Despite being a very peaceful and quiet morning, Osaro could still feel the pain, remembering the sexual torture and her father's hatred.
The morning was unusually calm. The compound was quiet, and the coolness of the early hours made everything seem peaceful. But inside Osaro, there was no peace. Her mind kept returning to everything that had happened to her. She could still remember her father's decision to give her away and the way he had treated her as though her feelings did not matter.
She wondered how a father could willingly give his daughter to a man she barely knew. She wondered if he had ever thought about what her life would become after leaving his house.
"Amen," Osaro said as she decided to lie down and nurse her pains.
She carefully lowered herself onto the bed, trying to find a position that would make her feel a little more comfortable. Her body was hurting, but the pain in her heart seemed even worse.
She closed her eyes and tried to push the memories away.
For a while, she lay there quietly, listening to the sounds around the compound. The distant movements of people, the occasional sound of utensils, and the soft morning breeze gradually made her drowsy.
Dozing off from the hurt, she was later awakened by Mama Adanna's screams.
"What is happening now?" Osaro said as she quickly got up and ran in the direction of the sound.
She did not know what had happened, but the desperation in Mama Adanna's voice frightened her. Osaro hurried through the compound until she eventually ended up in the kitchen, where she saw Mama Adanna with Oge.
"Mama Adanna, is anything the matter?" Osaro asked as she bent down to pick up the wooden spatula from the kitchen floor.
She noticed that Mama Adanna looked different. Her eyes were filled with tears, and she appeared shaken.
Osaro was shocked to see some fresh marks on Mama Adanna's legs just as she was about to stand up.
"Mama Adanna, who did this to you?" Osaro asked after noticing that the marks were from harsh beating or hitting.
Mama Adanna could not answer her. She simply remained there in tears, trying to gather herself.
Osaro stared at her for a moment, not knowing what to say.
She had only just arrived in this house, yet she was already beginning to understand that something was deeply wrong within the family.
At this time, it had already dawned on Osaro that not only had her dad forced her into an early marriage with an older man, but her dad had just given her out to a woman-beater.
The realization frightened her.
She had thought that perhaps her new home would eventually become a place where she could find some form of peace. But seeing Mama Adanna's condition made her begin to question whether she had simply moved from one painful situation into another.
All Osaro could do was sympathize with Mama Adanna and assure her that all would be well someday.
"I thought Papa Adanna loved this woman. Why treat her like that? What did she even do? What warrants the beating? Is he eventually going to beat me too? Am I really doomed?"
The questions continued running through Osaro's mind.
She looked at Mama Adanna and wondered how long she had been suffering in silence. She wondered how many times the woman had cried like this and how many times she had been forced to hide her pain from everyone.
Osaro was still lost in thoughts when Oge disturbed her with a touch.
"Ohh, Oge, is there anything Mama Adanna wants? Is she okay? Have the pains subsided?" she asked.
"Mama Adanna is fine, but my brother, your husband, wants to see you, and he said immediately," Oge said as she went back to Mama Adanna.
Osaro became quiet.
Her heart suddenly began beating faster.
Mr. Okhizu wanted to see her.
She did not know why he wanted to see her, but after everything she had already experienced, she could not help but feel afraid.
From the look on Oge's face, one could say that she was against her brother's constant abuse of his wife, Mama Adanna.
Oge did not say much, but her expression was enough for Osaro to understand that she was not comfortable with what was happening in the house.
"I hope I'm safe," said Osaro as she summoned courage and went to see her husband.
She walked slowly toward her husband's room, trying to calm herself down.
"Good morning, my husband," she said as she waited patiently for Mr. Okhizu's response.
"Do I need to remind you that you're supposed to have served me breakfast?" he said harshly.
Osaro immediately lowered her head.
"Sorry, my husband, but…"
Before Osaro could complete this statement, she received a very resounding slap from Mr. Okhizu.
The slap shocked her.
She stood there in silence, trying to understand what she had done wrong.
Mr. Okhizu later told her that since she had delayed his breakfast, she would use her body to replace the breakfast.
Osaro at first could not process these words as they were still very new to her.
She looked at him with confusion and fear.
"How do you mean, my husband?" Osaro asked naively.
"Ask me again," Mr. Okhizu said as he gulped some liquid into his mouth.
Osaro remained silent.
