Chapter 3

• Days passed by in the blink of an eye and soon, it's March 15.
• Two weeks had passed by but yet I haven't found a solution to the problem at hand yet.
• I was lying in bed early in the morning one day when suddenly my two younger brothers, Cyril and James barged into my room.
• Confused, I quickly sat up on the bed.
• " What's wrong? , Why did you barge into my room like that? "
• " Your room? , You must be kidding! , You have nothing here, have you forgotten about the fact that you are just a tool, a child bearing tool just like mom. " Cyril replied mockingly.
• " I guess she had completely forgotten that she owns nothing, just because she's getting married soon makes her think that she's important, Let me tell you Lisa, you aren't important, you are nothing! "
• Listening to this, I felt my eyes sting, tears were threatening to fall but no , I'll never let them see me cry, I can't become vulnerable in front of them.
• I wasn't that surprised to hear their harsh words as I guess that I have gotten used to it.
• They are right as It's a well known fact in my village that women and young girls had no voice.
• A woman's pride is her husband, Her husband is like a master while she's like a Slave to him.
• She derives Protection and ' Respect ' from him.
• No matter how he treats her, she has no choice but to just endure it in silence.
• I could remember the last time I saw my dad Beating my mom, it was an unpleasant sight, I couldn't believe that my dad could beat my mom up with his leather belt all because she didn't make food on time for him but that shouldn't be her fault as my mom was pregnant then with my youngest sister and it's pretty normal for pregnant women to be lazy and sluggish sometimes, but he didn't understand that.
• He flogged her mercilessly like a child, my mom screams and cries echoed through out the house but he didn't stop till she passed out after which he just kicked her to the side with his long legs.
• As I watched the scene, I felt my eyes wet with tears.
• I wish I could save my mom from all this torture but I couldn't, I had no voice as I am just a girl.
• Husbands beating their wives when they do something wrong is pretty normal in my village as they believe that the man is the head while the woman is the tail so he could practically do anything to her as long as he doesn't kill her.
• What surprised me most about the whole incident was that after my mom woke up after being unconscious for five hours, she immediately went to my father's room and went to ask for his forgiveness.
• He forgave her, I guess and despite her not feeling well, she still tried her best to please him, in bed and in other aspects.
• I never earned the love of my mom though I tried my best to but it didn't work out, she just hated my for no apparent reason.
• I once asked her why she hated me so much and as I always, I was ignored.
• " What are you thinking about, Bitch? " Cyril called out rudely bringing me back to life.
• " Oh.. "
• " Oh, what? "
• " What do you guys want? " I inquired going straight to the point.
• " You just started using your brains. " James mocked.
• I ignored him as I knew that arguing with him will be futile.
• " We are hungry, we need to have our breakfast now before we head out to play with our mates in the field. "
• " But it's just 6:30am in the morning. " I stated.
• " So? , We are hungry and that's it. "
• " But what does your hunger have to do with me? " I asked.
• " Stop acting dumb , Lisa! You are going to cook for us. "
• " What! I can't cook for you guys, why don't you wait for Mommy to arrive from her meeting? "
• As the day was a Saturday, my mom and all the women in the village had gone to the Square for a brief sermon on how to train their children properly especially the female ones.
• " We can't possibly wait for mom to arrive, we need to eat now! "
• " Why can't you cook for us, Lisa? , Have you forgotten about your place? , You don't have the right to choose, you'll do whatever we ask you to."
• Though they were very rude, I still had a soft spot for them, perhaps it's because they are my siblings and we've got the same blood running through our veins , I want to cook for them but I can't, my mom will kill me if I do! , It's part of our tradition that when a young woman has been engaged, she shouldn't be allowed to enter the kitchen till she gets married to avoid being burned or scarred.
• " I can't cook for you guys, Mom didn't ask me to and I can't go against her. " I replied Helplessly.
• " What! are you implying that we should starve? " The duo roared bewildered, it was as if they weren't expecting me to refuse them.
• " Think whatever you want, I don't care, leave me alone! " I stated annoyed.
• I was clearly annoyed by their words though I tried not to show it, I am not their mate, I am 6 years older than them for God's sake! Even though they can't respect me they shouldn't treat me like a slave alright?
• " You'll regret this. " Cyril vowed.
• " Whatever. " I mumbled.
• They finally left my room to which I was grateful for, I could finally sigh in relief but I guess it was too early to feel relieved as ten minutes later while I was trying to get back to sleep.
• I was awoken by a hot liquid Being poured on my body.
• The liquid was very hot that I practically felt my skin burning.
• I screamed in horror from the pain as it was very unbearable.
• From the Heat of the liquid, it was obvious that it was recently heated.
• Which means that while I was sleeping peacefully my two brothers were devising a revenge plan against me.
• " How dare you! " I screamed at Cyril who was now laughing at me.
• James on the other hand was looking at me with pity.
• " Oh, What did we do? , We only poured water on you to wake you up from your slumber, Lazy fool. " Cyril Ridiculed.
• My body was still burning from the pain, I had a hard time concentrating, Thankfully it wasn't hot oil or I wondered how I'll be like the next day, my body would have become Unrecognizable.
• " Am sorry. " I mumbled though I wasn't in the wrong but what can I do? I only have to appease them to avoid getting into more trouble.
• " Good, I guess you've got some sense,after all. "
• " We'll let you be for now but if by the time we are back from the field and our food isn't ready then you'll have to answer to us. " Cyril threatened and soon they both walked out of my room, taking the Aluminum Kettle along with them.
• With a ' Bang ' my room door was closed.
• I was alone again as always.
• Though I could still feel the pain, I had a lot on my mind to worry about apart from it.
• I wonder what I was going to do?
• I hope my skin doesn't get scarred or I can't possibly imagine what will happen to me.
• Luckily for me, My mom arrived two hours later from the meeting and so she prepared food for the family.
• The next day, I woke up and was a little relived to know that my skin didn't scar, though it turned reddish but it's alright, it's better than getting scarred...