When Carla told her family and friends that she was going to get a pet, all of them guessed that she was referring to a cute little dog, a Pomeranian like the ones she always enjoyed watching on youtube.
None of them could have imagined that she act...
It was different from what we were used to in Cabe Verde, which made me think that he was perhaps a foreigner. The day Zoe left me on that beach, alone and hurt, was the day I met him. He presented himself as a friend, someone who was trying to help me. I believed it only because I was desperate but Ezekiel didn't have a friendly demeanor.
I remember the horrid scent of someone who didn't shower for days as he carried me in his arms. He also had an unkempt beard that covered half of his face. I still don't know what he truly looks like because of that beard that didn't leave anything to the imagination except for his small, malicious eyes.
"They did you wrong, little girl." He kept saying. "I saw it all happen. Those awful kids..."
I was glad that someone had witnessed Zoe's bullying. I hoped that he would take me to a police station and tell the officers wha he'd seen. Instead, Ezekiel took me to a car so old that I wondered how it was still working. He slid me on the backseat where I laid, covered in a thick blanket that made me sweat in my clothes.
Ezekiel got behind the wheel and started driving away.
"Do me a favor and don't move, okay little girl?"
I think that's when I realized that he wasn't planning to help me but I was so terrified that I couldn't do anything but stay in my laid-down position. There was something unatural about him and I was only noticing it when it was too late.
He drove for a really long time. Through the windows, I could see the sky darkening. My parents would start to worry soon but would they know where to find me?
Ezekiel was taking me to a part of Mindelo I never saw before. It was poor and miserable and so hidden that I doubted I could ever get out of there someday.
His home was only a caban with one bedroom and the rest being a mix of kitchen, living-room and rest area. Everything was a mess, untidy and smelling awful. He walked me in, holding my arm in a death grip...Not like I could run away though. I'd already seen what the neighborhood was like and I deemed it safer to stay by his side until further notice.
"Wh-why am I here?" I dared to ask.
Ezekiel closed the door and locked it. He looked absolutely terrifying in the dim light of his home. He dominated me with his overwhelming height, an evil grin widening on his face.
"You're here to keep yourself safe from the dangers of the outside world, of course. You saw what happened to you out there...You deserve better, little girl. I'm here to provide you with this temporary shelter."
"...No, I think I'm okay. I'll just go home to my parents."
I took one step toward the door and in a flash, something heavy had sent me flying a few feet away and crashing painfully on the ground. He'd hit me. His fist was still trembling and hot pain spread accross my face.
"Don't be an ungrateful brat now...You should be thanking me."
I screamed when he quickly marched toward me and kicked me with his foot like I was the most despicable piece of garbage he ever got to see. How did I move so quickly between one terrible beating to another?
"Get up!" He yells. "Get up and starts showing your gratitude now."
He pulled me to my feet, almost breaking my arm in the process. My tear-stricken face didn't make him take pity on me. He said that I should clean up the mess I made. Ezekiel behaved in such irrationality that I quickly understood that my fate was between the hands of a mad man.
Somehow, he believed that I have been living with him for thirteen years. He called me little girl and never bothered to ask what my real name was and turned me into a slave. Cleaning his disgusting home and cooking three meals a day became my duty. Unfortunately, it only got worse with time.
I lived with Ezekiel for three months before the sexual abuse began. He was so brutal that sometimes, it felt like he wanted to end my life. He made me believe that no one was looking for me out there, that my parents had given up on me a long time ago and that perhaps, they were happy that I was gone.
I refused to believe it at first but in the end, I gave up under the constant reminder. It didn't help that I was already feeling unworthy anyway.
Things only changed after six months of living in that hell. Ezekiel was beating me every day, barely feeding me and making me work like an animal. I fantasized on killing him more than once but I only decided to do it when he hurt the kittens.
There was at least one positive thing about my life in captivity: stray cats would sometimes jump over the house fence and come keep me company. I loved playing with them and they were the only glimpse of happiness in my life. When Ezekiel found out about this, he chose to punish me for not cleaning the house properly by stoning one of the kittens to death, right in front of my eyes.
I got into a fit or rage, the kind I never experimented before. I waited until nightfall when he was asleep in his bedroom to cut off his ear with the knife he kept in his clothing.
Ezekiel woke up in a roar of pain, blood seeping out of his woun and his ear still clutched in my hand.
"THAT'S FOR THE KITTENS!" I spat at him.
His pain was vivid enough to allow me to run out of his home and into the woods. I wasn't sure I would be able to escape but I just wanted to give it a try. Luckily for me, I could find refuge in a convenience store. The owner was a nice man and he called the police for me.
Ezekiel was later found in his home. He'd attempted to kill himself but it didn't work out. He was caught and thrown in jail. The story of my kidnapping was talked about in a couple of newspaper but it didn't really get any sort of attention. My name wasn't mentioned and the police had quickly smothered the case so they wouldn't bring attention to their inefficiency. After all, I'd saved myself.
My parents were furious but unable to do much. I dropped out of school to take some time to heal. I never told them exactly how I got myself into that kidnapping situation in the first place. I kept it a secret between myself and me.
It all came down to Zoe De Melo. She humiliated in the worst possible way and her actions had led to spending six terrible months raped and tortured by a psychopath. It was all her fault and I swore I'd make her pay one day.
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