"Get on the bed," he said, not minding the sudden tears streaming down Osaro's cheeks.
"You young girls do not listen until you're taught a lesson," he said as he pounced on Osaro.
Osaro was terrified. She knew she had no power to stop him, and the fear she had been carrying since entering the house became even stronger.
"I'm sorry, my husband. I won't miss or delay your breakfast again," Osaro said as she continued weeping.
She pleaded with him, hoping that her words would somehow make him stop.
But her pleas did not change anything.
One could not tell if the tears were because of the painful and forceful assault or from the fact that she felt betrayed and hated by her father.
The pain reminded her of how helpless she had become.
Mr. Okhizu was still having his way with Osaro when there was a knock on his bedroom door.
"Brother, you have visitors," Oge said as she immediately left because even she couldn't stand the painful screams coming from the room of her shameless older brother.
Her voice interrupted what was happening inside the room.
Mr. Okhizu later stepped out to meet his visitors, leaving Osaro in pain and agony.
For a few moments, Osaro remained where she was, trying to regain her strength.
She could barely think.
Her mind was filled with questions.
"What did I do in life for me to deserve this?"
The question escaped her lips as tears rolled down her cheeks.
"I know fully well that my childhood friend, Omege, must be very happy with her parents right now, and here I am with not just an old man as a husband, but an abusive one."
The thought of Omege made her heart ache even more.
She imagined her childhood friend waking up in the comfort of her parents' home, surrounded by people who loved and cared for her.
Then she looked at her own life.
She was now living with a man she feared, in a house where she had already witnessed another woman being abused.
After regaining her strength, Osaro decided to get dressed and go to her own room to clean up, even when she could not carry herself due to the pains in her private parts.
She moved slowly.
Every step reminded her of what she had just endured.
She wanted nothing more than to reach the safety of her own room and be alone for a while.
She later managed to get to the door of her room and sadly collapsed as she was about to get into her room.
Luckily, this was seen by Oge on time.
"Oge!" Mama Adanna called out as Oge rushed towards Osaro.
Oge quickly supported Osaro and called out to Mama Adanna, who had regained herself after a few minutes of bed rest.
"Help me get her inside," Mama Adanna said.
Together, they carefully took Osaro into her room.
Osaro was taken to her room as Mama Adanna examined her.
"Ohh my God, she is very bruised," she said as she requested Oge to get some warm water.
Oge quickly went to get the water.
Mama Adanna looked at Osaro with pity. She knew that the young girl was going through something she should never have had to experience.
She pressed a piece of clean cloth on Osaro's private area and left it there for a while before applying an ointment, which I believe she bought for herself.
Mama Adanna tried to make Osaro as comfortable as possible.
Osaro's eyes remained closed, and her breathing was uneven.
"Please don't hurt me, my husband. I will be a good girl," Osaro said with fear in her eyes the moment she regained consciousness.
"He is not here, dear," said Mama Adanna to Osaro, mostly out of pity.
Osaro opened her eyes slowly.
For a moment, she looked frightened, as though she expected Mr. Okhizu to appear in the room.
When she realized that it was Mama Adanna beside her, she relaxed slightly.
"He took the bottled blue liquid, and he was like a beast afterwards," said Osaro to Mama Adanna.
One could tell that she was demanding an explanation to know what the substance was.
Mama Adanna became quiet for a moment.
"The blue liquid?" Mama Adanna asked rhetorically.
"Yes, the blue liquid, and he almost completely emptied the bottle."
Mama Adanna looked at Osaro.
There was something in her expression that made Osaro feel that the woman already knew exactly what she was talking about.
"Sorry, my dear. I blamed your father just as I blamed mine," Mama Adanna said as she explained what the blue liquid was for to Osaro with whispers.
Osaro listened carefully.
Her eyes widened as she tried to understand what Mama Adanna was telling her.
"What do you mean? Did your father force you into the marriage too?"
Mama Adanna looked away.
Osaro noticed the change in her expression.
"And by the way, where is our husband's first wife?"
Mama Adanna remained silent for a few seconds.
"This is a story for another gathering," Mama Adanna said as she told Osaro to rest before lunchtime.
Osaro slowly closed her eyes again.
But this time, her thoughts were different.
She had come into the house believing that she was the only one carrying a painful story.
Now she was beginning to realize that Mama Adanna had a story of her own.
And perhaps, someday, she would finally hear it.