Forgetting Dad (Read all episodes here)

FORGETTING ?? DAD by Sonia Okehie

***EPISODE 1***

The greatest scar that can ever be inflicted on a person’s soul is the one done by someone they love and trust the most. Fathers are supposed to be a girl’s protector and first love in an innocent way; but what happens when the one man that’s supposed to protect and shield you from the dangers of this cruel world and also teach you how to love correctly, turns out to be your worst nightmare? Have you ever felt like your soul is in an abyss of emotional trauma and turned out to hate ‘Love; thereby punishing innocent good guys that want a genuine relationship with you just because of a pain that wouldn’t go away? Well, that was the reality of a lady named ‘Vera’.

Several years back, the cry of a beautiful baby girl was heard in the family of Mr & Mrs Jones. Vera was born into a family of privilege and was truly God’s first and only gift to the newly wedded couple. Her mum was a banker who barely had enough time for her family but she always tried to make things up during the weekends. While on the other hand, her dad was mostly at home because his business didn’t demand much of his physical presence.

Life was moving towards the right direction for the new couple but things started going south when Mr Jones complained to his wife that she wasn’t giving him enough attention and also wasn’t satisfying his emotional needs as a man. At first, Mrs Jones felt it wasn’t that big of a deal and tried to make it up to her husband but it’s quite unfortunate that her efforts were in vain because he turned out to commit an abominable act due to his starvation of intimacy.

Just when we thought the world had seen it all when it comes to committing abomination, Mr Jones proved us wrong and made us realised that we hadn’t seen anything yet. As at that time, Vera was still a little girl of about 5 years old. She was still very much innocent and hadn’t been corrupted with the filthiness and corruption of this dirty world.
To Vera, she obviously felt she had two people in her life to protect and care for her as her parents, but it was quite unfortunate that she actually had only one person on her camp which was her Mum; as her dad was an evil monster on a journey to ruin the innocent girl’s life forever. Poor child!

Before the main abominable act occurred, Mr Jones had been sexually harassing the little girl by touching her inappropriately whenever he tried to bath her. “Ouch daddy, my leg is paining me” cried the little girl one day Mr Jones tired to insert his finger into her private part. The molestation started little by little and finally graduated into something Big.

Not once nor twice neither thrice did Vera’s father sexually abused her. On many occasions, he would insert his fingers so roughly on Vera’s private part that it will result to bleeding. Due to the fact that Mrs Jones was always away, she never had the slightest clue that something abominable was happening under her roof. Most times, by the time she returns from work, Vera might have already slept off. Her husband bathed Vera all the time so he could cover up the damages he was doing to the innocent girl’s private part.

What an emotionally deranging thing it is for the one man that’s supposed to have your back, to stab you first before you could face the world. Mr Jones didn’t know it yet but he was demonically possessed, because only a possessed psycho will see something attractive in a 5 year old girl.

Years passed by and Vera had grown into a beautiful young lady facially and physically, but was a damaged person within. She found it extremely difficult to socialise, open up to people and also to make friends. Vera was more like a loner and had serious trust issues because everyone was a suspect. As at that time, she couldn’t count how many times her dad have had sex with her. At a time, Mr Jones totally neglected his wife and was always seeking for sexual gratification in Vera.

The most annoying thing in this whole situation was the height of carelessness on Vera’s mum path. How can she not notice a thing in her daughter for all those years? Like what sort of mother won’t notice that her evil husband was damaging their daughter’s life. It is quite disappointing that Mrs Jones never had a clue of the abominable act that was going on right under her nose. Too bad!

All those years, Mr Jones tried to trap Vera by enrolling her into schools that were close by so she wouldn’t be too far away from him. At one time, Vera’s mum wanted to enrol her into a boarding school but he shut the idea down with immediate effect. Life was like a cage for the adolescent lady and she hated her life and daddy in return but couldn’t find the courage to speak up or even do anything at all. It was as though she was hypnotised and made a slave to her father’s evil thirst and desires. Vera had already given up on ever being a normal happy young lady but things were about to take a drastic turn for a change.

Turns out that Vera gained admission to study Medicine at a University still in the same state they lived in. Mr Jones was really bent on making her stay caged forever without any breathing space. He wanted to always have easy access to her whenever his urge arose.

Throughout Vera’s freshman year, she totally avoided her family like a plague and never visited home even during holidays. Her daddy always made appointments to go visit her in school but she tried her best to dodge him whenever he came visiting and usually lied that she was caught up with school activities.

It’s been over a year since Vera was free from her dad’s constant harassment. To some extent, she felt happy but was still a bitter young woman. Men were a ‘No’ ‘No’ for her and she never looked at any man twice; no matter how handsome he was. She had admirers in her class but non of them ever succeeded in finishing their ‘Hello’ sentences before she walked away.

Due to Vera’s strict attitude towards everyone and guys in particular, people avoided her like a plague and didn’t want to have anything to do with her. Non of that bothered the young lady because she actually cared less and didn’t give a damn about anyone’s companionship or friendship; she was truly a loner that everyone avoided. Deep down, it broke her heart that her life was the way it was but she couldn’t do anything about it because her soul was crushed due to all her dad did to her.

So many times, Vera tried to poison herself but always found herself crying helplessly before she decides to take action. Vera was missing out on alot of fancy and beautiful memories of her youthful life but who could blame her? Is not like It was her wish to turn out that way. First year passed, second year passed and in her third year, something happened!

One fateful day, Vera had a practical and all medical students of her set were taken to a surgical private hospital, far away in town. When they arrived, the activities began and everyone was busy with the learning that was ongoing. During the practical class, Vera was pressed and had to use the restroom real quick so she took permission and left. While on her way to the nearest restroom, her attention was drawn to a noise behind her and before she knew what was happening, she collided with a young doctor that worked in the hospital. The young man’s medicated glasses fell off and the screen broke instantly.

“Oh my God! I’m so sorry but watch where you are going next time” Vera bluntly said, “You are so rude and mean. I need help seeing properly now because you just broke my glasses” the young doctor said and bent down to pick up the frame. Vera felt bad and stupid due to the way she initially spoke to him and decided to help by supporting him walk. “Can I help by guiding you as you walk so you can get to where you are going to?” She asked, “No, thanks! I’m not blind and can still see properly, I was just messing with you” he said and she smiled while taking a deep breath. “I have to go now” she said and left.

As they parted ways, Vera couldn’t help but notice how fast her heart was beating. She gently placed her hand on her chest as she walked into the restroom. She turned on the tap and couldn’t stop staring at herself in the mirror. The way she felt was different and it scared her as to why she was feeling that way after an encounter with a stranger she barely knew. After peeing, she went back to the ongoing class to continue from where she stopped.

While the teaching was going on, Vera couldn’t help but wonder as to why she was lost in thoughts. The more she tried to figure it all out, the more she was completely lost.

All through that period, the only thing that kept ringing on Vera’s mind was that one unanswerable question; “Why am I thinking of him?”.

FORGETTING ?? DAD

***EPISODE 2***

Molestation has been around since the beginning of time and sadly doesn’t look like it’s going to end anytime soon. Alot of people amongst us are moving around with deep scars in their souls and with bleeding hearts but you will never know because looks are Indeed deceptive. Most men and women were deflowered when they were still innocent and naive by supposed trusted family members, friends or relatives. Just imagine how hurtful and disheartening it is for a person to lose their virginity before they ever had the chance to willingly give it to someone they love.

Do you know how hurtful it is for a lady or man to grow up never experiencing what it feels like to ever be a virgin? Do you know how crushing it is for a person to be deflowered even before they knew what ‘Sex’ meant? It’s really terrible and emotionally draining for a person to have to live the rest of their lives knowing that they were betrayed and tampered with by a family member, relative or friend when they were still kids and knew absolutely nothing.

God designed and created ‘Sex’ for pleasure and procreation; mostly for married couples but it’s quite sad that many have abused it by letting their urges control their common sense of reasoning to the extent of committing abominations such as rape, molestation, sexual abuse etc. It’s quite unfortunate that Mr Jones let his urge and lustful desires get the best of him. Of all the ladies walking the surface of this earth he could have optioned out to use to quench his thirst, his Innocent daughter ‘Vera’ was the perfect choice for him. Too bad!

Well, I’m glad change is one thing in life that is constant and can happen to anyone regardless of what they might have faced or encountered in the past. It’s true Vera was greatly damaged within and wasn’t going to be an easy work, but everyone has a soft spot that just needs the right person to be able to bring it out from them and her case wasn’t an exception.

After Vera’s encounter with the gentle young doctor, she couldn’t concentrate anymore for the practical that day. Her mind kept going back and forth with thoughts and she kept wondering why she was that worked up about a man she barely knew. At that moment, her feelings and emotions were strange to her because she hadn’t felt that way before in her entire life.

As the practical was about coming to an end, Vera indirectly looked out to see if she would catch a glimpse of the doctor through the glass window of the room they where at. Every time she looked out, she got disappointed because he never passed by. Out of curiosity, she questioned herself as to why she cared but couldn’t help but look through the window the next minute.

While Vera was caught up in thoughts, the young doctor was busy administering treatments to several patients. Turns out he came from a family of medical professionals as his mum and dad were both doctors. The young gentleman was raised well and thought right from childhood to treat people rightly; especially women. He was gentle to a fault and was never found wanting when it came to showing care and affection to people; little wonder why he wanted to be a doctor too.

