N.B: This is a HALF-fiction!!
“On issues of life today, we will be talking about a very unusual but real life experience of a mother & her 13year old daughter. Actually, my guest has just stepped into the studio & will be sharing this sad sad story with us. Good evening Dr. Gloria Tito…”
Mariam always loved listening to Inspiration FM especially this particular programme. Every evening she would stretch out on her water-bed with her Nokia E72 by her side & its headphones in her ears. She was addicted to radio & would’ve prefered to switch on her Sony SuperWoofer. Yet she dared not disturb her daddy who was probably watching Aljazeera News in his room or listening to jamz on his favourite Voice Of America. Her daddy. Mariam quickly erased him from her mind.
“There were seven deaths just last week from different cases of sexual abuse on children across Nigeria. In this particular case, a man raped his 5year old daughter to death. He had finished with his 13year old girl as usual & decided to try her younger sister too. When she bleed to death, he threatened his older daughter & told her the lie to tell her mother. He even blamed his wife indirectly by saying that she chose her career over their children. It was about a week later that their 13year old daughter began complaining of serious itching in her private part & told her everything that had happened. At first her mother did not believe it. Until a test proved that the itching was indeed gonorrhoea. She ran mad with rage that day. She eventually reported to our Child Protection Agency & we got him arrested”
Tears were flowing down Mariam’s face now. Why was the world so wicked? She could feel the pain of the 13year old girl. She was an only child & she’d always wished she had a little brother or sister. Now, she was somehow relieved that she didn’t. Or how would she protect them from daddy? How would she bear watching daddy do the same to them?
“But it does not end there.” Dr. Tito continued. “This man is highly connected & contacted somebody in government who apparently ordered the police to release him. He is a free man as we speak, still denying everything & his wife is shattered. Her inlaws are begging her to consider the family name. She does not know what to do.” The host, Chris, sighed & said, “Okay, the phone lines are open. Call us on… What are your reactions? What should this woman do now? Are you a victim? Please tell us your own story. Are you a father or mother sleeping with your child? We are believing God for confessions this evening. You can also send your texts to…”
Mariam was still listening in sorrowful silence. Her own dad had been fucking her since she was nine. Her mom, her dear mom had died of cancer last two months. Sometimes she wished she was an orphan. At least, there would be no daddy to cause her pain. Pain was what she felt each time her daddy slipped his big cock into her. Cock! She learnt the word from the pornographic films he forced her to watch with him from time to time. “That man is a beast. What kind of father is that?”
She heard a caller sobbing. “He should be killed! And the poor innocent girl is dead… Oh my God!” Mariam wished she could die too. She only got confused when another caller was shouting in anger at Chris. “You people should tell us his name! Have they not passed the Freedom Of Information bill? Let these animals be named & shamed for Christ’s sake!!” Freedom of… What did that mean? Mariam kept thinking as Inspiration FM played “The Storm is Over” She loved this song. But wasn’t R.Kelly once accused of doing a sextape with an underage girl? She smiled at the irony.
“Chris, I know many Lagosians are angry. Saying crucify him, that he used his daughter for rituals, that it might be a spiritual or generational curse & all that.” Dr. Tito paused. “But let us look at this from another angle. This man & others like him need help. They may have a medical or psychological problem. I mean, they could be suffering from paedophilia. We come on programmes like this not only to help victims but also to encourage men like this to seek help on time. There is hope for them.”
Does daddy need help? Didn’t he always tell her that fucking her was a normal way of expressing his fatherly love for her? And yet he’d warn her never to tell anyone about it. Mariam wondered as she sneaked out her room. She couldn’t risk being heard. So she tiptoed down the passage to the toilet. Then she switched off her phone’s radio &…
“H-h-hello…” a frightened voice breaks into Inspiration FM. “Hello” Chris answers as gently as he could while Dr. Tito tilts her head towards the speakerphone. The studio is quiet now. “H-hello, I am 12years old…” the female voice is almost a whisper, sacred to speak out. You could feel her fear through the airwaves. “My d-d-daddy…” The very next second she screams “Aaar daddy!!!” Tu…tu…tu… The phone went dead.
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Hehehehehe…Nice attempt with the Fear Factor…I’ll be back.
wow!!! such a pity our society urges us to hush hush about the issue
http://raspeberry.blogspot.com/
@king, ….hmmmmm….this is actually very sad what we do to our self with our hands,…i really was bothered by this piece…i hate things like this but what can we do but make sure we dont also do them…
i even wrote something about what we do with our hands…God help us
http://wordsrhymesandrhythm.blogspot.com/2011/01/this-our-hands-ten-fingers.html
Hmm… I’m not sure why, but I didn’t come away feeling that Mariam had been emotionally traumatised by her father’s abuse. Maybe it was because she was able to listen to a radio program on child abuse - I actually think that she would likely not want to do this if she had been emotionally affected, because it would be too ‘raw’ to listen to.
Also, I was a bit thrown by the narrative switch at the end.
Nevertheless, it’s good to see you tackle a subject that isn’t often addressed.
very nice piece sir,i listened to the same programe,i think last week monday or so, and was surprised when they said that the man had been released,i wondered what the society has turned into,covering up what’s absolutely wrong because he knows people…
Well written.
