Finding 'x'

•Treading down memory lane•

I didn't.

"Discovering the body of the only human left to love you back in the world and getting yourself out of a situation you've been in so often and have sworn will never happen again. You tell me, which one is more disturbing?"

I finally broke off eye contact and stared at the dancing squirrel from the Moringa tree not far away.

The poor animal was totally oblivious of the danger that loomed over it's head as it had already been sighted by a group of boys who liked to kill things for fun. They called themselves the oasis hunters. I call them cold blooded murderers.

"I can't help my confusion Ella, would you care to explain?"

I wanted to warn the squirrel, I wanted it to run for its life but I knew I couldn't in time. The boys had already surrounded the tree discretely with stones set in their respective catapults and I wasn't even within hearing range.

"Ella?"

I guess a countdown was made and at a single go, they all shot stones at the animal.

"Can you hear me?"

The poor animal had no chance, it was clearly outnumbered. It dropped limply to the ground. Dead.

"Ella?"

It died because of its ignorance, it should have been alert, knowing no one was there to warn it of impending danger.

Or maybe it was relying on another of it's kind for safety, but that hero was nowhere in sight when it was needed the most.

'Don't let my mum know Elly, I love you more than her, you'll never let me down'.

The taste of my salty tears brought me back to earth.

"Liam started fucking me when I was ten." I whispered in desperation.

Anything to take my mind away from the haunting memory of the dying squirrel, anything to stop the drowning memories of my Tiny, anything at all.

Including a walk down memory lane?

I heard hot cop mutter something under his breath, something I couldn't decipher. I saw the expression of shock on his face, but I was busy blocking away the sight of the dead rat from my peripheral vision.

"Who is Liam?" He breathed carefully, fearing that I wouldn't come through with the details. I gave a rueful smile.

"Liam Adeoti. He's the man that married my mother to save her from the shame of having children out of wedlock when my father bolted off after putting us in our mother." I recited the verse mother had drummed into my brain so early in life before downing the remainder of my lukewarm coffee in one gulp, like I would a bottle of scotch.

Hot cop said nothing, silently expecting me to continue my word vomit. I wasn't going to disappoint.

"He's one of the richest men in town. He's into business, politics and fetish for fucking my brains out just to spite me for looking too much like my bastard father. Apparently, they had a past together. A past that wasn't so pleasant."

I could hear his lust-laden voice clearly, I could feel the hate in every thrust. He'd even tried to yank off my locks one after another, just because my father had the same kind of hair.

"And he knows how to hide the latter well. Mother never suspected, she was too busy with work and her social prominence to notice that the man she owed her life to was busy destroying her daughter's life. And even if she did, she didn't care. I was the one who reminded her too well of my father -a past she wanted to forget. I did deserve that little punishment, right?"