Unlike Vera, the doctor wasn’t that into her like she was into him. He honestly hadn’t thought about her since that little colliding incident that happened earlier. Matter of fact, he had already perceived her to be a rude and saucy person, which was a total turn off to him. Too bad he judged her too early because he had no absolute clue on what she was going through in her personal life. Well, we’ll see if his mind changed along the way.

Night drew nearer so the practical facilitators had to round up so they could leave. After several hours of looking out for the doctor but he wasn’t showing up, Vera gave up and removed her mind from the distraction. The medical students descended downstairs and so did Vera. As everyone gently entered the Big bus one after the other, she leaned on a car that was parked around their bus in wait for everyone to enter before she does.

Unknowingly to Vera, the car she was leaning on belonged to the very person she had been indirectly looking for all day. Coincidentally, the young doctor’s shift was over for the day so he headed to the parking lot to enter his car. As he came close, he saw a lady seating on his car bonnet and immediately recognised her when he drew closer. He pressed the unlock button on his car remote and it beeped.

Immediately Vera heard the sound, she turned and almost dropped when she locked eyes with the handsome gentleman. It was a breathtaking moment to behold indeed. Before she could say something, he spoke first.

“Hey, I know you! Are you still here? Thought you left a long time ago” The doctor inquired, “Yeah I know you too, we are now about to leave” Vera replied with a straight face. The conversation seemed like it was ending but actually just got started.

The guy looked at her and smiled as he could tell that Vera was a stubborn person just by looking at her countenance. Her attitude suddenly made him want to get to know her more so he probed further. “Since we are meeting again, can I at least know your name?” He asked, “I’m Vera” she bluntly replied, “Nice meeting you Vera, well my name is Dennis and I’m a surgeon” he said.

Deep down, Vera was happy to finally know his name. She was glad he was telling her about himself but didn’t want to show her excitement at all. Before they could get deeper in their conversations, Vera was notified that it was time for her to board the bus. As she was about leaving, Dennis interrupted her by saying one last thing that broke the camel’s back. He said and I quote; “No matter how bad life gets, don’t ever let it take away your true identity. We only have one life to live so make sure your are living the life you want for yourself. Beneath all this harsh attitude, I actually see a beautiful good lady; let her shine more”.

When Dennis was done talking, he bid Vera goodbye as she walked towards the bus. Every step she took increased her heartbeat. No one had ever spoken to her that way in her entire life; not even her mother. She was numb all over her body and could hardly breathe as she sat on her seat.

Shortly afterwards, the bus drove off and it was when they were out of sight that Dennis realised that Vera forgot her purse on his car bonnet. He immediately looked out to see if he would catch a glimpse of the bus but it was already far gone. “I don’t even have her number, how am I supposed to return this?” He asked himself as he held the purse.

Confused on what to do, Dennis opened the purse and only found her school identify card and some money. Through her identity card, he was able to know her school so it wasn’t going to be a difficult task locating her. Due to the fact that it was already too late, he had to push his visit to her school till the next day. After a little while, he drove off and headed home for the day.

It was when Vera had gotten home that she realised that her purse was missing. She searched and searched for it but couldn’t find it. Due to the fact that she was tired, she had to postpone the search till the next day. Asides worrying about the purse, she thought of Dennis and his last words all night.

First thing the next day, Vera went to search in the school bus they used for the trip but couldn’t still find her purse. Unable to find it, she gave up hope and accepted the fate that her purse was gone forever. Unknowingly to her, someone was on his way to her school that morning with it.

Turns out that Dennis wanted to make a quick and early stop at Vera’s school before heading to the hospital. He arrived and went straight to the medical faculty hoping to see someone that knows Vera so he could at least get directed to her or better still get her number.

Fortunately, the first person Dennis met was Vera’s coursemate. Since she was a loner, he didn’t have her number but directed Dennis to where their current lecture was holding. He majestically walked through the hallway and finally arrived at the class. One look inside the class and there was Vera, looking extremely beautiful with her long weave packed up in a ponytail.

Dennis was smitten by that sight and quietly hissed to get her attention. Immediately he hissed, Vera looked towards the door and locked eyes with him yet again. She was utterly dumbfounded and couldn’t stop wondering what was going on and why he was there. On seeing the shock on her face, he beckoned on her to come out so she took permission from the lecturer and walked out.

As Vera walked towards Dennis, he kept smiling and it made her smile too. When she got closer to him, the happiness on her face died down and her countenance changed back to her signature mean look.

“What are you doing here?” Vera surprisingly asked and Dennis smiled more. Before she could utter another word, he lifted up her purse and said; “I came to give this back to you and by the way, you are looking beautiful”.

Vera’s heart instantly melted. She looked into his eye, blushed and said; “Thank you!”.

FORGETTING?DAD *

(EPISODE 3)

Love can be that last straw of hope a person could ever have at being completely happy again. There are people with so much fortune and material things but they are dying within and are totally unhappy. Alot of people have made themselves believe that they don’t need anyone to complete them because they are better off without a companion, but the truth is that they haven’t met the right person yet.

Everyone on the surface of this earth has someone that can touch their soul and spirit in a way no one else can. We all have the missing piece to our puzzle but the only problem is that majority haven’t found that special someone destined for them. The best thing we can do is pray that we never miss out on that person that best completes us, and it seems as though Vera had found hers.

Dennis presence that day at Vera’s school filled her heart with unexplainable joy. She couldn’t explain why she felt so happy and overjoyed. Her heart raced at any little glance at him; It was truly a feeling that was rare and strange to her but it honestly felt good.

On the other hand, Dennis was happy to see Vera blushing because he was used to her frowning face. When he saw her changed countenance, it encouraged him to further press the conversation on. “Were you looking for it?” He asked smiling, “Yes I was” she replied blushing. He handed the purse over to her and she thanked him further.

The atmosphere became a bit awkward for both of them because neither of them knew what to say next. Dennis was actually late for work so he had to inform her that he would be leaving. “I guess it’s time to say goodbye” he said, “Are you leaving?” Vera asked, “Yes I am, I have to get to the hospital before 10am and the drive from here to town is a long distance so I better be on my way” he replied.

Deep down in Vera’s heart, she didn’t want Dennis to go because she liked the way his company made her feel. Unable to hold him back, she bid him ‘Goodbye’ and they parted ways. After Dennis left, Vera sadly walked back to the class and couldn’t concentrate again on what the lecturer was teaching. Her mind was completely on Dennis and she felt sad that he left without them exchanging numbers for further communication.

“How could he not ask for my number? Why do I even care?” Vera wondered all morning. Unable to find an answer to all the numerous questions in her mind, she reluctantly opened her purse to check if all contents were intact. As she glanced through the purse, she realised that nothing was missing but however, she noticed a piece of paper inside that wasn’t there before. Curious to know what it was, she quickly removed the piece of paper and turned it over to see the content.

What Vera saw made her heart skip several beats and it restored smiles back to her face. It read; “If I asked for yours, you wouldn’t have given me so here’s mine. Call when you need someone to make you smile after a bad day”. Lo & behold, it was Dennis number boldly written on a piece of paper, accompanied with a cute write-up.

That little gesture from Dennis lit up Vera’s whole mood and day. She smiled at every little thought of the content on that note. That day was the first time Vera’s coursemates saw her smile in class since freshman year. They were extremely surprised to see her with a happy countenance unlike her 24/7 moody and frowning face. Even though Vera didn’t talk to anyone, just seeing the smile on her face was a Big deal to them.

After class that day, Vera retired tiredly back home. Immediately she entered her room, she laid on the bed with smiles on her face. There and then, it dawned on her that she that hadn’t been that happy her whole life. “What’s wrong with me?” She curiously asked herself but no satisfying answer was forth coming.

Vera brought out the note Dennis wrote to her and kept staring at it. She kept contemplating on whether to call the number or not and found it hard to make up her mind. Unable to decide on what to do, she opened her text book and put the note inside. With that out of the way, she carried on with her day.

Days turned to weeks and Vera never called Dennis. Matter of fact, she had forgotten all about the little piece of note she slipped into her text book. Life moved on for both her and Dennis since they hadn’t communicated again since them. Initially, Dennis was expecting Vera’s call but gave up along the line as time went by. Everyone carried on with their lives until something happened one fateful day.

Turns out that Mr Jones was missing his daughter and wanted a piece of her since his wife was sexually unattractive to him anymore. He called over a hundred times but Vera wasn’t picking up. Frustrated and angry, he decided to cut all her funds and warned his wife not to send her a dime. When Mrs Jones tried to inquired why her husband made such drastic decision, he told her that they were spoiling Vera and that he heard from someone that Vera wasn’t concentrating on her studies and that she lived a lavish lifestyle in school.

Initially, Vera wasn’t moved by her parents decision to cut her funds, but started getting affected after three weeks of no money. Her parents only paid attention to important things like books and not her personal needs. The worst of it all was that Mr Jones knew someone that worked in the school who gave him accurate information on how much each book cost, so he paid directly to that person and instruct the person to deliver the books to Vera. Just imagine the height this man had to go just because he wanted to sexually abuse his own blood daughter. Unbelievable!

After over a month of no funds coming in, Vera succumbed to her dad’s advances and he came all the way to her school and slept with her. It was a dehumanising experience for her because she was doing all she could for that never to happen again but unfortunately, it did.

When Mr Jones was done and left, Vera cried her eyes out all night and couldn’t eat or do anything else. She became suicidal and wanted to take her own life because her conscience was dealing with her seriously. What sort of father derives pleasure in ruining his own daughter’s life? Like how does Mr Jones sleeps at night knowing that he was committing such abominable act? Words will fail me indeed to describe how terrible his actions were. God forbid!

