As the night started giving way to dawn, Osaro's only wish was that the day never broke.
She remained awake for a while, staring into the darkness and listening to the quietness that surrounded the compound. The night had been long, but somehow, it still did not feel long enough for her. She wished she could remain in the darkness where nobody could see her, where nobody would ask anything from her, and where she would not have to face the man who was now her husband.
Osaro was still trying to understand everything that had happened to her. She had been brought into this house against her will, and every moment since then had made her realize that her life had changed completely.
She remembered her father's face.
She remembered how easily he had given her away.
She remembered how he had acted as though her opinion did not matter.
Now she wondered what the new day would bring.
Finally, just as the saying goes, one can't cheat nature. The day had broken, and Osaro was not sure what was coming her way or what her ordeal was going to be.
The first rays of sunlight slowly found their way into the room. Osaro sat up on the bed and said a quiet morning prayer. She asked for strength because she knew she needed it. She did not know what she would face that day, but she knew she had to keep going.
After concluding her morning prayer, Osaro quickly rushed out to the kitchen to make breakfast for her husband.
She was determined not to give Mr. Okhizu another reason to become angry with her. The previous day had taught her that even something as simple as breakfast could become a reason for punishment.
As she entered the kitchen, she noticed someone standing there.
"Ohh, you're here," said Amina, who had heard a lot about Osaro from Mama Adanna.
Osaro turned toward her.
"Yes, I'm here. And you are?" Osaro asked as she took a plate from the basket used for plate storage.
"I'm Amina, the third wife of our husband. You probably did not know me because our husband has refused to give us proper introductions. I live in the other compound, and I just moved here as our husband requested. I have heard a lot about you, and I really feel sorry for you because you're a very young girl."
Osaro looked at her quietly.
There was something about Amina's words that caught her attention. She was not simply speaking out of curiosity. There was pity in her voice, almost as though she already understood what Osaro was going through.
"No need to feel sorry," Osaro said as she flashed back to the time she was sent forth.
The memory of leaving her father's house still hurt.
She remembered the uncertainty she had felt that day and how she had wondered what her future would look like.
"I was naive and young too when I was brought here," Amina said as she explained her own ordeals.
Osaro stopped what she was doing and listened.
"I was the last girl child in our family of five, which includes my father, mother, and sisters.
"My father saw us as not good enough to be called children and decided to seek advice from a seer, who told him to get us all married to older men.
"Disappointingly, he did, which marked the beginning of pains for me. Luckily enough, one of my sisters got married to a very nice man, which makes me wonder why my father did not just go for a husband like hers for us."
Amina paused.
There was sadness in her voice as she remembered her family.
She had probably asked herself the same questions many times before. Why did her father have to make such a decision? Why could he not have allowed his daughters to grow up and choose their own futures?
"I was married to our husband at age sixteen, and for these four years, nothing has made me rethink my father's decision as a good one."
Osaro looked at Amina with surprise.
Sixteen.
The same age she had been when she was given away.
For the first time, Osaro realized that she and Amina had something painful in common.
"After getting married to Mr. Okhizu, our husband, I cried my eyes out, and funny enough, he didn't notice my tears. Rather, he made me lie on the bed that night and had intercourse with me until almost the time the cock crowed.
"After that night, I could not forget the pain, and not long after, I took in. I became pregnant, and I was happy because I thought that was going to be the end of the sexual harassment from my husband."
Amina's voice became softer.
She had hoped that becoming pregnant would change things.
She had hoped that carrying his child would make him treat her differently.
"However, his thoughts were different from mine."
Amina shook her head.
"Okhizu," Amina said without minding her words, "that man made my life as his pregnant wife a living hell.
"He would call me into his chambers and make me lie with him even with my pregnancy, and he would end up beating me if I refused, even for a day. This continued until the seventh month of my pregnancy."
Osaro's heart sank.
"Oh my God," Osaro said, feeling so sympathetic towards the weeping Amina.
Amina quickly wiped her tears.
"No, no need for the pitiful words, dear," Amina said with tears in her eyes as she continued her ordeal.
She did not want Osaro to look at her only with pity. She wanted her to understand that what she was saying was not simply an old story. It was something she had lived through.
"Just like you, I thought that week was the end of Mr. Okhizu's sexual harassment, not until one night, I heard him yelling at Mama Adanna, saying that there is always joy when he lay with me.
"He sent Mama Adanna out that night and asked for me, despite it not being my turn to warm his bed."
Osaro listened carefully.
She could not believe that Mama Adanna had been part of Amina's experience too.
"Mama Adanna came to my room with tears in her eyes as she uttered my name."
Amina paused again.
"I knew what she wanted to tell me even before she said anything. I was reluctant, but I had to go."
Osaro remained silent as Amina continued.
"Getting there, I saw our husband with a liquid which he gulped and handed the remaining to me.
"'Drink up,' he said as he removed his trousers and waited for me.
"I summoned courage that night, refusing to drink any substance for my baby's well-being, but he didn't care even with my explanation. He made me drink the liquid and roughly had his way with me."
Amina's eyes filled with tears again.
She quickly wiped them away.
"After hours of the assault, I wondered how an old man like Mr. Okhizu could have the strength of a hundred men."
Osaro lowered her eyes.
She understood the fear in Amina's voice because she had experienced the same man herself.
"He later ordered me to remain in his chambers till the next morning, but nature had its plans.
"I noticed blood on my thighs as I was trying to arrange myself that night, and I immediately notified him."
Amina's voice trembled.
"But his reaction made me realize that Mr. Okhizu only married for pleasure, not for love, and definitely not for children.
"He left me without saying a word, and I had to use my last strength to make my way out of the room."
Osaro's expression changed.
She could not understand how someone could see another person in pain and simply walk away.
"I later woke up in one of the midwife's compounds with Mama Adanna and Mama Osaze staring at me like an outcast."
Osaro listened with concern.
She could imagine the confusion Amina must have felt when she woke up in an unfamiliar place.
"Where is my baby?" I said with the first strength I regained.
"Your baby is still in your womb, safe and sound," said one of the midwives, who had already prepared some concoction for me to take.
Amina paused and looked at Osaro.
"For a moment, I didn't know whether to believe them. I was frightened, confused, and weak. All I could think about was my baby."
"But why did you not notice the presence of your baby?" Osaro asked naively.
"The midwife said it was because of what had transpired, and I believed her," said Amina as she wiped her tears and continued.
She looked at Osaro for a long moment.
"I don't know if you understand why I'm telling you all this."
Osaro remained silent.
"I am telling you because I do not want you to believe that you are alone. What happened to you is not your fault. What happened to me was not my fault either."
Osaro's eyes became watery.
Amina reached for her hand.
"I just want you to be brave and courageous enough to stand up to him and for us because this was just a fragment of my ordeal."
Osaro held her hand tightly.
For the first time since entering the compound, she felt that someone understood her.
Amina's story had not made her feel completely safe, but it had shown her something important.
There were other women in the house who had suffered before her.
There were women who understood what it meant to live under Mr. Okhizu's control.
And perhaps, if they were willing to stand together, they would one day find a way to change their lives.