

As she was filled with different types of thoughts, a car pulled up in front of her as the driver urged her to get in. She refused politely, when she realized the driver was a man.

Men were bastards and her dad wasn't an exception.

The handsome man who looked like he was in his twenties, smiled, exposing his perfectly created white teeth and said "I mean no harm, I just can't bear seeing a beauty like you outside all by yourself".

She was done with him now. Since he wanted to see the other side of her, she didn't mind showing it to him.

"Do I look helpless to you? Can't you see my two legs? Does it look like it can't be used? I brought my self here. Who says I can't take myself back? Do I look dumb to you? Do I look like someone that could be fooled with a pretty faced calm guy?" Come on, she wasn't dumb. Her dad had used that type of face on her before. When he wants something done but has to be on her good side.

She heaved a sad sigh and continued "Please mind your business and let me be, okay?"

The man smiled, apologized and drove off.

She began to go back home too. Her dad's wrath wasn't something she hadn't faced before. She just felt bad that she was going to disappoint her mom.

Walking on, she heard the sound of different footsteps behind her.

Fear began to engulf her. As she walked faster, the foot steps behind her became louder. She began to run, as she heard the footsteps running after her.

She began to sweat profusely.

This wasn't good.