Shortly afterwards, Vera’s funds were back again as before and money started flowing in. Her pain was double whenever she thought of the fact that she had to sleep with her dad for the money to flow in. Vera’s hatred for her parents grew the more and she even deleted their numbers from her phone. Everyday was a sad one for the poor lady and it made her hate her life.

Sadly, Vera had an upcoming test that week but couldn’t read. She kept crying and crying due to what happened between her dad and herself. Fortunately, the book she wanted to read was the text book that contained Dennis number but she had forgotten. Tired and sad, she reluctantly flipped through the book to get to the topic she wanted to read on and quickly spotted the piece of paper inside.

When Vera saw the note, she immediately remembered Dennis and the way he makes her feel. She smiled faintly in the midst of the tears that fell helplessly from her eyes as she read the content of the note over again. Without hesitating, she brought out her phone and dailed the number and after ringing for a while, Dennis picked up.

“Hi Dennis” Vera soberly greeted. At the sound of her voice, Dennis could already tell who it was. “Hello, Vera?” He inquired and she replied ‘Yes’. Dennis was quick to notice her sad tone so he knew there and then that something was wrong with her. “Are you ok? What’s going on?” He asked, “Nothing, I’m fine” she lied.

Dennis wasn’t satisfied with Vera’s answer so he probed further. “Are you sure you are ok? Because I just feel you aren’t” he said. Vera couldn’t hold back her tears any longer so she burst into tears. She cried uncontrollably over the phone and that confirmed Dennis doubt that something was up.

“Where are you now?” Dennis asked with all seriousness, “I’m home” Vera replied, “Where’s your home located?” He inquired and she told him where she lived. In an hour’s time, he landed and called her to identify her lodge address and room number of which she did.

Shortly afterwards, there was a knock on the door and it was no other person than Dennis. After several knocks, Vera opened the door and he entered inside. It was a one bedroom self-contained apartment suitable for a student. One look at Vera and Dennis could tell that she had been crying for a very long time. The first thing he did was to give her a warm hug with a light pat on her back.

Vera sobbed quietly as Dennis held her gently. After hugging her for a while, he asked “What happened? Why are you crying?”, and without thinking it through, Vera replied “It’s my Dad”.

Confused and curious, Dennis asked; “Your Dad? What did he do?”.

*FORGETTING?DAD *

(EPISODE 4)

Have you ever found it extremely difficult to reveal something that’s evidently eating you up? Have you ever wanted to say something so bad but couldn’t summon the courage to do so? You haven’t known true torture until you find yourself in a mentally diminishing situation that you could walk away from but can’t because you have been made a slave to that thing. The issue with Vera’s case was that she had been abused to the extent that she was already used to it and felt like life could never get better than her present reality but guess what? She was in for a big surprise because there’s life more fulfilling than what she was used to and hopefully, Dennis was her ticket to liberation.

Finally, it came down to the moment of truth that no one had ever instigated since Vera’s existence. It had come down to the point where everything Vera was going through in the hands of her abusive father could rather be over or continue. One thing was certain that day and it was the fact that Dennis was bound on finding out why she was broken and devastated and wasn’t going to back down without a good fight.

Immediately Vera realised that she had spilled too much already, she came back to her senses and wanted to cover up the whole truth but it was already too late because Dennis wasn’t a kid to be fooled that easily. “I asked you a question, what did your dad do? Talk to me please. Did he cut your funds or what?” He curiously asked but she remained mute. “I’m talking to you Vera, just look at how worn out you are and I can clearly tell that you have been crying alot. What’s going on? I drove a long distance to get here and I deserve to know what’s making you this unhappy” he continued.

After a little while of being mute, Vera finally spoke up. “There’s nothing wrong, I’m just having a bad day” she lied. One look at her and Dennis could tell that there was more to what she was saying. He wasn’t satisfied so he probed further; “I studied psychology in school and can clearly tell when a person is lying or not. Please just tell me what’s going on, I promise to be a great listener and maybe help out in anyway I can” he confidently said.

Deep down in Vera’s heart, she wanted to come clean with the truth but was just afraid that Dennis would judge her or worst still, run away entirely from her. Like which lady will want to tell a man she was attracted to that her dad had been sexually molesting her since she was 5 years old? It wasn’t an easy task for her at all and considering the fact that she just slept with her dad not long ago even made the whole truth-telling more complicated and hard for her. Vera knew that she had been trapped and caged for a long time with no one to save her; so ruining her only chance at saving herself from the big mess she was into wasn’t a really good idea, but who could blame her for wanting to hide the truth.

After all efforts to get Vera to talk became fruitless, Dennis gave up and tried to change the topic to something else. They talked about random things and he helped her with some hard questions in preparation for her upcoming test in school. They avoided eye contacts as much as possible to reduce the awkwardness in the room that day. Deep down, Dennis sensed that something was seriously wrong somewhere but tried to act matured and not press further into Vera’s personal business.

Night drew nearer and it was time for Dennis to take his leave. Vera sadly bid him ‘Goodbye’ and tried so hard not to cry as he walked away from her. Every step he took made him feel strongly that Vera wasn’t ok and really needed help. “Why do I feel strange? Why is my guts telling me that this lady needs me more than I know?” He wondered as he descended the staircase.

While Dennis was battling with his conscience on what to do, Vera had burst into tears back at her apartment and suddenly became suicidal. She cried bitterly and crawled into her kitchen to pick a knife; which she was about to use to injure herself or worst still, kill herself.

With every step Dennis took towards his car, his guts told him to go back and check up on Vera. He battled with his conscience and ignored it till he opened his car but the guilt only worsened and the voice that spoke to him within became even louder. Unable to fight back any longer, he boldly shut his car door and went back upstairs. Immediately Dennis got to Vera’s door, he could clearly hear her crying inside. That confirmed his fears and doubts that something was truly wrong with her.

“Vera open this door, it’s me again!” Dennis loudly said as he banged the door. Vera was a bit surprised that he was at the door and broke down in tears the more. “Go away, I want to be alone” she said, “There’s nothing eating you up that we can’t resolve together, please just open the door” he pleaded but she flared up. “You all are just the same, leave me alone. I never want to have anything to do with all of you, go away!” Vera cried. It was there and then that Dennis started getting little clues on what the problem could be. He used all the special skills he knew to talk her into opening the door. Vera knew he wasn’t going to leave until she opened the door so there was no need prolonging the matter. After a little while of going back and forth, the door was finally opened.

Immediately Vera opened the door, the first thing Dennis did was to rush and give her a hug. He held her tightly as she burst into tears. The way she cried broke his heart that he didn’t even know when few tears fell off his own eyes. Vera knew that the moment of truth had truly come and there was no running again.

After the little display of affection, they sat down and the most dreaded conversation began. This time around, Dennis was ready to crack the truth out of her. “Are you ready to talk now?” He asked and Vera nodded ‘Yes’, then the truth reveal followed afterwards. Vera came clean and told Dennis everything that ever transpired between her dad and herself from when she was little till that very moment. Each chapter she disclosed gave her the courage she needed for the next to be revealed.

As Vera spoke, Dennis tried his possible best to curtail the magnitude of shock he was feeling within. Not in a thousand years would he had thought Vera was going through all she was narrating. Even though she tried to withhold some information and reveal only the ones she felt a bit comfortable revealing, it still didn’t change the fact that Mr Jones was a monster who had been molesting his daughter since she was 5 years old.

Before Vera finished her truth reveal, Dennis was already raging with anger and wished Mr Jones was there so he could give him the beatings of his life. “What! Holy Cow! Are you kidding me? This is messed up on so many levels, how could he do a thing like this to you? My God!” He angrily said.

On seeing that Dennis was extremely shocked and seriously angry, Vera covered her face in shame and started crying. While she cried, he cooled down and quietly stared at her. His heart was beyond broken as he watched her sob gently. The most annoying thing to Dennis was the negligence of Vera’s mum and it baffled him to know that he was the first and only person that knew about the abuse that had been going on almost all her life. Dennis didn’t even know where to start comforting Vera from so he just held her tightly and placed her head on his chest.

The atmosphere was filled with so much emotional outbursts and after a while of crying, Vera spoke. “I know you will walk away and never come back after today, so before you do so, let me enjoy this peace and safety I feel when I’m with you for the very last time” she soberly said. When she was done talking, Dennis held her head and looked into her eyes; “If I didn’t care about you, I would never had come back the second time. This whole thing is a lot for me to digest, I know! But all I can actually think of now is You. I can’t help but wonder how miserable your life might have been all these years. I’m honestly so sorry for all you had to go through in the hands of the one man that’s supposed to protect and love you more than any other person. I know you might feel your world is over but I’m here to tell you that this isn’t the end of the world for you because you can rewrite your future and make it what you want it to be. I know it’s going to be very hard for you to go through this recreation process but I promise to go through this with you. First things first, I have to run a thorough check-up on you to make sure you are alright. Also, you have to stay away from your family for now because they are toxic and will only drag you back in your healing process. I suspect your dad might cut your funds again if he notices that you have cut all communication and ties with him. Well, this time we are prepared because I have your back and will take care of any needs he refuses to take care of. Everything will get better but I just need you to trust me by letting me help you” He gently said.

Those words from Dennis were the most uplifting thing anyone had ever said to Vera. She was transformed and felt a huge burden lift from her shoulders. It was such a good day she never thought will come in her life and somehow, she was glad the truth was finally out.

After a wonderful time spent, Dennis took his leave and that was the beginning of something great between them. From that day henceforth, he became the therapist and friend Vera never had. They saw each other four times weekly and spoke daily on the phone. The checkup was gone and thankfully, there was no serious damage done on Vera’s body.

