TAKEN

[2]

Buckets of water lined the walkway to the bathroom as men and women waited their turns to use the bathroom and take a bath.

This wasn't new to me. My siblings and I lived in a 'face me I face you' apartment, where the one public toilet and bathroom served over fifty people.

Mornings were usually hectic and terrible. We devised a means to take baths at night and rinse our faces in the morning to beat the bathroom traffic.

I stood outside the sleeping hall, not knowing what to do. Mama was seated on the other end, brushing her teeth with a long stick that could also serve as a correction whip.
The teenagers were bathing the children while some older women were cooking.

         "You over there!" Her voice snapped my head in the direction of that harsh voice.

I met her eyes giving me a devilish stare. Then I pointed at myself. "Me?"

         "Yes, you! Don't you have anything to do?" I shook my head before I could understand the consequences of my words.

Quick kicks made contact with my butt, forcing me into confusion.  I fell into a heap of stomping boots. They kicked and Stumped on me until I heard that voice again.

          "Stop! Did I instruct to to touch her?"

          "But Mama, we have to teach these untrained newbies the realities of life!" A male voice answered.

I felt a searing pain in my waist, face, and stomach. Trickles of blood escaped my mouth and I yelped. I hated the sight of blood. Any sight of blood at all could cause me to flee. So I got up, without thinking, and fled.

I ran blindly because I couldn't see where I was headed and the searing pain in my legs slowed me down. Quick strong hands caught me before I ran any further.

         "Where do you think you are going?"

Multiple stars filled my field of vision when a thunderous slap landed on my face. The violence also took the answer off my lips.
I fell backward, landing on my butt, my hand nursing the pain on my face.

        "This one will give us trouble." A calm male voice spoke.

There were numerous red flags in his words but the politeness with which he spoke, calmed my heart. I opened my eyes to see an older man, stepping out of the house where Mama had retired for the night.

           "Then we'll tame her. We'd done well with the worst of them!" She scoffed and picked up a crying baby running towards her.

I picked myself off the floor and went to help the girls in the kitchen. "Don't let her touch anything, until she washes off  those bloody things on her face."

        I didn't need a soothsayer to tell me to go clean up. With my half-opened eyes and swollen face,  I limped-sat down in front of a massive mortar and began to pound the mountain of fufu in it.

As I finished with one, they brought another and another. By the time I realized it, I'd spent hours pounding fufu.

My arms were sore and my back ached. Not that this part was new, mother sold fufu to make ends meet and my sister and I were very professionals in fufu pounding, so that was a nonissue.

My thoughts were distracted as my stomach continued to growl from fear and hunger. No one had bothered to give me even a morsel of food since I arrived at this camp.

Later that day, I and three other girls followed four of the men into the deep forest towards Emekuku, avoiding the roads and frequently used paths.

We stopped at a thatched hut, big enough to contain ten persons or so I thought.
Three armed men were waiting for us in front of the hut. My companions didn't seem bothered by their presence, so I relaxed a bit.