The child bride

She came home running eager to tell her mother that she had worn the pop quiz that mean, old Mr.Teacher had given to the class that day. She knew her father would finally look at her with pride. She had never really understood why he never glanced at her and was always angry when she tried to talk to him. It was almost as if he hated her, but he couldn’t, he was her darling father, wasn’t he? As the breeze gently swept past her, she picked out the faint scent of flowers. Stopping to catch her breath, she decided to take a deeper breath of that yummy scent that filled the air. As the breeze kept wafting nature’s goodness, it brought with it some faint sounds. They were neither screams nor laughter and they came from the same direction that she was headed to. Curious, she took off, sprinting even faster than before because she dared not miss what was happening. When she shot through the small bush in front of her house, she saw a crowd of strangers in front of her home. When they saw her, they started clapping and singing and out of the crowd came her mother smiling at her so tenderly. She was surprised that they had already heard about the pop quiz and she never expected them to be this excited! As her mother came closer, she noticed something. It glistened against the hot, desert sun for barely a second, but she caught it. A small tear. Suddenly, she became aware of what was happening but before she could gather the strength to push down the feelings of betrayal and run off to freedom, someone had already violently grabbed her hand and she was dragged to a corner where she was powdered with smelly things that made her caugh while another tagged at her hair not caring for the bony woman who was hurriedly dressing her up in some fancy dress. If it were another day, she would have been excited to wear such an expensive dress, but not today. She saw her mother’s shadow and just as she reached out for it, she felt a hot slap meet her face and heard some faint words, something about not crying and smiling because it was her lucky day. As she walked down the path leading to an unknown place, while her hands were squeezed between the sweaty palms of a stranger that was promising a better life, she dared not turn back to look at the only life she had known. She dared not turn back to face the betrayal and denial that was standing there in the form of her parents but instead, she silently whispered for death to come and slowly take her in the night. She slowly said goodbye to her life as she walked into the world of a child bride.

(Image: Pixabay)