Forgetting Dad
Written by Sonia Okehie
Episode 4
Have you ever found it extremely difficult to reveal something that’s evidently eating you up? Have you ever wanted to say something so bad but couldn’t summon the courage to do so? You haven’t known true torture until you find yourself in a mentally diminishing situation that you could walk away from but can’t because you have been made a slave to that thing. The issue with Vera’s case was that she had been abused to the extent that she was already used to it and felt like life could never get better than her present reality but guess what? She was in for a big surprise because there’s life more fulfilling than what she was used to and hopefully, Dennis was her ticket to liberation.
Finally, it came down to the moment of truth that no one had ever instigated since Vera’s existence. It had come down to the point where everything Vera was going through in the hands of her abusive father could rather be over or continue. One thing was certain that day and it was the fact that Dennis was bound on finding out why she was broken and devastated and wasn’t going to back down without a good fight.
Immediately Vera realised that she had spilled too much already, she came back to her senses and wanted to cover up the whole truth but it was already too late because Dennis wasn’t a kid to be fooled that easily. “I asked you a question, what did your dad do? Talk to me please. Did he cut your funds or what?” He curiously asked but she remained mute. “I’m talking to you Vera, just look at how worn out you are and I can clearly tell that you have been crying alot. What’s going on? I drove a long distance to get here and I deserve to know what’s making you this unhappy” he continued.
After a little while of being mute, Vera finally spoke up. “There’s nothing wrong, I’m just having a bad day” she lied. One look at her and Dennis could tell that there was more to what she was saying. He wasn’t satisfied so he probed further; “I studied psychology in school and can clearly tell when a person is lying or not. Please just tell me what’s going on, I promise to be a great listener and maybe help out in anyway I can” he confidently said.
Deep down in Vera’s heart, she wanted to come clean with the truth but was just afraid that Dennis would judge her or worst still, run away entirely from her. Like which lady will want to tell a man she was attracted to that her dad had been sexually molesting her since she was 5 years old? It wasn’t an easy task for her at all and considering the fact that she just slept with her dad not long ago even made the whole truth-telling more complicated and hard for her. Vera knew that she had been trapped and caged for a long time with no one to save her; so ruining her only chance at saving herself from the big mess she was into wasn’t a really good idea, but who could blame her for wanting to hide the truth.
After all efforts to get Vera to talk became fruitless, Dennis gave up and tried to change the topic to something else. They talked about random things and he helped her with some hard questions in preparation for her upcoming test in school. They avoided eye contacts as much as possible to reduce the awkwardness in the room that day. Deep down, Dennis sensed that something was seriously wrong somewhere but tried to act matured and not press further into Vera’s personal business.
Night drew nearer and it was time for Dennis to take his leave. Vera sadly bid him ‘Goodbye’ and tried so hard not to cry as he walked away from her. Every step he took made him feel strongly that Vera wasn’t ok and really needed help. “Why do I feel strange? Why is my guts telling me that this lady needs me more than I know?” He wondered as he descended the staircase.
While Dennis was battling with his conscience on what to do, Vera had burst into tears back at her apartment and suddenly became suicidal. She cried bitterly and crawled into her kitchen to pick a knife; which she was about to use to injure herself or worst still, kill herself.
With every step Dennis took towards his car, his guts told him to go back and check up on Vera. He battled with his conscience and ignored it till he opened his car but the guilt only worsened and the voice that spoke to him within became even louder. Unable to fight back any longer, he boldly shut his car door and went back upstairs. Immediately Dennis got to Vera’s door, he could clearly hear her crying inside. That confirmed his fears and doubts that something was truly wrong with her.
“Vera open this door, it’s me again!” Dennis loudly said as he banged the door. Vera was a bit surprised that he was at the door and broke down in tears the more. “Go away, I want to be alone” she said, “There’s nothing eating you up that we can’t resolve together, please just open the door” he pleaded but she flared up. “You all are just the same, leave me alone. I never want to have anything to do with all of you, go away!” Vera cried. It was there and then that Dennis started getting little clues on what the problem could be. He used all the special skills he knew to talk her into opening the door. Vera knew he wasn’t going to leave until she opened the door so there was no need prolonging the matter. After a little while of going back and forth, the door was finally opened.
Immediately Vera opened the door, the first thing Dennis did was to rush and give her a hug. He held her tightly as she burst into tears. The way she cried broke his heart that he didn’t even know when few tears fell off his own eyes. Vera knew that the moment of truth had truly come and there was no running again.
