Memoirs of my childhood; Bad things Happen

Some say that what the eyes can’t see, the heart won’t grieve over. But surely the heart see’s as much as the eyes to grieve.

Back when I was young enough to think defilement only happened to people I didn’t know I was faced with the fact ( I was that vain ). I did not see this act done but surely my heart did grieve over it.

One of these two girls who were defiled was my classmate. She sat two desks behind me. We never talked much for we were both quiet girls with nothing in common apart from the fact that we were not loud.

This girl whose name I will never forget although she joined my school that year and left before the end of the year was defiled by our baker. He used to call himself ‘ Muntu Nsolo’ ( a befitting name if you ask me). A nickname he told us whenever we asked for his name. Hilarious we thought back then, if only we were wiser.

The bakery had just been built at the girl’s end. The buns were for breakfast but like someone who had nothing to loose he very generously slipped us those buns when we stopped by in the evenings as we played.

Her defilement was discovered some days after the incident and our senior lady called for a meeting. The boys were never to find out she said. The bakery was closed and no one was to go near it. ‘ Muntu Nsolo’ was on the run.

Our classmate never told about the ‘act’. She was too ashamed but her sudden limp and increased isolation drew our dormitory captain to question her. Thank God she was older than us.

They took our classmate to the hospital for tests. The results we were never told and the teachers in class acted cautious around her (the buggers). I used to watch her and wonder how she coped. Apparently he stuffed buns in her mouth to prevent her from screaming. Gets you thinking anything is a weapon!

I grieve for her childhood robbed away, tainted with evil so dark. For I watched her through the corner of my eyes till the day she went for one of those ‘tests’ and never came back to school.

Whether they caught ‘Muntu Nsolo’ I will never know. What become of her, I know not. But I assure you, my eyes may not have seen this tragedy ( thank God )  but my heart froze when the senior lady told us what happened.

Someone I knew was defiled and my heart still misses a bit when I think about it. I could have been five buns away from defilement. It happens to people we know worse still by people we know.

                  always

Orogot Pamela