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It is Tuesday morning. And ever since Uju's ordeal with Femi, she has been feeling quite ill, so she hasn't been out of the house for days. She has been resting on her bed. The fever manifested after hours of severe crying, depression and lack of sleep. It was at its peak on Sunday. But now, she seems to be feeling much better, physically at least. She is still quite emotionally broken and definitely in no mood for school right now. How would she even be able to face them?
How would she be able to stand it all, in this state? School work, her classmates, even Bayo! She does not want him to see her like this. She is not even sure whether she ever wants him to see her again. Right now, she feels so filthy; so defiled; so worthless and so ashamed. If only she could just disappear; just vanish from this place, she would be the happiest person in the world. The anguish she feels right now is inexplicable, yet she still has not told anyone. She cannot tell anyone. She has no one to fight for her, so she does not think it will be of any use. She decides to hope that after another day or maybe a week; yes, after about a week, she will recover. Nevertheless, deep down, she knows that she will never fully recover from this. After what happened to her that night, there were moments when she wished she were dead. And even now, she still feels like it would all be better if she were simply gone, because she doesn't think that she can take it anymore.

As for her oppressor; she has not seen the monster since that night. To be honest, she does not ever want to see his despicable face again. She does not ever want to hear his horrible voice again. But unfortunately, she cannot seem to stop hearing his horrid voice in her head; his vile grunts. Even now, she can still feel his infernal breath burning her neck. She can still smell him all over her. That pungent smell of sweat mixed with thick perfume will forever haunt her nostrils. She can still feel him violating her even now, with brute force, as she lay subdued on the bed crying helplessly.
'What sort of life is this?' she wonders. 'And where was God then, huh?... Where was he when I was being violated?'
The poor girl begins to wonder where God had been all the while she was being enslaved, maltreated, assaulted, mocked and raped. She begins to wonder why she has always had to pay the price for other people's cruelty.

"Good morning, Uju." Tobi's tender voice interrupts her thoughts. Then immediately, she sniffs in and quickly tries to wipe the tears off her dismal face. "Oh, Tobi... how are you?"

"I'm fine... How are YOU?..." he asks.

Uju responds, while subtly attempting to hide her anguish, "I'm good... #SNIFF... Just a little weak, but... I'll be fine."
Tobi sighs and then touches her forehead while saying earnestly, "I don't like seeing you sick. Please get well soon."
Upon hearing this, Uju chuckles weakly and lets out a feeble smile, "Don't worry. I will."

Thereafter, Amara walks in and holds Tobi by the shoulder while he stands at Uju's bedside. She says warmly,
"Okay now… Time for school, Tobi... Off you go!"
Tobi sighs again and then walks out of the room. Afterwards, Amara sits on Uju's bed and asks tenderly, "How are you doing, Uju?"

"I'm fine, ma." she replies innocently, looking downwards.

"I hope you have been taking the medicine I bought for you...?" Amara continues earnestly.

"Yes... I have." Uju replies quite feebly, as though trying to make Amara believe that her illness is still quite serious. The last thing she wants is to go back to school yet. Then while touching her forehead, Amara says, "It seems the fever is already gone... I received a call from Mrs. Obi. She said that your exams are very close... Don't you think you should try to go to school tomorrow?..."

Uju sighs, "That's true... But..."
After pondering for a moment, she then affirms with weak certainty, "Yes... I will. I'll go."

"Alright then... That's good. I left some rice in the pot for you. And there is also some beans in the fridge that you can have for lunch. I have a class this morning. Take care dear." Amara responds, tapping Uju's arm as she rises from the bed to leave.

"Okay, ma. Thanks." Uju replies with a weak smile. Then Amara exits.

