Free at last

Chapter 1

Life is never a simple journey, instead it is always compiled with ups and downs.There are times of joy,times of sadness,times of laughter and times of utter dismay.It has always been and will always be a mystery unknown to mankind.We never know what is to happen later on in the future.I came to this postulation one morning,when my life took a hysterical twist out of the blue.

Growing up,I lived with my mother,sister and stepfather.We lived in a scarcely populated town of Tonota,in the central district of Botswana.Life was never easy due to the fact that my parents were unemployed but somehow we managed to survive.My mother was a very beautiful woman ,who was very sweet and also respectful.Due to this she earned most of the villagers trust and sweet compliments but all this did nothing but fuel my stepfather's hatred towards my mother.I could not understand why my mother as beautiful as she was married my stepfather who was not better than an ogre when if it came to looks.Se told me that she was forced to remarry after my father's demise.My stepfather was clearly an ogre,his ugliness worsened by the gigantic facial features.

My stepfather did not love my mother,my sister and I,every chance he got he made sure that he turns us into punching bags.He was a very heartless man,ugly both inside and outside.My sister and I would always cradle together looking at our mother taking the punches and kicks from my stepfather laying down as there was clearly nothing she can do to that giant.This constant a***e turned my once glowing mother into nothing but a walking corpse,she lost her beauty and all of herself in the grievance.I would cry bitter tears watching her protect us from his brutal beatings as though she was a human shield of some sort.Quite a horrific site to watch might I add that I was only five at the time.

He would come back home in the middle of the night intoxicated by the traditional concoction of traditional brew which was popular in the neighborhood.I truly believe that this traditional brew was powerful because everytime he came that drunk,he'd be spitting out hallucinations and accusing my mother of being adulterous.I would instantly know that we're in for it,the beatings would start.This man was strong even in his not so sober state.

Things took a drastic turn,one warm Saturday morning.What seemed like a normal order to run errands turned out to have more hidden deadly agenda.In the morning he hurriedly sent my mother and I to the neighbouring village, claiming that we should go check on our farm.Since it was not that far,we decided to walk there.A little while after we began our journey,we got into this thick forest.There was this unexplainable serenity about the forest that just dispelled misgivings and soothed the soul.It was nature all around;frogs croaking,birds chirping and animals calling in a distance; perfect reverberations of sound,a perfect place to let emotions run wild.

We were engrossed in the serenity such that our worries seemed to just disappear into thin air.As though a wake up call of some sort,we heard deep voices of men murmuring behind us.I do not know what got into my mother for she just pulled me aside and we had behind a huge rock.We were about to get out of our hiding place when we recognised that one of the deep voices we heard to be my stepfather's,but we were stopped on our tracks by the instruction he gave whoever he was with.

"Kill them both! I'm sure they're here somewhere!"

My mother froze for ten good seconds.Fear clothed me like a blanket as I stood there not sure of what to do because for a moment I thought it was the end of us,my mother and I.Finally my mother snapped back to reality and before I could question her,she threw my elfin body on her back and started sprinting like a madman chasing nothing.I never knew that my mother could run that fast,I'm sure she was even faster than a bullet.

After a while of sprinting like crazy we heard a loud banging sound.My mother momentarily came to a halt thinking that I had been shot or something like that,but to her relief I was not.Curiosity sent us back to inspect the source of that sound.Turns the hooligans got into an argument with my stepfather when they couldn't find us and they shot him.Every part of me was supposed to be mourning the passing of my stepfather but no,I felt a huge sense of relief and it sure was the best day of my life.

On the day of the funeral,the atmosphere was heavy with grief and sorrow

As for the family of the deceased,we were shedding crocodile tears as we were finally free form the tortures of that monstrous man.My mother even wore her mourning clothes for more than the supposed period and I would hear folks saying,

"Marea really loved her husband,poor thing look at how she's still mourning his death"

Only if they knew,I would murmur beneath my breath.We then moved to the city, Francistown,where my mother worked tirelessly like a circus performer jiggling different tasks for me to go to school.My sister also helped bring food to the table as she got a waitressing job at some eatery in the big city.Soon our lives took an unexpected but beautiful turn..Life!Neither of us had expected the events to turn out like that but they sure did.

After two years of our stay in the city, the wedding bells finally rang for my sister.My sister,Grace,met her true love Jason at the eatery she was waitressing in.After a year of their relationship,she finally introduced him to us.Their journey together was beautiful and I could not help but be envious.However things were not as always smooth and beautiful as it seems,they fought about a lot of stuff but most importantly they never allowed their pride to end their relationship till the very end where now Jason proposed.

The wedding was held at an enormous and exquisite hotel.Money was just a small things to Jason so his important day was magical.The venue was aglow with fairy lights and fragrant blooms,and the air was filled with the sound of joyous laughter and music strains.My beloved sister glided down the aisle in her elegant gown and all eyes turned to her .Jason,stood waiting,his face a picture of love and devotion.When their eyes met,a hush fell over the guests,as though time itself paused to appreciate the moment of pure,unadulterated love.The ceremony then began,the voices of the couple and the officiant blending together in a perfect harmony that was both moving and heart felt.Just as Jason was about to place the ring on the bride,an unfamiliar voice rang out from the he back of the room.

"Stop!You cannot do this"

All heads turned in synchronisation to see a woman with disheveled hair and wild eyes,her hands clenched into fists at her sides.All of us stared at her,confused, wondering who she was.

"You said you loved me!how can you stand there and make promises to someone else?"

She screamed,tears streaming down her face.Jason stood there defeated,the guests exchanged whispered glances,unsure of what to do.In the stunned silence, Jason's father, stepped up with a look of grave determination,he approached the distraught woman and firmly pulled her outside.Turns out she was the ex wife to my brother in law who did not want to move on after five years of divorce.The ceremony then resumed,but the atmosphere was heavy with the weight of what transpired.The bride and groom exchanged their vows ,their voices unsteady but their eyes never leaving one another.They kissed,their lips trembling with the intensity of their feelings.

As the guests filed out of the room to the reception hall,they whispered among themselves,their minds reeling from the events that they had just witnessed.The couples parents stood one side,their shoulders slumped with the exhaustion of emotions but through it all,love prevailed.