After the little display of affection, they sat down and the most dreaded conversation began. This time around, Dennis was ready to crack the truth out of her. “Are you ready to talk now?” He asked and Vera nodded ‘Yes’, then the truth reveal followed afterwards. Vera came clean and told Dennis everything that ever transpired between her dad and herself from when she was little till that very moment. Each chapter she disclosed gave her the courage she needed for the next to be revealed.
As Vera spoke, Dennis tried his possible best to curtail the magnitude of shock he was feeling within. Not in a thousand years would he had thought Vera was going through all she was narrating. Even though she tried to withhold some information and reveal only the ones she felt a bit comfortable revealing, it still didn’t change the fact that Mr Jones was a monster who had been molesting his daughter since she was 5 years old.
Before Vera finished her truth reveal, Dennis was already raging with anger and wished Mr Jones was there so he could give him the beatings of his life. “What! Holy Cow! Are you kidding me? This is messed up on so many levels, how could he do a thing like this to you? My God!” He angrily said.
On seeing that Dennis was extremely shocked and seriously angry, Vera covered her face in shame and started crying. While she cried, he cooled down and quietly stared at her. His heart was beyond broken as he watched her sob gently. The most annoying thing to Dennis was the negligence of Vera’s mum and it baffled him to know that he was the first and only person that knew about the abuse that had been going on almost all her life. Dennis didn’t even know where to start comforting Vera from so he just held her tightly and placed her head on his chest.
The atmosphere was filled with so much emotional outbursts and after a while of crying, Vera spoke. “I know you will walk away and never come back after today, so before you do so, let me enjoy this peace and safety I feel when I’m with you for the very last time” she soberly said. When she was done talking, Dennis held her head and looked into her eyes; “If I didn’t care about you, I would never had come back the second time. This whole thing is a lot for me to digest, I know! But all I can actually think of now is You. I can’t help but wonder how miserable your life might have been all these years. I’m honestly so sorry for all you had to go through in the hands of the one man that’s supposed to protect and love you more than any other person. I know you might feel your world is over but I’m here to tell you that this isn’t the end of the world for you because you can rewrite your future and make it what you want it to be. I know it’s going to be very hard for you to go through this recreation process but I promise to go through this with you. First things first, I have to run a thorough check-up on you to make sure you are alright. Also, you have to stay away from your family for now because they are toxic and will only drag you back in your healing process. I suspect your dad might cut your funds again if he notices that you have cut all communication and ties with him. Well, this time we are prepared because I have your back and will take care of any needs he refuses to take care of. Everything will get better but I just need you to trust me by letting me help you” He gently said.
Those words from Dennis were the most uplifting thing anyone had ever said to Vera. She was transformed and felt a huge burden lift from her shoulders. It was such a good day she never thought will come in her life and somehow, she was glad the truth was finally out.
After a wonderful time spent, Dennis took his leave and that was the beginning of something great between them. From that day henceforth, he became the therapist and friend Vera never had. They saw each other four times weekly and spoke daily on the phone. The checkup was gone and thankfully, there was no serious damage done on Vera’s body.
Little by little, Vera started smiling more often in class and started mingling with her coursemates. Everyone noticed the sudden glow up and kept wondering what changed. Vera became positive towards life and moved on until something happened one fateful day.
Turns out it’s been over two months since Vera cut her entire family off. No one heard from her all through those period and her mum started to get extremely worried. Apparently, Mr Jones was missing his daughter and wanted a piece of her but couldn’t access her at all. He tried to cut off her funds thinking that trick will work this time around but it didn’t because Dennis had Vera’s back all through and provided all she needed to be comfortable in school.
After over two months of sexual starvation, Mr Jones finally decided to pay Vera a surprise visit at school. The worst was about to go down that day because Dennis was fortunately at Vera’s house that evening. She had an upcoming test and needed his expertise on one of the subjects.
They were happily studying when there was a knock on the door. It was a one bedroom so there was only one main door. Vera reluctantly stood up and headed straight to the door to open it while Dennis comfortably laid on the bed.
Immediately the door opened, Vera’s heart skipped several beats and she screamed; “Dad! What are you doing here?”. At the mention of the word ‘Dad’, Dennis immediately sat up and his eyes locked with that of Mr Jones.
In full rage, Dennis screamed; “You! God save you today”.
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