Abby:
That night’s ordeal haunts me to this day. I made one of the greatest mistakes of my life. Notice I said “one”–because there were others. Chief did what he did, and while it wasn’t violent, it wasn’t truly consensual either. And he knew it. Because not long after, he sat beside me, sighed deeply and said, “My dear, I’m sorry. I feel guilty for what happened. I want to take care of you. Deolu is a good boy, but a woman like you needs someone mature who can ensure you have everything you want. I promise not to impose myself on you again until you feel comfortable.”
Then he added, “To start, I want to give you one of my apartments on the Island. Let’s go see it now.”
I remember sitting there, torn and violated, yes. But here was the answer to my prayer – support, stability, freedom from Deolu and his grip. My space. No more being pimped out. My decisions, my body, my choices. I told myself this was an escape. So I said yes.
“I would love that,” I whispered.
But it didn’t turn out exactly how I imagined…hmmm
Chris:
It took a while before we could make it out clearly on the horizon. At first, just a speck. But as it got closer, we realised it was a fishing trawler. And the men on board didn’t look friendly.
The tension in our dinghy shifted. The guide looked uneasy, yelling for us to hold on as the waves from the trawler churned the sea, tossing us violently. He ordered us to wave the red cloths he had given us earlier, to try and signal that we needed help. But the trawler kept heading straight for us, too fast, too deliberate.
And that’s when it hit us. They weren’t here to help. They were charging at us.
The trawler drew closer and began hurling rubbish at us – dead fish, old tins, anything they could find. Swearing, yelling in a language I didn’t understand but whose hate was unmistakable.
Our guide panicked, veered the dinghy to change direction. The trawler followed.
And then it happened.
A monstrous wave, stirred up by their engine, crashed against our dinghy. The balance broke. Screams echoed around me. The world spun. I was tossed into the air like a rag doll.
I didn’t feel the fall. Just the slap of the sea and the silence that followed.
Then, nothing.
Just blackness.
…hmmmm
