Would today be the day she set herself free?

 

She looked at herself in the mirror and ran her finger over the scar that ran from the center of her hairline to the arch of her right eyebrow.

January 2022

They had been married for 6 months and she thoughts it was a good idea for her buy and sell eggs. Her only intention being that of helping her husband build their dream life. She would wake up at the crack of dawn on Monday and make her way to Mbare Musika where she would order ten crates of egg, this was enough stock to last the week with a profit of USD15.

He read a message in her phone from a contact saved as John Eggs that read ‘Please remember to  come before 5 o’clock tomorrow?’

It was from her egg supplier; he had previously mentioned that he would be travelling to his farm on her next order day and he had asked her to come and order earlier than usual. This was just a reminder.

He didn’t believe her. He accused her of sleeping with the egg supplier and neglecting her wife duties because on Monday mornings he had to heat up his own bath water.

He hit her on the forehead with a bottle of Black label.

She stopped her business immediately and never attempted another.

When people asked she said she was attacked by a thief.

 

She opened her mouth and grazed her tongue over the empty space on her upper gum.

November 2022

She had miscarried and according to him it was because she had been promiscuous and had several abortions before she met him and as a result her womb had rejected his unborn child.

How could this have been possible when she had been a virgin when they married?

He punched her in the face anyway and she lost her tooth.

The physical pain of the loss of her baby and tooth became secondary as she dealt with the emotional pain he had caused. She had expected him to comfort her, to nurse her back to health, to reassure her that they will have another baby. He had done neither.

She lost her baby and now the gap in her mouth was a daily reminder of that loss and his reaction to the loss.

When people ask she says she fell.

 

She turned her arm to examine the stitches that ran along her elbow

January 2023

His mother had passed away and no one could reach him to inform him because he was not at home and his phone was off.

He had always advised her to NEVER, under no circumstances follow him to the tavern. However, this was an emergency, surely going to inform immediately was the best thing to do.

When she arrived at the tavern, there was a barely dressed woman with exaggerated make up, two shades lighter than her own complexion perched on his lap. She was gently pouring Black Label down his throat.

Her knees were shaking as she walked towards them, she tried to suppress the tears but could not, two streams ran down her cheeks, the transmission between her brain and her arms must have broken because she could not bring herself to raise her hands to wipe her cheeks.

He spotted her walking towards him, the look on his face immediately informed her that she had made the wrong decision by coming.

Her voice quivered as she delivered the news she had come to deliver.

His only reaction was to command her to go back home where she belonged.

He followed two hours later and arrived with his shirt buttons misaligned.

He hit her with a wooden coffee table and fractured her arm. Two metals pins helped to bring her bones back together.

When people asked she said she was involved in a combi accident.

These were the more prominent scares, the ones that required explaining. For each of these scars she had a story to tell those that asked – a thief, a fall and a road accident. The real culprit remained innocent, his part unspoken, unacknowledged.

She looked at the bag she had packed. She had packed the same bag with the same contents several times before.

She had also unpacked the same bag with the same contents several times before.

Was today the day that she would finally set herself free?