Little by little, Vera started smiling more often in class and started mingling with her coursemates. Everyone noticed the sudden glow up and kept wondering what changed. Vera became positive towards life and moved on until something happened one fateful day.

Turns out it’s been over two months since Vera cut her entire family off. No one heard from her all through those period and her mum started to get extremely worried. Apparently, Mr Jones was missing his daughter and wanted a piece of her but couldn’t access her at all. He tried to cut off her funds thinking that trick will work this time around but it didn’t because Dennis had Vera’s back all through and provided all she needed to be comfortable in school.

After over two months of sexual starvation, Mr Jones finally decided to pay Vera a surprise visit at school. The worst was about to go down that day because Dennis was fortunately at Vera’s house that evening. She had an upcoming test and needed his expertise on one of the subjects.

They were happily studying when there was a knock on the door. It was a one bedroom so there was only one main door. Vera reluctantly stood up and headed straight to the door to open it while Dennis comfortably laid on the bed.

Immediately the door opened, Vera’s heart skipped several beats and she screamed; “Dad! What are you doing here?”. At the mention of the word ‘Dad’, Dennis immediately sat up and his eyes locked with that of Mr Jones.

In full rage, Dennis screamed; “You! God save you today”.

*FORGETTING DAD * ??

(EPISODE 5)

If there’s a list of people who don’t deserve to walk freely with other humans on the surface of this earth, Mr Jones would take the lead on that list. There’s this popular saying that everyday is for the thief but one day for the owner, it was clear that the day of reckoning had finally come for the child molester. The funny thing was that Mr Jones was taken absolutely by surprise because he had no clue that his daughter had a guest, talk more of finding out that the guest knew about his evil atrocities. A Big scene was inevitable!

Immediately Dennis set his eyes on Vera’s dad, his heart raced and his eyes turned red, waiting to devour the pedophile that was shamelessly standing in front of him. On the other hand, Mr Jones was still trying to get over the shock of seeing Vera with another man and also hide his jealousy.

“Vera who’s this disrespectful person in your room?” Mr Jones asked panicking but Vera kept mute. Dennis wasn’t going to let him ask her another question so he cut in. “Mr man, face me and leave her out of this. How could you ruin your daughter’s life? What sort of father are you? I’m putting it to you now that you are an evil man because I know all your evil deeds. Be thankful to your daughter who’s stopping me, otherwise by now you would have been in jail” Dennis furiously said and before they knew it, Mr Jones angrily stormed out on them. Dennis wasn’t having it and immediately pursued him but Vera tried to stopped him from pursuing any further so they don’t create a big scene and wash her dirty lining outside for the whole world to see.

For a moment, it occurred to Dennis that he was at the verge of revealing Vera’s secret to her neighbours so he had to calm down a bit. They went back to the room after Mr Jones had driven out. One look at Dennis and Vera could tell that he was highly pissed and was ready to devour someone. That was the first time ever she had seen him that upset and angry. She tried her best to calm the situation down and after several attempts, he finally cooled off.

Deep down in Vera’s heart, she was happy that someone stood up for her at least for once in her life. There were slight butterflies in her stomach due to the excitement, but she tried to cover it all up. “How do you feel now?” She curiously asked, “I’m more concerned about you, how do you feel?” Dennis inquired, “I’m very much ok. Thank you for standing up for me like that, I really appreciate it” she said and he told her not to mention.

It was such a sad way to end a once beautiful meeting but they were both glad things turned out the way it did because the confrontation was very much necessary. Dennis hurriedly finished up with the help he was rendering to Vera with her studies and headed home afterwards because it was getting quite late.

Before Dennis left, he instructed Vera not to open the door for anyone and also told her to ignore any calls from her dad for now, because her dad could probably be hanging around and might decide to come back to her house later that night. Vera received Dennis instructions and promised to obey them.

Just as predicted, few hours after Dennis had left, there was a strange knock on Vera’s door. At that time, it was already passed 8pm so she kept wondering who could be knocking at her door by that time. The knocking persisted and Vera suddenly became scared for her life. She hurriedly picked up her phone and dialed Dennis line but it unfortunately wasn’t reachable.

The thought of not being able to reach Dennis increased Vera’s fear. She kept mute and didn’t utter any word as the person knocked. After knocking for over 20 minutes with no response from Vera, the knocking ceased. Confused and curious to find out if the person had gone, Vera tiptoed quietly and placed her ear on the door to check for any sound but there was non. She sighed in relief and went back to bed.

All through that night, Vera was restless and couldn’t sleep properly because of fear. Her eyes were opened most of the time with her heart beating fast. So many thoughts crossed her mind that night and Dennis was the major one. She smiled whenever she dwelled in his thoughts and blushed also. It was such a memorable day for the young lady.

First thing the next day, Dennis called to check up on Vera and she narrated all that happen after he had left. It was there and then that he realised that something truly needed to be done to get ‘thirsty’ Mr Jones off Vera’s neck for good.

Due to the insecurities Dennis now felt whenever Vera wasn’t with him, he decided to keep her close to him as much as possible. Whenever Vera wasn’t in school, she was either at Dennis apartment or the hospital were he worked. Due to the new measures he was now taking to keep her safe, she actually started learning alot and began to do tremendously well in her academics. Whenever she was at the hospital, she would sometimes volunteer to help out with work since she was also a medical doctor in the making, and whenever she was at Dennis house, he would personally teach her and also engage her in beneficial good conversations. Vera only went home at nights just to sleep and return to her normal daily routine the next day. Dennis dropped her off every night and made sure she was safe before leaving.

With all this going on, Mr Jones couldn’t get any access at all to his daughter because she was never at home whenever he visited. Mrs Jones started suspecting that something was wrong somewhere and was truly bothered as to why her daughter wasn’t reachable. Confused and highly bothered, Mrs Jones came down to Vera’s school one morning in the hopes to see her one way or the other but wasn’t able to.

Unable to give up, Mrs Jones tried her possible best to track her daughter down and fortunately found someone that knew where Vera lived. It was a hectic day for Mrs Jones but she was bond on seeing her daughter no matter what.

When Mrs Jones arrived, Vera’s sadly wasn’t at home but she waited regardless. Mrs Jones sat in her car from 4pm – 7pm but there was still no sign of Vera. She asked the gateman if he knew Vera’s whereabouts and he told her all he knew was that Vera normally came back late every day. On hearing that, Mrs Jones still had hope that her daughter will show up.

An hour later, there were flashes of lights and a car drove in afterwards. Immediately Mrs Jones heard the car sound, she opened her car door and alighted to see if it was Vera. Lo & Behold, it was Vera in the company of Dennis. When Mrs Jones doubts were confirmed, she hurriedly walked towards her daughter and called her attention.

One look at Mrs Jones and Vera’s heart was filled with anger, bitterness and rage. She wasn’t excited to see her mum at all and was quite uncomfortable because Dennis was there. “Here comes my mum, I had no idea she would be here” Vera said to Dennis as they watched her mum draw closer.

“Where have you been and why don’t you pick up your phone when I call?” Mrs Jones flared up but Vera wasn’t that moved and was ready to give her mum a befitting reply. “Hasn’t it occurred to you by now that I don’t want to be around you or have anything to do with you? I don’t even know whether to call you Mum because you clearly don’t befit that title since you have decided to ruin my life with your negligent attitude. I hate you so much and don’t want to ever look at you again” Vera said with tears falling off her eyes.

The manner at which Vera spoke and the things that came out of her mouth took her mum by surprise. Mrs Jones had no clue what her daughter was talking about and why she was so angry with her. Dennis figured that he had to give them some privacy to talk, so he pleaded with Vera to calm down and talk to her mum in a more reasonable tone. He greeted Mrs Jones, told Vera ‘Goodnight’ and drove off afterwards.

With Dennis out of the way, Mrs Jones finally spoke. “What did I ever do wrong to you my daughter? Why are you so angry with me?” She calmly asked with tears in her eyes.

Vera looked into her mum’s eyes as she sobbed quietly. On seeing that her mum was also tearing up, her heart melted and she opened up. “Daddy has been molesting me since I was five years old, how could you not know mum?” Vera said with tears dripping from her eyes.

Mrs Jones almost collapsed due to what she heard. With her mouth wide open due to shock, she asked; “What did you just say?”. Vera broke down and burst into tears afterwards and her mum immediately hugged her. “Oh baby!” Mrs Jones cried as she hugged her daughter. Vera cried bitterly and said; “How could you not know mum? How could you?”.

Broken and shattered, Vera’s mum held her daughter tightly and said; “Oh My! I’m so sorry baby”.

*FORGETTING DAD * ??

(EPISODE 6)

A forgiving heart is a good virtue for everyone to possess but most times, it isn’t that easy to let go and forgive someone that hurt you. We are humans and not supermen after all so it’s absolutely normal to feel resistant for a while before finally forgiving someone that badly hurt you. In Mr Jones case, it was going to be an almost impossible thing for Vera to completely forgive and forget all he did to her. The painful reality of the whole matter was that Mr Jones succeeded in crushing his daughter’s spirit and inflicting a wound that would take till eternity to heal.

Imagine living the rest of your life with the memories of your own biological father making love to you. Do you know how traumatising it will be for that person to live the rest of their lives with that barbaric act lingering in their mind? A lot of people think it’s only when a person is 6ft below the ground that they can be considered dead, but forget that someone could be killed in so many ways that doesn’t warrant them to be physically injured or lie in a casket.