Posh, yes, it was on Monday o! You don’t know how relieved I am to know that someone else listened-in. Did you hear when that 12year old called, then screamed before dropping? I felt goosebumps on my skin. I almost felt like crying for her. It was such an anti-climax for her call to end like that. I hope I told the story well for at least her sake & other girls like her. *shaking head* I pray she wasn’t harmed. I pray her father changes his ways.
yeah, i heard when she called, she was like speaking in whispers,then screamed and ended the call. what a pity that they cannot call her back.(well, i think they gave out numbers she can use to contact them later).
thanks for sharing, it was well told.
This story depicts what is really going on in our society today. I never cease to wonder what these man-beasts stands to gain by destroying innocent lives just at their prime. Nice story, thanks for sharing.
I think you should and could have treated the whole topic with a little more sensitivity. In some areas, the narrative almost appeared pornographic and ‘celebratory’, detracting from empathising with the despair Mariam was going through. For example, a victim of incest and rape would never use words like ‘fuck’ or ‘cock’, because the experience is not a ‘sexual’ one, but an emotionally traumatic one.
Didn’t do it for me.
Thank you for your keen observations, dear Diasporan. I feel sad that I haven’t done the 12year old justice. *frowning* Yet, which is more pathetic? A victim who knows she is a victim or one who does not even realise she is being abused? I think a few of these paedophile fathers actually succeed in killing their daughters’ emotions. What a wicked world! Maybe I didn’t show enough sensitivity but at least I don try na. *winks*
Raymond, I wish I understood your laughter. Do you find such a theme funny? Perhaps you find the horror-movie touch in the last paragraph amusing. But what if I told you that that is the truest part of this story? What if I told you that that live horror inspired me to craft & share the story in the first place?
How sad….
Come on! king kObOkO, couldn’t it have been one of those stories that end happily ever after? I hate pedophiles and rapists. For us that have the “license to sex”, it doesn’t always come easy not to talk of an innocent child whose physical, mental and emotional self isn’t ripe yet. It sure goes to show that we are in the end of days when wickedness has become a common thing. What exactly is it with men that makes them go crazy about the female anatomy? Na wa o!
Ada, K0b0k0 is right not to give the story a ‘happy ending’ because these type of stories NEVER end happily. He is not writing for you or I, or even himself, but for Miriam and thousands of little girls like her that know no joy and some never will. As for what makes men ‘go crazy’…well, lets just say men are designed with a predatory sexual instinct, but we also are supposed to have adequate control over that instinct. Unfortunately, some are unable and some even unwilling to exercise that control.
If you hate rapists, then you might like this story which tells of a different outcome…
(It’s not exactly for the faint of heart, though.)
@Tola Odejayi, your MISADVENTURE BY NIGHT is a classic. You are an awesome writer. *winks*
JUST SO SAD WHAT WE DO TO OURSELVES…IT REALLY SADDENS ME…THANK KOBOKO MAN FOR SHARING
I FEEL LIKE THROWING UP . . . . . . . .
Very touching. I got carried away King. But constructions like “when she bleed to death…..,” (paragraph 3); “….her own mom had died last two months”, (paragraph 6); “the female voice is almost a whisper”, and “……the very next second she screams” (last paragraph) are all faulty. And u hav been judging other pples’ write ups. So ironic and unfortunate. Pls believe more in yourself so you wont have to trail others (by looking for their mistakes). Thanks
Senimycin, ah ah! Nobody’s perfect na! *winks mischievously* Thank you so much for your critique. I’m so glad that the theme touched you shaa. You may think I’ve been judgemental on other writers’ works but I guess that’s the unavoidable tag given many literary critics. Besides, the real reason why I come Naijastories na to improve my skills in short stories, fiction & flash o! Because to tell you truth, poetry na my first love! Google my name & confirm. *winks* Hopefully, I’ll be much better at this in the near-future. Thanks once again dear. And please I need your review on THE NEO-JUJU too. Pleeease… Thanks *winks* http://www.naijastories.com/2011/03/the-neo-juju-4
Ngozi darling, it’s so irritating, right? A father having sex with his own premature &innocent daughter. As Lucky Dube would sing, we’re living in a crazy world. Thank God mothers are not as sexually-demented as their husbands. Or has anyone ever heard of a mom abusing her son?
@ bros koboko u too much.i am still learning the craft of being a good critique until then well done with this one.i look forward to reading your works.may God grant u open windows to inspirational write ups.in Jesus name,Amen
Amen Sambright. Amen! Thank you so much!
So so sad. It’s also surprises me you guys are actually talking about a real life story here. I hope both parties find help soon.
@Naijastorites, PLEASE MUMMY, PLEEEASE… is coming soon o! *winks*
@Jaywriter, it is just too sad bro. *shaking head* And this story is 72% true. We never heard from the 12year old caller again after her scream. I decided to name her Miriam (a hopefully detribalised & common name.) Miriam could be any sexually-abused little girl; our neighbour, a niece or even a sister. God help us!