"Anita's Wish" [Writer's contest 3]

Anita and her younger sister Gloria were the only children of Mr and Mrs James. Unfortunately for them their mother, Mrs James died when Anita was 10 and Gloria 8. Anita never liked her father and he even knew. She would greet him and cook for him but she never wanted to have anything to do with him. Her sister always asked her why she acted like that to their father but she would reply with "I have my personal reasons"..

It got to a point in time when they were growing to "marriageable age", Anita became super independent, she would work continuously because she was very bright in school so she used her time well. She did not want to be dependent on anyone. Anita started saying she doesn't wish to get married but she wants to be Inpregnated possibly by her boyfriend, but she wouldn't marry him. She wanted to raise her kids alone by herself. Her mother's sister would call her and ask her why she made such decisions but she wouldn't let it out to anyone.

She didn't listen to anyone. Interestingly, she was a very good christian. She prayed and made sure everything worked out well for her. The person she was dating as at the time was Yomi and he liked her so much. He always felt bad whenever she said she did not want to get married but she wanted to have all her kids for him. He always wanted to know the reason why she would make such crazy decision. It came to a time Anita started falling sick and Yomi would be there for her and take care of her, he would sleep on the floor in the hospital just to watch over her.

The love he had for her was very strong and she knew. She liked him but she just didn't want to marry him, she didn't want to be "tied down" by a man. So when she regained her health and strength, the doctor requested to see her. He told her that the man that brought her was so kind and that when she needed blood he was ready to donate anything just to save her life. He told her to be very grateful to him. This incident made Anita decide to tell Yomi and Gloria why she used to hate her father and why she didn't want to get married.

She said when she was young she used to notice that her mother always had marks on her body, but she didn't know what it really was, until one day when she got back from school at a very different time because they finished early that day. She saw her dad beating her mother to a pulp because she had tried to correct him. She was standing by the door completely overwhelmed. She didn't know what to do but when her father looked up and saw her, he stopped immediately. He just picked up his things and went out of the house.

She ran to her mother immediately, the woman was weak and she could hardly breathe, she said she needed water. Anita ran and went to get it but when she returned, her mother had died already. It was a very painful experience for Anita. She felt most men would treat their wives the way her father has treated her mother. She explained that's why she used to say she didn't want to get married and this was the same reason she hated her father so much.

Lesson - A responsible man shouldn't ever beat his wife no matter what has happened. It was very unfortunate that she lost her mother due to her father's abuse. Parents must contantly be aware that they are the example their children learn from. Children can make had decisions or pick up bad habits simply from what they've seem or heard. Abuse is never an option, it kills.

NAME:  Damilola Fasuba