The death of the soul is more painful than the physical death we all know of. It’s a sad reality indeed that alot of people we come in contact with on a daily basis are dead within, due to some hurtful and hunting things they might have gone through that crushed them. You never know if that lady or man that smiled at you few hours back was molested by trusted relatives, raped or sexually abused. If only looks weren’t deceptive, we might learn to be a little more kind to people we come in contact with on a daily basis.

It was sad that the one woman who was supposed to be her daughter’s ride or die partner, gossip mate, trusted companion and adviser, was just finding out after 24 years that her only child and daughter was molested by her husband and constantly undergoing sexual abuse still as an adult. Words would fail me indeed to properly explain how Mrs Jones felt at that moment. At that point, nothing else in the whole word mattered to her because she realised that she had ruined her daughter’s life and wasn’t fit to be called a mother.

The atmosphere that evening was filled with diverse emotional outbursts as neither Vera nor her mum could contain their brokenness and how they were feeling. It was such a heartbreaking moment to behold.

After over 20 minutes of crying and letting out piled up emotions and pain, Vera managed to cool down a little and gradually stopped crying. On the other hand, Mrs Jones was still sober because she was overshadowed by guilt and highly ashamed of herself. Everything still felt like a bad dream that Mrs Jones wished to wake up from but sadly it wasn’t a dream.

Shortly afterwards, they went upstairs to Vera’s apartment and the real conversation started. Vera narrated everything that has been going on under Mrs Jones nose and didn’t leave any stone unturned, unlike she did with Dennis.

As Vera narrated her ordeal to her mum, Mrs Jones opened her mouth all through and couldn’t shut it. Tears fell off her eyes all through Vera’s narration as she couldn’t believe that her own husband that she trusted with her life could boycott other matured ladies that could have been willing to satisfy his lustful urges, but rather decided to have his way with his own blood daughter. Totally Unbelievable!

When Vera was done talking, her devastated mum finally spoke. “Baby I’m so sorry for not being the best mother that I could to you. Honestly, I thought I was doing you a favour by being hardworking so I and dad can provide everything you need, but I never knew I was ruining your life. How could I have known that your father would do such an abominable thing to his own daughter? I trusted him and couldn’t have been that carefree if it was someone else. I might never forgive myself for making such a terrible man your father. I knew he was a womaniser right from our courting days, but never believe that his womanising will reach his own daughter. It kills me so much to realise that you even told someone else before me. I will never forgive myself knowing that a stranger could notice something in my own daughter in few months of knowing her, than I ever did in over 24 years of being your mother. How am I going to sleep at night with the thought of your dad sexually abusing you? I hate my life right now and just wish God can end it because this guilt is just too much for me to bear. Vera my darling, please find a place in your heart to forgive me. I know I have failed you as a mother and don’t deserve any forgiveness but I could die soon if you don’t forgive me. I’m so sorry baby, I’m so sorry for being blind and not sensitive enough. Baby how could I have known? I trusted your father and feel so disappointed for making that monster your dad. Please forgive me I beg you, please forgive me my child” Mrs Jones soberly said.

The atmosphere charged up again due to all Mrs Jones said that Vera didn’t know when she started tearing up again. “Mummy I don’t know what forgiveness means because I have been damaged beyond repair. I can’t give what I don’t have and forgiveness is certainly an alien to me. How can I forgive from a damaged heart? How can I let go when the memories are still fresh and hunt me everyday? How can I see you as my mother when you failed me when I needed you most? You failed the five year old Me and now this grown-up ‘Me’ can face the cruelness of this world without you. I love you but don’t want you in my life because you and your husband are toxic to my mental health and well-being. Please stay away from me for as long as possible because I need to finally navigate my life towards the direction I want it to go without you or dad’s interference. Thanks to my friend Dennis, I am now beginning to rewrite my story and position my future to the direction I want it to go. You are my mum by title but not by actions because a true mother could have looked into my eyes 19 years ago and tell that something was wrong somewhere. You failed me mum and I have to live the rest of my life with hurtful memories that could have been prevented. I’m sorry but you have to leave now so I can rest and prepare for tomorrow” Vera soberly said.

All Mrs Jones effort to get her daughter to forgive her that night proved abortive and fell on deaf ears because Vera’s heart was as strong as stone. On seeing that the forgiveness wasn’t forth coming, she shamefully left because Vera didn’t want her to spend the night at her house.

However, before Vera’s mum left, she dropped a hug amount of money for her daughter and kissed her ‘Goodbye’. On Mrs Jones ride back home that night, she cried bitterly in the car and was lucky that there wasn’t much vehicles on the road otherwise she could have had an accident. There were series of thoughts and emotions going back and forth within her and the most intense one amongst all was ‘Rage’.

One thing was clear to Vera’s mum that night and it was the fact that her marriage was Over. There was no way in this life things were going to go back as normal after coming to the knowledge of what her husband did to their daughter. No way!

Immediately Mrs Jones arrived home, fortunately her husband was back and chilling in the living room. Without prior notice, she pounced on him and held his singlet tightly. “Useless man! How could you? How could you? You must kill me today because I wouldn’t leave you. How could you ruin our daughter’s life with your stupid urge. God will judge you! It will never be well with you Jones. My God will judge you for ruining my only daughter’s life. Ha! This man you are shameless. This marriage is over and I promise to fight you with my last dime to make sure you pay for your evil atrocities. Useless man, God punish you! If not because I care about my daughter’s remaining dignity and reputation, the whole world would have heard by tomorrow that you are a pedophile and child molester that sexually abused his own daughter. It shall never be well with you Jones” She angrily said.

Everything was happening so fast that Mr Jones didn’t even know where to start digesting from. Before he could utter a word, Vera’s mum spat at him and stormed out to pack her belongings that night. She managed to pick few important clothes and called her sister to inform her that she was coming over first thing the next day. It was such a dramatic night as Mrs Jones exhausted every curse word and energy that she had.

While there was fire on the mountain on one camp, their was peace and happiness in another. Vera and Dennis had spent so much time together that they began to bond and it got to the extent where they could finish each other’s sentences. Vera couldn’t do anything without Dennis and vise versa.

With time, they began to look alike because they spent so much time together. Dennis tried to always maintain a positive atmosphere by never bringing up Vera’s pending forgiveness for her mum. He knew his place and never tried to force her into forgiving her mum because he knew that forgiveness ought to come naturally from the heart.

As time went by, Dennis began to realise that he had suddenly began to develop feelings for Vera. At first he thought it was just his emotions playing games with him but later realised that it was serious. If there was one man or person in the entire universe that knew Vera in and out, it was Dennis! For him to love her regardless of everything he knew she had been through shows that Love supersedes judgments and human comprehension. His feelings remained hidden till one fateful day.

On that day, Dennis picked Vera off from school and they went for outing because it was his day off. It was such an eventful day and it finally ended at a cinema.

They unfortunately saw a movie that was a bit similar to what Vera was going through. Being a sharp guy, Dennis figured the movie was beginning to get to Vera’s emotions so he suggested that they leave. They left halfway into the movie and gently walked down to the parking lot.

There was silence all through till Dennis broke it. “Is that tears I see on your eyes? He curiously asked and Vera soberly nodded ‘No’. He playfully held her waist and pinned her on the car door. “What are you doing?” Vera asked with a faint smile on her face and Dennis mimicked her. They laughed afterwards and finally locked eyes when they were done.

Deep down, Vera was head over heels in love with Dennis but felt he only saw her like a sister. She never had the slightest clue that he actually felt same way.

As they looked into each others eyes, they couldn’t resist their emotions and out of nowhere, Dennis leaned forward and planted a soft kiss on Vera’s lips. As he tried to redraw himself, she held his neck and kissed back passionately. As they locked lips and could hardly breathe, Dennis dropped a shocker. “Be mine” he gently said as he kissed her passionately.

Immediately Vera heard that, she removed her lips; “What did you just say?” She shockingly asked.

Dennis looked right into her eyes and repeated; “Be Mine!

*FORGETTING DAD*

(EPISODE 7)

There’s just something unique and beautiful about this thing called ‘Genuine Love’; It hardly discriminates and does not keep records of wrongs. You have never truly loved until you find someone whom you are willing to let go of all conditions just to be with. When true love happens, it doesn’t seek for permission and certainly doesn’t need anyone’s validation before it gets two people to fall deeply in love with each other. If Dennis wanted to look at the odds of him being with Vera or focus on the negative side, he probably wouldn’t have fallen deeply for her; talk more of taking the bold step of confessing his feelings to her. At that point, it’s good to acknowledge that things were gradually falling into the right places for beautiful Vera.

After Dennis repeated those words to Vera, she was beyond shocked and didn’t know exactly what to say to him at that moment. Never in a thousand years did she ever think that she will find a man that would love her; not to talk of finding Love in the person that knows all her dirty secrets. It was a whole lot for her to swallow at once!

The once intimate atmosphere now suddenly became tensed. One look at Vera and Dennis could tell that she didn’t see all that coming. He smiled as he looked into her shinny eyes; “Say something, I want to know what’s on your mind” he gently said. Vera looked into his eyes and smiled faintly because she honestly didn’t know where to start answering from. Her palms suddenly became sweaty because she was nervous and tensed. After keeping mute for a while, she finally spoke.

“Why me?” Vera asked out of nowhere, “Why not you?” Dennis replied, “Well for starters, you know me too well to be in love with me. There are so many other ladies our there with less baggage, why not go for them?” She soberly asked. Immediately Vera said that, Dennis could tell where her insecurities were coming from and why she probably felt they couldn’t work out.

