I Should Have Spoken Up (Part 3)

Suddenly there was a knock on the door and it was her cousin, Aunty Mary’s first daughter. She needed to ask her dad a question and found the door locked so she knocked. Bose gathered all that was left of her dignity and ran out of the door. Her cousin asked why she was crying and Uncle BJ said she was being punished for misbehaving.

Bose stayed awake all night, gazing at the ceiling…wiping tears from her eyes. Different thoughts ran through her mind…she thought of running away but didn’t know where to go. She feared for her little sister Bola and the thought of Uncle BJ doing this same thing to her. She thought of telling her aunt but would she believe her? After all, Uncle BJ already told her that whatever happened, she was going to be the one to lose. Every little sound made her heart skip a beat.

After that day, she did her best to avoid Uncle BJ; she would make sure there was somebody else with her when she needed to go do something in his room. Uncle BJ noticed and told her to keep it up but she should know that it was either his way or the highway.

A boy in the neighborhood had a thing for Bose and was always disturbing her. They attended the same school but the boy was in SS3 (Senior Secondary 3 – High School Senior) while Bose was in SS2. The boy had given a letter to Daniel to pass on to Bose but the letter ended up in Uncle BJ’s hands…O the horror.
One would think Uncle BJ was the custodian of morality…he yelled, screamed and threatened to kill the boy that sent the letter if he ever set his eyes on him. Bose was punished severely that even Aunt Mary had to tell Uncle BJ to take it easy on her. His response was that Bose was becoming promiscuous and it would not happen under his roof.

The next time Aunty Mary traveled, Uncle BJ became more desperate…he would call Bose over while completely naked on the bed. The first time it happened, Bose rushed out of the room and refused to go back in…she was shocked beyond words. One of the other kids asked what happened, she dared not say it.

Five days later, Uncle BJ had his way…he said Bose couldn’t go to school because she needed to run some errands so the other kids left for school and it was just the two of them at home. Bose pleaded, begged, cried, fought, cursed, threatened to kill herself and even bit her uncle on the chest but there was little she could do as she was overpowered and subdued.

After the deed was done, she scampered to the bathroom and sat there for hours…she sobbed profusely till she had no tears left…she was badly bruised and bleeding. She cringed at every thought of what had happened. She scrubbed her body with the sponge as if she wanted to peel off her own skin. She was trying to wash off the guilt, the dishonor, the shame and the violation. Even Uncle BJ did not expect that kind of reaction; he remained in his room...

© 2015 Lanre Olagbaju All Rights Reserved

PART 2                                                                                          PART 4

Picture credit (c) madamenoire.com

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental