DARKEST NIGHT

                                  

               

                DARKEST NIGHT

 A manuscript by 

 Folasayo Awodumila 

Adaobi sat on the hospital bed tears still rolling down her face, and the echo of the doctors voice kept reoccurring in her head “Your womb is badly damaged and as such you won’t be able to bear children by yourself” Adaobi is just sixteen, she just finished her Secondary School Education working towards her jamb to secure an admission into the University. Adaobi’s mum is a single mum, she has been the only support system Adaobi knew from when she could speak; Njidika, Adaobis mum struggled to give her child the best, she took various jobs just to sustain her and her beloved daughter. They lived in a one bedroom apartment in the axis of Surulere in Lagos State.

Njidika was a very beautiful woman who had many suitors around her but chose to remain the way she was because she loved Adaobi’s dad, who died in a ghastly motor accident, she found it hard loving another man, so she lived her life around her child cause she reminded her constantly of her late husband. Friends and Family kept advising Njidika to marry one of the men asking for her hand in marriage, they told her that Adaobi is a grown girl now and can take care of herself and perhaps that Adaobi would get married soon and at the end it would remain just her and then may loneliness not kill her then.

Njidika started considering all what her family and friends were telling her; also her daughter Adaobi told her mum to please remarry that it would make her very happy, at least she would have a father figure she can always look up to and run to for advice. Njidika considered one of her suitors named Henry because they attend the same church and he is very religious. Njidika invited Henry to her home one Saturday evening to have dinner with them, that gave her the opportunity to properly introduce him to Adaobi, Adaobi was excited to meet Henry, Henry spoke with her at length asking her about school and her upcoming exams.

Njidika was very happy that her daughter was bonding well with Henry and that Henry seems to like her too. After the dinner that night and while Henry had left, Adaobi couldn’t hold back her happiness she told her mum; how much she liked “Uncle Henry” as she fondly calls him and can’t wait for them to get married; Njidika smiled at her daughter and said but he hasn’t proposed yet.

Few Months Later, Njideka had her traditional wedding with Henry afterwards she and her daughter moved in with Henry, Henry seemed like the perfect gentleman, and he never complained about Adaobi, he even assisted her to gain admission into one of the Federal Universities. Adaobi on the other side was so fond of Henry, she was beginning to call him dad and she really liked the sound of it, atleast she could talk amongst her friend that she now had a dad unlike before she felt sad when all her friends spoke about their dads.

Njidika took in 10 months after her traditional marriage with Henry, Henry was over the moon when he heard the good news, but Njidika’s pregnancy kept threatening so she was advised to be admitted in the hospital till her pregnancy reached full term. Adaobi was so happy she would finally have her very own sibling, she left School often to stay with her mum at the hospital and help her bring food and every other things she needs.

One fateful Evening Adaobi decided to go home to clean up because she had been with her mum at the hospital for three days and didn’t have the opportunity to have her bath. She got home, noticed her Step Father wasn’t home yet, she used her own personal key to open the door, she went straight to her room, took off her clothes and entered the bathroom, she stayed in the shower a longer time than normal because she was very tired, by the time she was done and she stepped out she saw her Step dad Seated on the bed, she was surprised and was like “Daddy when did you come in?” but she noticed from the way her Step- dad was acting that he had been drinking and was definitely Tipsy, she moved close to her closet to pick up a dress to wear fast but as she turned Henry stood up and reached for her, she tried running but Henry overpowered her, and then Henry raped her beyond her wildest imagination, Adaobi was a virgin so the pain was terrible for her, she kept screaming as she struggled with Henry, Henry covered her mouth with his hands and raped her so badly till she passed out.

Adaobi was unconscious for days, she regained her consciousness and found herself lying on the hospital bed, the doctor came in to see her, she asked how she got here and was told she was brought in by her step- dad, after the doctor had left, Henry came in tears in his eyes he knelt down and was begging Adaobi that she should please forgive him that he was drunk that night, that he wasn’t conscious of all he did cause he was under the influence of Alcohol, Adaobi also had tears in her eyes, her mum is still on admission cause her pregnancy keeps threatening, if she tries telling her mum what happened, she would never forgive herself and her Step- Dad and might even end up losing the pregnancy.

Adaobi wept, that night was the darkest of nights, and she wished it didn’t happen, she wished she could turn back the hands of time, not only was she robbed off her virginity, she has been told that the rape incident has damaged her womb and there’s 90% certainty that she would never be able to carry a child in her womb. Adaobi never returned home but she kept checking on her mum but couldn’t tell her what happened, she sought advice from some lawyers who has decided to fight for her once her mum puts to bed.

Just a month after the whole incident Njidika delivered a bouncing baby boy, Adaobi was with her mum all through until one afternoon the police came in to arrest Henry, Njidika didn’t understand what was happening, Adaobi sat her mum down and explained all that happened to her, Njidika wept, she felt like killing Henry with her bare hands, she cried for days, feeling as thou she has failed her daughter.

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Within two days have read a lot of traumatising stories of rape Victims and they were all below 10 years of Age, this is quite very annoying, what is this world turning into that cases like this keeps springing up every now and then, these victims are just kids, my question often to the perpetrators is that what is the excitement in raping just a child, am worried cause this act has to be nipped in the bud fast, rape to an adult is quite traumatising I wonder how this kids would survive through this incident, Surviving a rape is a traumatic experience that impacts its victims in a physical, psychological, and sociological way. Even though the effects and aftermath of rape differentiates among survivors, individuals tend to suffer from similar issues found within these categories.

Long term reactions may involve the development of coping mechanism that will either benefit the survivor, such as social support.

COMMON EFFECTS EXPERIENCED BY RAPE SURVIVORS include:

1)      Vaginal or Anal bleeding or infections

2)      Hypoactive sexual desire disorder

3)      Vaginitis or vaginal inflammation

4)      Dyspareunia : Painful Sexual Intercourse

5)      Vaginismus – a condition affecting a woman's ability to engage in any form of vaginal penetration

6)      Chronic pelvic pain

7)      Urinary tract infections

8)      Pregnancy

9)      Hiv/Aids

Aside this we have Physical effects on the victims, disassociation/Emotional numbness, fear, Embarrassment & shame, guilt, Practical factors, Psychological impact on the Victim (Depression, Anxiety, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Self-Blame, Suicide)

We have Sociological impact and mistreatment of Victims (Secondary Victimisation, Victim Blaming)

RECOVERING FROM RAPE

The process of recovering from a rape differentiates among survivors for their own individual reasons. The nature of the attack, how survivors choose to cope with their trauma, and social influences are a few of the many variables that impact the healing process. Even so recovery generally consists of three main themes: reaching out, re framing the rape and redefining the self.