To be honest, Dennis actually understood Vera’s fears but immediately felt the need to change her mindset and assure her that he was completely into her. When Vera was done talking, he began; “Listen, I know you are afraid and in doubt of the authenticity of my love for you because you feel there’s no way I could possibly be in love with you after all I know that happened in your past. What you fail to realise is that I’m in love with you and not your past life experience. Those things were inevitable because you were helpless so why should I blame you for something that clearly isn’t your fault. I know this journey with you wouldn’t be easy because there are so many baggage you are carrying but I promise to go through it with you. I never planned to fall for you but it happened anyways. Since your first dad failed you, allow me to be your second dad so I can show you what love is supposed to be and feel like. I’m all in, just open the door to your heart and trust someone one more time. I promise never to make you regret any decision you make to be with me. Allow me to pick the broken pieces of your heart and fix it” He gently said.

If words had the ability to ascend a person to heaven, Vera would have been on her way up because Dennis words were next to non. The sad reality was that no one has ever spoken to her the way he did that evening. Every dead hope of ever finding Love awaken and it melted her heart knowing that the first man she had ever loved was the one professing his love for her. How blessed she truly was!

The two lovebirds were a spectacle for anyone that passed by. People kept staring at them in a good way as they felt it was just a display of affection between two lovers. Vera knew deep down in her heart that she wanted Dennis in her life too, so there was no need prolonging the answer he sought for. “I’m scared of trying but I’m willing to try with you because you have shown me what it truly means for someone to have my back. I trust you and know that you have my best interest at heart and will never deliberately hurt me. These past months with you have been the best times of my life. There’s no one else I’d rather give my heart to than you. I have searched my heart and have come to the acknowledgement that I truly want to be yours. I accept you!” She said.

At the mention of ‘I accept’, Dennis smiled and playfully jumped for joy. He couldn’t believe that Vera had official accepted him into her life as her partner. The fact that his happiness was extremely visible made Vera blush. They kissed passionately one more time before zooming off to their various destinations.

Their first stop was at Vera’s house before Dennis headed to his own. All through that night, both lovebirds were excited and barely slept all night. To be honest, Vera was more excited because she never saw it coming at all. While on the other hand, Dennis was super glad because he was now in an official relationship with his best friend.

Just when we thought life was beginning to get good for Vera, it got even better with the new ‘Taken’ tag in her relationship status. Vera began to top in school activities because she now had an extra and personal tutor in her life as a partner. Dennis was careful on how he handled Vera so as not to hurt her by bringing back any hurtful past memories. He was also careful with their intimate life so as not to do anything that might trigger hurtful memories.

Their relationship waxed stronger and they became almost inseparable. Vera was almost done with her academics and was headed towards being a certified Medical Doctor. Up until then, she was still not accessible by her parents or anyone else, with the exception of Dennis. Her mum was gradually drawing close to her but their relationship was nothing admirable because Vera hadn’t still forgiven her and was still keeping her distance.

Despite the fact that Vera’s parents were still footing her school bills, she wasn’t close to either of them. Just so you know, Mrs Jones had been away from their family house for over a year and wasn’t in talking terms with her husband. She had filed for divorce earlier but it was delayed due to one thing or the other; mostly due to settlement terms.

Through a little investigation, Mrs Jones was able to find out that Dennis and Vera were in a relationship. She had met Dennis twice since after the incident that happened the first day she met him at Vera’s house. Whenever Mrs Jones wanted to get anything across to Vera and she isn’t reachable, she normally got them across through Dennis.

Life moved on and reality began to set in for Mr Jones. He suddenly began to realise that he had lost everything and also his family. Guilt began to set in gradually and his conscience became a play ground for emotional trauma and torture. Most nights, he would cry out loud in his empty house with no one coming to his aid. Misery was his second name while guilt was his last name.

As the guilt continued, Mr Jones realised that he had to apologise to his daughter. He needed to see her by all means so as to work things out. Unable to reach Vera through phone and other means, he drove down to her house and shamefully headed straight to her door to knock. After knocking numerously, he went back downstairs to inquire of her whereabouts form the gateman.

When Mr Jones asked, the gateman told him that Vera wasn’t at home and usually came back late at night. Determined to see her, he waited just like his wife did the first day she came to that place. It was a long wait for Mr Jones because he was quit early compared to when Vera would return home. While he waited, tears couldn’t stop dripping from his eyes as he thought of how he ruined his daughter’s life.
Matter of fact, Mr Jones was also scared of the outcome when she eventually sees him.

In few hours time, Vera majestically walked into the compound and was about climbing the staircase when she heard someone call her from behind. She surprisingly turned to see who called her and Lo & Behold, It was the one man she hated more than anything in the whole universe and didn’t want to ever set her eyes on again.

Before Vere could utter any word due to the rage she was feeling, Mr Jones knelt down in front of her; not minding who was watching.
As he was about to speak, she immediately hushed him and said; “You will never get want you want so it’s better you leave my house this minute before I lose my temper”.

Mr Jones was a bit confused and doubted if Vera knew the exact reason why he was there. “I am here to apologise to you my daughter, can we please talk?” He soberly asked.

Before his words landed, Vera flared up and replied; “No we can’t, Get out now!”.

*FORGETTING DAD*

(EPISODE 8)

There comes a time in every wicked person’s life for them to reap what they have sown. A wicked person can never go scot-free because a day of reckoning must surely come; whether dead or alive. What on earth will make Mr Jones think that a simple “I’m sorry” was ever going to erase all the pains and agony he inflicted on his daughter for the past 19 years of her life? He was a big time joker to ever think that it was going to be an easy thing to receive Vera’s forgiveness after ruining her life and causing a lifetime mental damage. At that moment, Mr Jones could pass for a clown.

On seeing that Vera was totally furious and wasn’t willing to give a listening ear, Mr Jones shameful got up from where he was kneeling and tried to calm her down but only indirectly ignited the fire the more. Vera was at the verge of slapping him but held herself just because of the mustard seed respect she still had for him and majorly because of God.

“You disgust me, I hate you, you are a monster, a coward, a demon…Oh God! I just ran out of words to describe you. Don’t ever come close to me, stay the hell away because next time you show up uninvited to my apartment, I will get you arrested after disgracing the day light out of you. Get out!” Vera angrily said and stormed out. She hurriedly climbed the stairs and entered into her apartment; leaving her dad downstairs.

After that little show of shame, Mr Jones died double within and was numb all through. He managed to walk back to his car and shamefully drove off. With Mr Jones gone, the gateman who saw and heard everything that happened went upstairs to check up on Vera because he was close to her.

Initially, when the gateman knocked on Vera’s door, she screamed and shouted “Get out!”. It was after the gateman called out his name that Vera realised that it wasn’t her dad that was knocking. When she opened the door, the man could see the rage in her eyes and didn’t even know where to start calming her down from. “My friend, why you dey vex like this nah? Na your papa be that person u been dey talk to like that for downstairs? Chai e no good” he playfully said.

Before the gateman was done talking, Vera lost hold of her emotions and broke down in tears. She wasn’t crying because she felt bad for the way she talked to her dad, but was rather crying because she felt she didn’t say all that needed to be said to him. Her mind was overwhelmed with different emotions that needed to be expressed.

“You will not understand, that man is an evil man and shouldn’t be given another chance to breathe this air we are breathing. People like that deserve all the unfortunate things in this life. I hate him so much and please, don’t entertain his presence when next he comes to this compound” Vera said. The gateman tried to calm her down by advising her to take things easy with her dad. He told her that he wasn’t in good terms with his family either and that they were better ways to deal with family issues.

While the gateman spoke, Vera was absent minded and wasn’t processing anything that he was saying. The only thing that was on her mind was her regrets for not properly dealing with her father. They conversed a little more and said ‘Goodnight’ to each other.

After Vera’s friend left, she went back inside and was restless all through. She cried most of the time whenever she remembered the scene of her dad kneeling down. That scene reminded her of how he used to knee and suck her private part. The height of disgust she felt whenever those scary scenes came flashing in her memory.

To be honest, Mr Jones really dealt with Vera. Like what sort of a father will deliberately corrupt and spoil the mind of a 5year old child? I mean what sort of father will expose his daughter to erotic and corrupt things way too early before she got to the appropriate age to experience such lifestyles. Like how does this man sleep at night knowing that he was the one that deflowered his own daughter? Too bad that it took him over 19 years later to realise the magnitude of what he was doing and had done. Too bad!

Vera was now a full blown woman and in her mid twenties, so what kind of apology did Mr Jones think he would render that was enough to erase the scars he had inflicted in her life? It was going to take a Miracle for a genuine forgiveness to come from Vera to her dad especially. She was restless all through that night and couldn’t wait to be with Dennis the following day.

While Vera was filled with rage all night, Mr Jones was dying of guilt. His conscience kept pricking him because the magnitude of what he had done started to dawn on him. The painful reality of all the things Mr Jones had lost due to his abominable act, hit him very hard and broke his once stony heart. “My wife is gone, my daughter hates me, my wife’s family forbids me and might kill me if they ever set their eyes on me around their child, all this because I refused to control myself. How could I have molest my daughter? What was wrong with me all these years?” Mr Jones wondered as he drove home that fateful night. Everything still felt like a horror movie to him. Well, he better brace himself because the horror movie actually just got started. There was no running for him this time around because the torture started from within; which was his conscience.

