Ochanya {Completed}

THREE👑

When I got home, I walked past my mother who keeps yelling at me to stop, but I didn't listen to her. when I got to my father's room, I saw him reading his bible and he looked up when he heard me enter, when I saw him I burst into another round of tears.

"Ochanya, what happened?" He stood up and came close to me and I hugged him as I wept in his arms.
"Did your siblings make fun of you again?" He asked

"No...No... father, I... I was... Was" I said amidst tears

"Tell me Ochanya, calm down and tell me" he persuaded.

"I was raped!" I said and burst into another round of tears. My mother who is at the entrance waiting for me to talk, screamed out loudly as I watched my father move back away from me.

"Who is it?" He bitted out painfully.

"Okwo!" I said amidst tears.

"How did it happen? Didn't you tell me you are going for rehearsal?" My mother who has begin to cry asked me. But I couldn't say anything. I'm sure my father is disappointed and sad about what I just told him.

He wore his cap and stormed outside and my mother ran after him. I looked behind me and I saw my twin siblings crying with my elder sister holding their shoulders with a pitiful look on her face. It broke me down the more as I slumped on the ground. They came closer.

"It's okay Ochanya" Ema said

"Stop crying, please don't cry" Obiye said as she wiped her tears, Onyela just sat with her hands covering her face, she's crying silently.

Seeing my family care about me broke me the more, I've never seen my siblings this way, I've always thought they hated me.

After a few hours, my eyes are already red from crying, Ema is asleep on my thigh and Onyela is sitting up on the chair behind, caressing my hair. We kept waiting for our parents to come back but they didn't show up.

The following morning, the door opened and we all stood up. I was eager to hear from them that okwo is behind bars.

My father hugged me.

"Are you okay?" He asked and I nodded. My mother came closer to me.

"My daughter" she said with a shaky voice, she's close to tears. "We need to take her to the hospital"

"Yes, but we need to go to the police station first, so she can put down her statement, I'll make sure that bastard never see daylight again, he'll rot in jail" my father said painfully.

"He should be hanged to death!" Onyela said.

A part of me was sad cos I'd been deprived of the most valuable thing in my life and another part of me is glad I got the support of my siblings.

We all went to the police station and we all sat. After a while, the DPO came to us.

"Good morning chief, I think you need to hear what this boy has to say," the DPO said and they brought okwo out, his hands are cuffed and he isn't wearing a shirt.

"Better start talking" my father yelled at him.

"Sir... I didn't rape her, I can't and will never rape Ochie, I love her and can't do that to her" he said softly trying to sound pitiful. "Ochie is my girlfriend and we've been dating for a while now, she visits me often and we do make love whenever she visits me but I don't know what suddenly happened to her, cos she saw me with another girl I'm trying to help out, she assumed I'm cheating on her and threatened to deal with me, I never knew she'd do this, believe me, sir," he said and tears spilled from my eyes, how could he tell such a lie.

"We've investigated what he just said, we asked a few people in the village and they testified, they've seen them together a couple of times, some even confirmed that they saw your daughter go inside his house with him yesterday and she didn't come out until late in the night" the DPO said and my father slowly faced me, his face doesn't showcase love but anger.

"I... He's... Okwo" I stuttered as I cried not knowing where to start explaining, Okwo already made them believe him and with the DPO confirming it, I'm sure my father is disappointed cos he believes whatever the DPO says.

"Start talking!" He yelled at me, making me cry more, he moved towards me and slapped me on my face, my mother guarded me.

"Stop! You are believing this man over your daughter?" My mother asked and faced the DPO. "You will have to do your findings well, I trust my Ochanya, she'd never date this good for nothing bastard here" she defended and I opened my mouth in shock, my mother just defended me.

"Shut up woman!" My father yelled, making my mother keep quiet, she'd not want to disrespect him in public. He faced the DPO.

"Thanks for doing your investigation before we punished this boy for nothing, you can release him, thank you, we'll leave now" he said and faced me.

"You've caused enough scene, can we go home now?" He said and my sister held me as we all went back home.

I'm so dead.

***
Since that day at the police station, my father has made life a living hell for me, he hated me with passion.

Before I knew what was going on, the news had circulated through the whole community, people now point at me wherever I go, everyone now knows I'm no more a Virgin, they all believe I was in a secret relationship with Okwo as he made them believe.

When we got home from the police station, I explained everything to my mother, right since when okwo has been disturbing me and she believed me. She believed me and was there for me whenever my father starts his drama. In the last few days, he became harsh, even to my siblings, he doesn't feed well and he's always in his room, he no longer interacts with any of us and it hurts me to see him that way.

I tried my best in avoiding okwo, I don't have the strength to face him yet, I can't bear the humiliation, the one I get in the community is enough.

"You've not eaten, take this my dear" my mother handed me a plate of Noddles, she has been caring since the incidence then I believe what my father has always told me that my mother loves me, she's just refusing to show it. As I was about to take a spoon, I suddenly felt the urge to throw up and I rushed out as my mother ran after me, I puked my gut.

After finishing my business, I turned to see my whole family's eyes on me.

"Ochanya, you are pregnant!" My mother said softly as the bowl she's holding fell from her hand. My father went inside and started flinging my stuff outside.

"What are you doing?" My mother asked him with tears as my siblings begged him on my behalf with tears on their face, I just watched not knowing what's going on. I can't be pregnant, with Okwo's child? No way!

"Enough of me harboring another man's wife! You've disgraced me enough, look at me! A whole chief, my daughter is pregnant unmarried" my father wailed. He rushed towards me and I didn't even have the strength to move, I just watched him.

"Leave my house! I don't want to see you again you disgraceful child!" He said to my face sternly, if my father that has always told me how much he loved me can hate me so much, then I have no reason to live anymore, I can't live to bear Okwo's child, over my dead body. I turned and took to my heels, I'm going away, far away. I don't want to see anyone ever again. I don't want to live with this stigma all my life, I'm tired of the humiliation I'm going through, I can't bear the pitiful look I see on the face of my siblings. I ran fast towards the highway, when I got there I kept running, I heard a car honking loud but I turned deaf ears to it. I closed my eyes and kept running across the road, I felt the car's heat really close to me and I screamed until I blacked out.