Afterwards, Uju just keeps staring at the rotating ceiling fan, feeling the whiffs of breeze slashing their way through the air; cooling and uncooling her skin. Her entire body is debilitated. Her spirit is even weaker. But what can she do? Time and tide wait for no man. Despite the pain and sorrow ravaging her entire being, there is still this innate willpower in her to keep living; to keep surviving. She has faced too much already, to let her entire life crumble now. She begins to remember Nne and how inspiring she was. Wonderful Nne; God rest her soul! Nne had two golden rules; 'No matter how hard you fall, always get back up on your feet.’ and ‘In every situation, give thanks! It could've been much worse.’ These two mantras are what have kept Uju going all this while, despite all the suffering, maltreatment and abuse she has been through. Her ambition and desire to make a difference in the world have also played a significant role in strengthening her resilience. She always swore to herself, that no matter what, she would do the best she could to prevent other young girls from going through all that she had gone through. And now, even if for that reason alone, she intends to keep going; she has to.

Filled therefore with this inspiration, she forces herself up from the bed and immediately sits up, dropping her legs on the cold hard floor. After doing so, she begins to feel an immense ache within her genitals. It is like a throbbing twinge embellished with a soft but aching pain that makes her want to cringe terribly in discomfort. So with tears of frustration in her eyes, she quickly attempts lying down again, in order to ease the pain. But about half-way down, she takes in another deep breath, clenches her teeth together and forces herself up once more, until she stands completely erect.

While walking down the passageway of the house, Uju keeps on breathing heavily. She has barely come out of her bedroom since that night, nor has she eaten anything. Hence, her weakness right now is unparalleled.
'All I need is a juice box from the fridge, to get my energy up.' she affirms within herself. 'And a shower; I definitely need a cold shower.'

One of the advantages of remaining at home on a weekday is that everyone else is out of the house, which gives Uju full privacy. Such solitude is exactly what she desires right now. She just needs ample time away from everyone and everything. She needs time to think; time to rest; time to breathe and fully regain her sanity. She always feels under one kind of pressure or the other, whenever she is around other people. The last thing she wants right now is to run into anybody, or even worse, run into Femi. 'How does he even live with himself?' she wonders, as she opens the fridge to take out a juice box.

After taking a seat on one of the dinning room chairs, she pops it open with a straw and starts to sip. While she sips acquiescently, she begins to remember school and Bayo. Then immediately, the traumatizing images of her sordid abuse the other night start to flash through her mind all over again. Her screams start to resound within her head once more. And in utter frustration, she spits out the straw and slowly breaks down in tears, as a fresh batch of sorrow sets in. Placing her head on the dinning table, she keeps on weeping profusely, gnashing her teeth and cursing the day she met Femi Balogun.

"Ah! Sisi!... Wetin happen???" Yusuf echoes, as he walks in on her crying in the dinning room.

'Oh Lord!!!... Can't you at least let me cry in peace???' Uju grumbles inside. Then with the speed of light, she wipes her entire face clean; well, most of it. "Yusuf… Good morning. Nothing... nothing.." she denies.
But Yusuf inquires again, with a nosy look on, "Abi you dey sick??? "

"Ehn... I no too dey strong like that." she responds, letting out a feeble smile. Then Yusuf continues, resting on the concrete pillar at the dinning room threshold, "Okay... Pęlę... Ehen, you hear sey Oga travel???"

"No oo." Uju replies weakly.

"Ee travel go Ijebu-Ode dis morning. Hmm!... Ee and madam even still quarrel again dis morning sef... You no hear dem?" Yusuf asks.

"No oo." she responds again, passively. Afterwards, Yusuf exclaims and then says, while heading toward the living room door, "Hmm!... Ee be like sey dis their marriage no go reach evening o... hm! "
Uju simply shrugs in reply, as he finally exits.

                          
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GLOSSARY
".....Sisi!......Wetin happen???"- "Sisi!...What's the matter???"
"Abi you dey sick??? "- "Or are you sick?"
"Ehn......I no too dey strong, like that."- "Yes....I'm not feeling too well."
"Okay....Pęlę.......Ehen... You hear sey Oga travel???....."- "Okay.....Sorry!.......And oh!... Have you heard that the boss has travelled???....."
"Ee travel go Ijebu-Ode dis morning o...Hmm!...He and madam even still quarrel again dis morning sef....You no hear dem?....”- "He travelled to Ijebu-Ode this morning....He had a quarrel with his wife again, this morning.....Didn't you hear them?"
"...Ee be like sey, dis their marriage no go reach evening oo......hmm!"- "...It seems like their marriage won't last very long..."