First thing the next day, Vera went over to Dennis house and narrated all that happened to him. When she was done talking, he tried to calm her down by talking her out of the bad mood she clearly was in. “Babe, you have to chill out and take things easy so you can find peace and happiness. I know your dad did you wrong and deserve everything coming his way but please, don’t let him still find a way to ruin your current happiness by letting him get to your emotions this way. Just take things easy and follow your heart and I promise to support you in every decision you make” Dennis said.

Vera was indeed blessed to have somebody like Dennis by her side because the painful truth is that not every molested lady or man out there have somebody they can even share their secret with, talk more of being in a healthy relationship like that of Vera and Dennis. In our society today, alot of people are so quick to judge others without first trying to fit into their shoes. It’s so easy to hear a story of what happened to somebody and shake your head in disbelief, but the reality is that you may never tell how truly affected that person is no matter how much you try.

As time gradually went by, Mr Jones still haven’t stopped calling his daughter and trying to reach her but all his efforts was to no avail. He tried to contact his wife and have her beg Vera for him but Mrs Jones rained curses on him whenever he dialed her number. During Vera’s convocation, she didn’t invite any of her family members but her mum couldn’t miss it for the world.

Mrs Jones was present despite Vera’s refusal to personally invite her. Dennis was actually the one that kept Vera’s mum updated about everything that went on in her life. Mrs Jones didn’t joke with Dennis at all because he was the only link between herself and Vera.

During the convocation ceremony, Mrs Jones was very proud of the strong woman her daughter had become despite everything that happened to her in the past. Deep down, Vera was kind-of happy to see her mum but pretended as though she wasn’t. After the convocation, Dennis took them out to celebrate and they all had dinner together.

The atmosphere was a bit awkward because Vera wasn’t still in speaking terms with her mum. As they dinned, Mrs Jones tried her possible best to win her daughter’s heart and get her to forgive her but all efforts proved abortive. Vera was mute all through and only concentrated on her meal.
On seeing that Vera wasn’t trying to talk to her mum, Dennis gave Mrs Jones a sign that he was going to get up so they could have privacy to sort things out once and for all. When Mrs Jones caught the signal, Dennis excused himself and gave Vera a peck before walking away answering a fake phone call.

With Dennis gone Mrs Jones broke the silence; “Congratulations mama, I’m so proud of you my daughter” she said. Vera bluntly replied “thank you” and concentrated back on the food she was eating. On seeing that Vera wasn’t ready for a conversation, Mrs Jones continued. “I’m so sorry my daughter, how long do you want to hate me?” She soberly asked and Vera looked into her eyes; “As long as I can to make you feel just a little bit of the pain I have felt for the past 19 years of my life, how about that?” Vera said.

Unable to hold back the emotions, Mrs Jones started tearing up. Immediately Vera saw the tears in her mum’s eyes, her heart melted instantly. She moved closer to her mum and gave her a warm hug. Before Vera knew it, her mum burst into controllable tears. “I’m sorry my daughter, please I’m so sorry. Forgive me I beg you, the guilt is too much for me to bear at this my age, please I beg you!” Mrs Jones cried.

At that point, all Vera’s defence was broken and her heart was finally ready to give forgiveness to her mother. “I forgive you mum, I forgive you” Vera said with tears in her eyes. Immediately she said that, a huge burden lifted from her mum’s conscience and they cried together like little kids. Dennis had to come back in order to find out what was happening after one of the waiters alerted him outside that the two women he brought in were crying. On seeing that they weren’t going to stop crying soon, he paid the bill and took them away.

The ride back home was quite emotional for Dennis because he could hear Vera and her mum talk heart-to-heart in the back seat. It gladdened his heart that Vera now had someone by her side that she could also have a relationship with. He was concerned about his partner and wanted her to be totally happy.

Life as a medical doctor was great and fulfilling for Vera. She moved out from her previous apartment and stayed in town; closer to Dennis. Vera always visited her mum on weekends and their relationship grew a bit stronger and eventually became admirable.

At that time, Mrs Jones divorce with her pedophile husband had been finalised so she was now a free bird. Vera changed her surname and started answering her mum’s last name. The extent to which Vera took to have absolutely nothing to do with her father was extreme.

When Mr Jones learnt about the the fact that his daughter had changed her last name, his blood pressure began to rise. Months passed and Mr Jones health deteriorated with no loved one to take care of him. Though he had domestic staffs that worked in his house, there’s nothing like having your own family around.

Things got really bad one fateful day that led to Mr Jones collapsing. One of his helpers found him lying unconscious on the floor in his sitting room and immediately alerted the driver. In no time, he was rushed to the hospital and guess which one he was rushed to? The very hospital Vera worked in.

Fortunately that day, Vera was on duty and was answering a phone call when some nurses came to alert her that there was an emergency situation of life and death. She hurriedly went to the emergency ward to attend to the patient only to realise that the man lying helpless was the very man she hated the most and never wanted to see again in her life.

Immediately Vera came closer and saw Mr Jones face well, her mind took a quick trip down memory lane of the first day her dad penetrated her when her body parts where still fragile and developing. Unable to bear the pain and instant trauma, she turned her back and walked away.

The nurse who was there shockingly said; “Ma’am where are you going to? The patient is dying”. Vera’s eyes were filled with tears. She turned, looked at the nurse and said; “He’s my dad, get another doctor to revive him or let him die, the choice is entirely yours”.

Shocked and confused, the nurse screamed “What!”.
FORGETTING DAD*

(EPISODE 9)

SEMI FINAL EPISODE

Every profession have obligatory duties that ought not to be violated no matter what. As a medical doctor, it was Vera’s obligation to treat her unconscious pedophile father at the emergency ward whether she liked him or not. On a fair note, Vera shouldn’t be blamed for taking such drastic decision because she probably wasn’t in her right frame of mind at that moment; not after the sudden trip down memory lane. There were so many things going on in Vera’s mind at that moment and the most intense of all was ‘Revenge’.

On seeing that the decision was beginning to cause confusion, Vera angrily walked out on the nurse that kept inquiring why she didn’t want to treat the patient which was even her own father. With Vera gone, another doctor who was on duty immediately filled in the gap and started administering treatments to the unconscious patient.

Fortunately, they were able to stabilize Mr Jones as his body started responding to treatments. Shortly afterwards, Vera was called upon by her seniors to account for her unprofessional behaviour concerning a patient’s life. The hospital management took the matter quite serious but Vera was able to convince them into believing that her reasons for refusing to treat her father was due to some unresolved family issues that hunted her the moment she set her eyes on him. Her reasons were quite convincing and the board pardoned her for such unprofessional behaviour.

In order to prevent the situation from reoccurring, Vera was moved to another unit where she would’ve have any contact at all with her dad. The new measures that were put in place made Vera extremely happy because she honestly didn’t want to touch her father nor have anything to do with him. She avoided the ward he was admitted in and didn’t come one bit close.

After work that day, Dennis came around to pick Vera at the hospital she worked at. He knew the time she was going to be off duty so he rounded up earlier so as to meet up with her. When Dennis arrived, the first thing he noticed was the sadness on Vera’s face and her moody attitude. He immediately tried to inquire what the problem was but she wasn’t willing to talk about it yet.

They made a stop at an eatery to get lunch before finally heading to Dennis house. All through the ride, Vera faced the window and didn’t bother to look towards Dennis direction. He was calm about the whole awkwardness and wanted her to cool off before inquiring what the problem was. When they finally arrived their destination and settled in, a conversation started.

“What’s the problem? Why are you so moody?” Dennis curiously asked, “Nothing much, it’s just that something happened back at the hospital today” Vera soberly replied, “What happened?” He continued and she narrated the incident that happened with her dad.

When Vera was done talking, Dennis wasn’t in support of her attitude and didn’t hesitate to let her know. “You shouldn’t have walked away as you did because at that point, he wasn’t just your father but a dying helpless patient that needed urgent medical help. That wasn’t the best revenge because two wrongs will never make a right. Ok, imagine he had died from that incident, will you truly be happy? I don’t think so. I know this man hurt you but you are actually hurting yourself now by holding all these grudges. It was all in the past and it’s over, so stop carrying the baggage along with you every time. Your father is already having his own share of Karma, don’t help God to do his revenge work. I’m not saying you should forgive your dad and start pretending like one happy family afterwards, all I am saying is that you need to offload this baggage and if a one-on-one confrontation with him will help, then go for it and see where things goes afterwards” Dennis said.

There and then, Vera was smitten by the level of truth and wisdom that came out of Dennis mouth. Deep down, she knew that she had taken things to the extreme by neglecting a dying patient and looking unprofessional to her seniors and the hospital management. It actually dawned on her how self fulfilling she was and it suddenly melted her heart. Shortly afterwards, her countenance changed for the better but she still felt burdened within.

Everything Dennis advised and said to Vera that day was a turning point to getting the freedom she had always sought for. The following day at work, she deliberately passed through the ward her dad was admitted in just to see if she will catch a glimpse of him. Immediately her eyes caught sight of her dad, her heart dropped out of pity but there was still a significant amount of Rage burning within.

After Vera had settled down that day at work, she couldn’t concentrate afterwards. At first she felt it was just her mind playing games with her but later realised that it was beyond her. Unable to figure out what to do, she called her mum to inform her on everything that was going on at the hospital.

“Hello mum, how are you?” Vera soberly asked, “I’m fine my daughter and you?” Her mum inquired, “No mum, I’m not” she bluntly said. Immediately Vera said that, her mum became concerned to know what the problem was. “What’s the problem? What is bothering you my child?” Her mum asked and she narrated everything to her. “What! You mean Jones is at the hospital?” Her mum curiously inquired and Vera told her he was.

