“An idea?!”
That was probably the only thing that put on a little candle in our darkness, after all, Granny always said “in our darkest times, even a candlelight is considered a light”
I turned eagerly to my friend. “What idea?”
Gloria looked at me with a kind of strange confidence as she pronounced each word
“let’s stay quiet!”
At that minute a whirlwind blew off the little candlelight that was lit in my heart. I was flustered and speechless, was looking for what to say, “Could I carry such a huge secret at the expense of my friend’s trust?” I wanted to scream at why the world was unfair. I wanted to ask why this was happening, I wanted to ask Gloria if she was in her right senses. This didn’t seem right, I wish I could pounce on Fred and teach him a lesson.
Unsurprisingly, the only thing that came out of my mouth was;
“Gloria, are you sure about this?”
Where did that even come from?
Fine!
They came from me but I was pretty sure my brain and my mouth had a big fight and my mouth won. I felt like slapping myself, but it seems Gloria wasn’t done as she took my hands with her head bent and helplessness wrote over her she said;
“Kiana, you are the only one I can talk to right now. I promise I will be fine, just let this be a secret between us. Someday Fred will pay for his actions but right now I can’t bear being mocked or stigmatized or going through another fatal blow. Kiki please let’s stay quiet”
I could swear over the heavens and the earth, “that was the first time I ever saw the vulnerable side of Gloria”. It was looking like a Hollywood series, so I cleaned my face to be sure and that was when Gloria hugged me like a little kitten.
“Kiki, I promise I would be fine, it would look like it never happened. Moreover, I have you here to cheer me up with your boring jokes” Gloria said with a chuckle in between her sniffs as she hit me.
This girl could still joke around at a time like this. I was glad she was my best friend. With Gloria still waiting for my reply, she decided to give me a puppy face which made me laugh as I hit her “stop joking around”
“Fine, let’s stay quiet!”
By Abana Asabe for the 16days of activism for Rhealyz Africa
Picture Credit- Pexels
Many are in this,the fear of being stigmatized,the threat from the abuser makes a lot to hurt and die in silence watching the criminal walk freely in town.