Episode 6
From frying pan to Fire, that is the best statement to describe what is about to happen. Am still trying to get the r@pe out of my mind, and now I just received a nvde picture of myself from my r@pist. Who knows how many of such he has? “Oh? what if he even have a video of how he r@ped me, no he wouldn’t do that ,that will implicate him too”. I thought. He just sent the picture to me and he didn’t even call or send a message so I can know his intention.” Should I call him, or send him a message” asked myself . If I call him now, he will know that I am scared,and he will continue to use that fear to torture and control me. And if I refuse to call and pretend as if I didn’t get his message,he might just release the picture. What should I do, Am so confused. Who should I tell? I kept thinking .
I have two test the next day, I need to do some revision but I can’t concentrate, all I could think about is the picture Samuel sent. Morning came and I headed for class, the test was not too bad, I hope to score high . Immediately after the test myself and Kemi decided to go to a restaurant and give ourselves a nice treat. Getting outside we met Samuel under the tree just in front of my class,he was apparently waiting for me. At that moment I wish I could just be invisible, he called me aside and said we need to talk “Did you see my message” he asked. He didn’t even bother to greet or ask how I was doing. “Yes I did,and what is the meaning of the picture,what am I suppose to do with it” I asked pretending not to know anything. “Don’t tell me you are this dumb, you are the best student in this faculty so I expect you to be intelligent enough to know why I sent you that” he said “I don’t like to jump to conclusions without confirming first” I said trying to defend myself “Well for your information that pictures is just one out of many pictures that I took. I knew you would still be acting hard to get like you girls do, so I took those pictures as a collateral should incase” he said “You lured me to your room, drugged me and r@ped me, and now you are threatening me. Do you know the gravity of what you did to me?” I asked “What did I do? You can’t prove anything, you have no evidence and no one will even believe you anyway” he said “I should have reported you to the police, r@pe is an offense under the law you know?” I said “which law, which police? If you knew that why didn’t you report when it happened? You can’t even threaten me with police and law Jasmine, this is Nigeria and not Canada. No one will believe you or fight for you, they will rather blame you and stigmatize you. If you don’t believe me you can try reporting me. Just try it” he said laughing cynically.
I was just standing there dumbfounded,I knew he is right ,this is Nigeria where no one gets Justice,Nigeria where the victim becomes the culprit, I have no evidence that can even put him behind bars too,but even if I do, I doubt if it will make any difference. I told myself. “So what exactly do you want from me?” I asked firmly trying to hide the fact that am becoming nervous. “all I want is you Jasmine, nothing more nothing less. I promise to love and adore you with the whole of my heart” he said I can’t believe my ears, did I just hear him say love and adore, does he even know what love means? “You don’t love me Samuel,if you love me as you claim, you wouldn’t do what you did to me, love isn’t selfish, love doesn’t think of itself but of the other person, love is kind and patient,love doesn’t take things by force, love doesn’t steal. You don’t love me and you are the last person I would want to be with. Infact if you are the last man on earth,I would prefer to remain single till I die than to marry you” I said “You must be joking right? Am not that bad you know,it’s my love for you that is making me do somethings that I can’t imagine myself. It’s just like the story of Dinah and the prince of Shechem in the bible, though he raped Dinah but he loved her enough that he was willing to go through the pains of circumcision as an adult. Think about it my love, if Dinah’s brother had not taken law into their hands ,Dinah and the prince would have been happily married with kids” he explained “Since you are very conversant with the bible, though I doubt you even know God,let me remind you that death was the end result of the two r@pists that was recorded in the bible. The Prince of Shechem and Ammon the son of David were both killed for the crime they committed. So get ready for the wrath of God” I said “Let God deal with me, and let me deal with you, if you continue to say No to me,then you are playing with fire Jasmine, it will cost me nothing to send those pictures to all whatsapp group on campus, and even send it on Facebook if you push me further away” he said “Is that a threat, are you seriously going to continue to make my life hell on earth?” I asked “You can call this anything you like, I don’t care. All I want is you” he said. I knew arguing with Samuel with not change anything.
I now know that Samuel is bent to destroy my life , I have to be wise with what I say from henceforth. So I told him he should give me moretime to think about it. I was just trying to buy more time to think about it. He agreed and left reluctantly and also commanded me to always pick his calls. *****
Myself and Kemi went out as planned, but Kemi couldn’t help but notice that am not myself. My mind was occupied with so many things. “Should I tell Kemi, will she believe me or not” I thought “What is bothering you Jasmine, you don’t seem to be here with me, tell me Jasmine?” she asked “Nothing to worry about “ I said “don’t give me that nothing crap jare, I know something is wrong, this is not you Jasmine,something is different about you though I can’t place my hands on what it is exactly. So tell me?” I know Kemi wont let me rest until she pester me to talk, but I don’t think am ready to confide in anyone. I can’t even find any excuse to tell her,I just kept insisting that I was fine. Samuel continued to threaten me,he sends different nude pictures of myself to me everyday, telling me to give him a Yes as soon as possible or else he will release the pictures. I have tried to check the pictures closely ,to see if it is a photoshop or something , but those pictures are real. I know they are. What can I do, I can’t just accept his proposal and assume all his well, he will probably continue to abuse me sexually. If he can abuse me when we were just friends,then he will do worse when we are engaged. “Lord give me the wisdom to solve this problem” I prayed.
Just as I was rounding up my silent prayers, my phone rang and it was Samuel calling. “Should I pick it “ I asked myself.” Well let me see if he has any new thing to say” I said as I picked the call “Hello Jasmine, how has been your day?” he asked “am good,thanks” I replied without bothering to ask if he was fine too, because I care less . “So have you made your decisions about what we talked about ,and did you see all the pictures I sent to you?” he asked “Yes I saw all the pictures ,but am still thinking,please give me more time” I replied. Did I just use please for him, am typically begging someone who should be behinds bars for his crimes. But I don’t have a choice. “You can’t keep thinking forever you know, am not a patient man Jasmine and the little patience I have is running out, so think fast or else I will do my worst “he added “Ok I will think fast” I said “ Ok, as you take your time to think,can you come and visit me in my hostel this evening. I really do miss you” “Did I just hear him right, visit him alone in his room. I think I know better now, not in my life will I make such a mistake again” I said in my heart. “What are you saying , don’t you dare say No or else I will send the pictures to your family too” he cuts in “What!!!, you don’t have to go that far Samuel. It is better you repent now, maybe God will have mercy on you and reduce your punishment” I said gently “Story for the gods, I won’t stop until I have what is mine” he said and he ended the call before I could even say another word. I called him back and he refused to pick up, he later sent a text saying that I should be in his hostel in nothing less than 1hours time or else. I picked my bag and phone and stormed out of the room, “I need to do something before Samuel add more salt and pepper to my wound” I said to myself.
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