After the outburst of emotions, Vera’s mum began to talk; “My child I know how you feel for refusing to treat your father but I want to also let you know that it isn’t your fault that he is now paying for his atrocities. His evil deeds is catching up with him for every evil thing he did in the past. However, it was my decision to divorce him and not yours, so you have to decide for yourself how you want to handle this matter. If you truly want to have that one-on-one talk with him to free your mind once and for all, then do so my child. You are not the cause of Jones misery, he brought all this upon himself. Your happiness is all I care about and if talking to him will ease some tension, so be it” her mum said.

With those word of advice from Vera’s mum, her mind was finally made up to have that dreaded talk with her father. After talking on phone with her mum, she took a deep breath and headed towards the ward Mr Jones was admitted. When she arrived, it was quite unfortunate that he was still unconscious. Unable to be discouraged, she sat closely opposite to him and just kept staring. After staring for a while, she broke the silence.

“You could have been the best father to me but you chose to be a nightmare. I was so innocent but you violated me and ripped me off every ownership of my body and dignity. Why did you do all that dad? Imagine I didn’t have Dennis, how bad my life could have turned out just because you couldn’t control yourself. I was a kid for crying out loud, but you chose my fragile undeveloped body over a thousand better choices you could have had. I can’t say I forgive you because I will be lying to myself if I did but I have decided to let you go from my life. I let you go for every thing you ever did to me. I will deliberately work on erasing the hunting memories you have left me with. I deserve to be totally happy; free from every kind of hold you have on me. I don’t want you in my life but I pray you find peace within yourself because I no longer carry you in my spirit. Live the remaining years of your life right and mend your ways, maybe, just maybe you will truly be able to forgive yourself. I still love you even though I hate the fact that I do, wake up soon” Vera soberly said.

Just as Vera was able to walk away, she felt a hold on her hand and turned immediately to see what was going on. Before she could wrap her head around the fact that her dad was now conscious, he tiredly looked at her and said “Thank you”.

Confused and curious, Vera asked; “Did you hear all I said?”, Mr Jones took a deep breath with tears in his eyes and nodded ‘Yes’.

*FORGETTING DAD*

(EPISODE 10)

SEMI FINAL EPISODE

The dark days of a person’s life is usually the time of sober reflection on all the wrongs, good, bad and evil things they have done in their lifetime. At that moment, that person could give up just anything in this world to make amends for the wrongs they had done that can’t be taken back. I wonder why majority wait till bad things begin to happen or when Karma catches up with them, before they realise their wrong doings and try to make amends. If only Mr Jones knew that a day was going to come where he wouldn’t have a single family member by his side just because of his pedophile acts, then I strongly believe he would have zipped up his trouser and command the evil to flee the very first day the urge and thoughts to defile his daughter came to his mind. Too bad he allowed things to get so bad before realising his mistakes.

When Vera realised that her dad was now awake, she was relieved a bit that he was back to his consciousness. If not for anything, she wanted him to make amends with his past and forgive himself in order to find peace at least. It was such a relieving moment for both of them.

After Mr Jones was done thanking his daughter for her decision to let go of the past, he couldn’t hold back his tears afterwards. Vera stood up from the chair she sat and just stared at her dad as he sobbed bitterly. Deep down in her heart, she felt sorry for him but still carried a significant amount of hatred within.

Honestly, it was going to be an almost impossible thing for Vera to totally forgive her dad for everything he had done to her. Matter of fact, she might never fully forgive him because the scars he inflicted on her was always going to be a constant reminder of everything he did to her. No amount of time might be able to totally erase the pain and repair the damages. Too bad!

While Mr Jones sobbed, Vera just looked at him without letting her emotions lose control.
Unable to hold back any longer, she broke the silence; “Why did you do it?” She asked with tears on her eyes. Mr Jones was filled with shame and bent his head downwards. “I don’t know, I have been asking myself for the past one year since your mum left, why I allowed myself to be used by the devil. I was under a demonic influence then because my eyes is clear now and I can’t seem to fathom why i did those horrible things to you. I want to die now because my life doesn’t mean anything to me anymore. I know I could have been the best man in your life as a father but failed you woefully. I can’t even look into your eyes because of the magnitude of shame I’m feeling for all the abominations I committed. Please find a place in your heart to forgive me even if you don’t say it out loud that you have forgiven. I just want you to live the best remaining years of your life happily and not in sadness or bitterness. I want you to be happy my child because you have been sad enough. Thank you for not letting what I did to you determine how you turned out in life. I’m so proud of you, have a great life” he soberly said with tears in his eyes.

Finally, Vera could now breathe properly after so many years of suffocating herself with anger. She was happy her dad said the things he said but still kept her distance from him. She checked his drip and made sure he was stable before finally bidding him ‘Goodbye’.

As Vera walked away from the hospital room, she could still hear her dad crying. It melted her heart when she heard him sob but knew for sure that they could never have any sort of relationship together forever. She knew he was sorry for all he did to her, but it was better they stayed apart with little or no contact as possible.

It was such a sober day for both Vera and her dad but at least she was glad they had that conversation. After work, Vera headed home without stopping by to check up on Mr Jones to inform him she was leaving; little did she know that it was going to be the last day she was going to ever see her dad alive.

Turns out that Mr Jones had a severe heart attack that night and couldn’t make it out alive. The doctors on duty that night tried their very best to save him but all efforts proved abortive. It was quite unfortunate that Mr Jones couldn’t make it out alive, but thankfully he made peace with his daughter before departing.

The sad news was communicated to Vera the following day when she passed the ward her dad was initially admitted in but couldn’t catch a glimpse of him. She inquired from her colleagues of her dad’s whereabouts and that was when they dropped the shocker on her.

At first, Vera didn’t know how to feel but gradually broke down within due to the sad news. Immediately afterwards, she called her mum and Dennis to informed them what had happened. Vera’s mum was slightly touched because that was her husband for many years. Everyone felt a little sad that day but moved on as time went by.

The burial arrangements were made by Mr Jones siblings and relatives. Vera and her mum were invited but only Vera showed up with Dennis because her mum refused to go. The funny thing was that no one from Mr Jones family knew the atrocities he committed but Vera mum’s family was aware. People at the funeral wondered why Vera’s mother didn’t show up, regardless of the fact that she and Jones were divorced but they never said it out loud or confronted Vera to ask.

Matter of fact, Vera came very late for the funeral and sat at the extreme end with Dennis. No tribute from her to her late dad. It was such a cold day and she felt numb all through. Two hours later, she took her leave after greeting some of her aunties.

Imagine all Mr Jones brought upon himself that his own daughter wasn’t too moved or broken after his death. What do you expect from a lady he never showed love to and was never a good father to? We all reap what we sow; so you can’t sow hate and reap love in return. Impossible!

After the burial, Vera started seeing life from a whole new perspective and stopped getting the hunting memory flashes she initially used to have. Life moved on eventually and everyone quickly adjusted and became used to the reality that Mr Jones was gone.

Days passed, same with weeks and months and Vera was on her way to clocking 26 years. She wasn’t a celebration type of person and usually liked low-key birthdays. Without her knowledge, Dennis planned a surprise birthday party for her and invited some of her colleagues she was close to.

The D-day finally came and Vera was in for multiple surprises. Before that day, Dennis pretended to get into a fight with her and they had a huge quarrel afterwards. Vera came to work angry on her birthday; which was the following day. Unknown to her, Dennis had taken permission to use her office for the surprise.

Everyone was already inside Vera’s office waiting for her to show up. There were two cakes and drinks for merriment but Dennis kept the biggest surprise of all to himself.

“Surprise! Happy Birthday!” Everyone shouted immediately Vera walked inside the office. She was indeed surprised and was so happy to see so many people she loved together in one place. “You, You!” Vera referred to Dennis blushing. He walked closer to her and planted a soft kiss on her lips and before she could get over the kiss, he knelt down and brought out a ring case from his pocket, opened it and said; “Vera will you do me the honour of being your husband? Will you marry me?”.

Oh my! At that moment, Vera died a thousand times and could hardly breathe. She covered her mouth with both hands because they were wide opened. It was such a moment she never believed will happen to her. Words will truly fail me to properly describe how Vera felt at that moment. With her whole heart, she screamed “Yes, Yes, Oh my God! Yes!”.

Dennis put the ring into her finger. He got up afterwards and planted a soft kiss on her lips and everyone congratulated them. Life was evidently going towards the right direction for Vera and one couldn’t be more happier for her; not after all she went through.

Thanks for reading this piece but before I finally drop my pen, let me chip in this.

Dear mothers and future to-be mothers, let’s try and be vigilant when it comes to both our male and female children to prevent saying ‘Had I known’ later. These kids are depending on you to protect and shield them from the dangers and corruption of this world, please don’t let them down.

People shouldn’t have access to your kids that easily, even if you live in a one bedroom apartment. Check your children’s private part every now and then when they are still little so as to detect any slight clue of molestation but while doing this, its better mummies check on their female children while daddies check on their male children to avoid negative thoughts. Teach them to speak up and make them comfortable to tell you anything.

Don’t let your kids live the rest of their lives without ever knowing what being a virgin feels like. Don’t let someone take away that precious moment from your kids by molesting and deflowering them at a young age before they could willingly give their body to that special someone they love when they eventually grow up.

Molestation is more real than anything you have seen today so take it very serious. Also, to the people that survived molestation, you all are heroes and are stronger than you ever know. Don’t let that past experience define who you truly are because it wasn’t your fault. Pick up the pieces of your life and turn it into something beautiful. It gets better as far as you remain positive. Bless you!

THE END???