Me Mariana

My name is Atim, Atim Mariana. I am a girl, ofcourse the name Mariana is for a girl. I am not like most girls. I love black not like most girls who love purple or pink that's what differentiate me from others. I am from Akesi. It's a village, my village. I know nothing beyond Akesi. It's in this village... "Do you mind keeping time?" shouts Aciro from a distance. Now that's my best friend, Aciro Jackie. I can tell from a far that her face is moulded in anger. I force a smile at her but she doesn't return the favor. I rush to her. " You know very well that Mr. Ocan does not like late comers. He will for sure make us scrub the latrines again." she laments. " chill eh. So what it's not our first time doing that. infact we have become specialists now in scrubbing the latrines." I say trying to cheer her up. she smiles. Aciro is the simplest person on earth and that's why she's my best friend. I can say she posseses the best smile in the world. We have been partners in crime since the day we first saw the daylight...... " How is your father doing?" she suddenly asks. I sigh remembering my father. His sight has gotten worse and my part time job as a mechanic is nit contributing anything. He has lost his eyesight. My mother ugh I don't even want to think about her. She's my bitter enemy. We can never cross each other's paths..... Jackie shakes me out of my reverie. " He's fine." I lie blatantly. " So how is your sister doing?" I ask her trying to cover up the topic of my father. She sighs heavily. " long story. Let's hurry or else we are finished." she says. We surely scrubbed the latrines when we arrived late. We slowly walk home after school. There was nothing much to discuss either. "Your sister....." " She's not okay." Jackie cuts me off. I look at her waiting for more. " Her husband beats her up every time and am scared." she adds. "She must leave him then." I suggest. " Ahhh you talk as if you don't know this village. You grew up from here. Once you are forced into a marriage you can not just abandon it." she explains. That is the bitterest truth about Akesi village. Amidst the change and evolution of the world, it has refused to let go of it's barbaric ways. Here, the girls are pathetically married off to men. they are forced into it. This is exactly what my mother is trying to do to me. She says my education is of no use and so I should get married. I do not want that. Marriage is the last thing on my mind right now. Oftentimes, my mother brought suitors for me and I always magically vanished from home. Once, my boss asked for my hand in marriage too, I had to vanish and stay with Aciro for two weeks. " Am really scared." Jackie reminds me once again. " Your sister will be fine." I assure her. " Have you been listening to me? it's not about her only. My father told me that I was next." she says. I stare at her. I can see fear in her eyes. I smile strongly trying to shake off the intensity of the matter. " Come on stop sulking. We have been surviving this since fourteen years and we are now eighteen. We have been dodging these people for four years. We know all corners and crook of the village. We know the village like the palm of our hands Jackie, we can hide anywhere and no one can find us. We can even hide in the nearest Bushes and no one finds us...... " Am not like you. Am not that strong, am not that stubborn. Your combination of stubbornness and strength is just enough to handle all these." she explains. I brush it off. " We will be fine. You know what, you just have to inform me of the day your dad will bring your suitors. I will definitely sneak you out." I suggest. She shrugs. " I am not really sure about that Atim." she says. "But I am. I am so sure. Don't you know your best friend heh?" I ask cheerfully and I am rewarded with a smile from her. " So are you going straight to the garage?" she asks. " No been dodging boss." I say. " I will head home straight away " I add " I will come over tomorrow morning to pick you up. Be ready okay?" Jackie says. I nod with a smile as we come to the junction that we are supposed to separate from. We part ways and I walk slowly dragging myself on as if possesed by some evil force. I sigh. I hate going back home to meet with a mother like mine. Again, father, he's my only support in that home. Due to father's vulnerability, mother has taken control of the house but not over me. My mother is fire and am of her blood. Daughter of fire. There's no way she can be stubborn and I am not. I am double her size. I giggle to myself. I spot the orange sky. The sun is bidding it's goodbye to the world. At a distance, I can see the dark clouds hovering over. It is probably threatening to rain at night. I should probably do everything in my power to save Aciiro from this marriage that is coming up her way. I will probably do it. My mother totally has given up on me these days after facing humiliation from families who came for my hand. I always ran away. I will make sure........ There's a car behind me. I turn to look at it. I have never seen such a beautiful car in my life. It probably belongs to some outsider because no one in Akesi has that kind of a car. It must be a millionaire car. I continue to walk this time increasing speed. It is not long before I noticed that the car has also increased speed. I look behind. I can not make out who's inside. I walk faster and the car does the same. Before I knew it, I was on my heels running away from the car. It is following me. My heart is in my guts. I can hear it pump blood in the fastest rate ever. Before I can increase more speed, the car plants itself infront of me blocking me and gathering dust all over. I cough hysterically as I try to wave away the dusk from my face in order to see the face of the person who just got out of the car. He is a big man. I have never seen him. I don't know him. He is big and huge. His arms combines mine three times. He has a mean face. He is all dressed in black. Another man steps out too, same size, same mean look and same type of clothes. It does not take me long to realize that I might be in great danger. " Who are you people?" I ask trying to sound brave. My question is only met with silence. I turn making way for my next escape but I am strongly grabbed my an arm a thousand times stronger than anything that has ever held me. I struggle with all my might and it earns me nothing. I open my mouth to scream but a wide hand is immediately clamped over it. I wriggle, kick, scratch all in vain. I am carried to the car. They close the door. I know for sure that I am dead. Inside the car, I get a chance to scream. I attack the first man vigorously as I scream my lungs out for help. Suddenly, a wet cloth is clamped over my nose and mouth. I struggle kicking my legs about. What are these people doing to me? What have they...... I feel my head suddenly spin fast and the energy in my body slip out of my system. My head....... The world is spinning round. I feel my eyelids weigh five kilograms each. My eyes are closing. I realize am losing consciousness. I try to grip onto anything but my vision is too blur to make out anything. " She was sure a tough one." I hear one of the men say as darkness envelopes me. ********************* " No no she's will do just fine for you. She knows how how to handle all those wifely duties. She's exactly what you need." says a woman's voice. It is not just any woman's voice but it's my mother's. Who is she talking to? I want to get up but a splitting headache is enough to pin my head down. I am laid down on the floor. What happened? Flashes of what occurred before come into my mind. I have been kidnapped. Panic invades me! But I heard my mother's voice. I gradually calm down. Am I home? Is my mother behind all these? " It's okay. I trust you my old friend." says another womanly voice. I do not recognize that one. I have never heard that voice. I try to look at the directions of the voices but the veins in my eyes threaten to pull out my eyeballs. What did these people do to me? There's not a single ounce of energy in me. I feel completely hopeless. What are they talking about? " She will make the best wife for your son." says my mother. Then it hits me. It dawns on me that my mother is selling me out. She is selling me out for marriage. No no. This was her trap and I fell right into it. I should fight. I raise my head to protest against whatever is going on. Another piercing pain bites on my neck. I realize that I am injected. I feel whatever content the syringe had slowly flow into my neck veins. I feel my body lose energy just like before. Darkness once again covers me and then blank. Nothing.