DIANA

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        ‘’Keep running’’, I screamed at Alice. We were finally free from insanity; we were finally going to live our lives normal though I had no idea how we were going to do that. We ran into an incomplete building where nobody was. Alice was gasping for breath but I was not, maybe because I am not like Alice. I was the devil’s daughter anyways.
15 years ago
         I do not think I have ever seen my parent normal before. At least, mum tried sometimes but dad, No! He was always violent, always beating mum, I and my siblings. Sometimes, he will scream at the top of his voice. Sometimes, he would be super quiet, but if you cross his path he would beat you. He made rules like, no one leaving the house, we were all going to be home-schooled by a teacher, Dickson, who was obviously scared of my dad, but my dad paid him well, so he was stuck to his job, We were not allowed to play in the house and many other rules. I try avoiding trouble at all cost, but still get beaten by my dad most of the time. Sometimes I do not even understand what I did.
         I have an elder brother, Jordan. I think he really hates me. He shouts at me anytime he has the chance and when I cry, he pushes me away. I have two sisters too, Charlene and Alice. Charlene is first. She cries a lot. She keeps saying she really hates dad and wishes she can escape from the house but there is no way out. Alice is not a kind sister, she tells dad anytime my brother and sister hide to play or when they steal food from the kitchen to eat. As a result, Jordan and Charlene avoid her a lot. Sometimes, she even goes into the room with dad and I do not have an idea of what they do inside.
          It is a Monday morning, and as usual, dad goes to work and I run to stay with mum. Mum cries a lot as well, and I always try comforting her. She is quiet too and sometimes creepy. She is sitting on the bed staring at the window when I come in.
‘’Is your dad away?’’ She asked me, without turning from the window.
‘’Yes, he is!’’ I said, with a little excitement because I was happy dad was gone. Everyone was, except Alice who would stay close to the door till dad comes back.
           I sat next to mum. ‘’Mum if you hate dad so much, why can’t you just leave? Now dad is not around we can just sneak out”,   I said, saying the ‘sneak’ in a whisper. Mum looked at me and laughs but the laugh does not get to her eyes.
“There is no way out, dear. Your daddy is not a good man. Do not tell him I said that. This house is sound proof, no one can hear you from outside and you cannot hear anyone. Outside, there are dogs, big dogs. There is certainly no way out. I have tried numerous times. You know your home-school teacher, Mr. Dickson? I have tried telling him, but your dad is ten times smarter. He has brainwashed the young man with money and fear. There is nothing left for us here.’’
Her last words struck me with fear but remains in my memory.
14 years ago
Alice kept going to the room with dad and by this time, I learnt that dad was doing to her what he also does to mum at night. Mum got pregnant and each day I secretly prayed for mummy. I and my siblings were brought up to worship ‘Lucifer’.  We were made to bow before an altar and sacrifice our cup of blood to him.
It was a cold Friday. Dad instructed, we must eat together as a family at the dining table and before we began eating, he started chanting his incantations.
“Dad what changed you?’’ Charlene asked interrupting dad with tears in her eyes. “You used to be that nice and pleasant dad. Why the sudden change?”
Jordan was giving her a pleading look to make her stop talking but she would not cower.
‘’What did you just say to me?’’ Dad asked daring her to repeat herself.
‘’I said, you have changed, dad! You have changed to a self centered man because, I know, this is not the dad I was born to see’’, Charlene screamed at dad.
Uh-oh!  She had disobeyed one of dad’s rules. She talked against dad’s behavior. She also shouted at dad.
“Oh! Really?’’ dad asked, smiling devilishly getting up from his seat slowly and walking over to Charlene who was already visibly shaking.
‘’I changed my ways for all of you. I did all this to get money so you all could eat and this is the way you want to repay me? By insulting me? You are nothing but a fool my dear’’, he said. By this time, he was right behind Charlene, hands on her chair.
Mum and Jordan began mouthing to Charlene that she should apologize. My heartbeat began racing and I could feel my body shake. Before Charlene could utter a word, dad pulled her hair, making her scream. He pulled her off her seat from her hair and tossed her to the floor.
‘’You disrespectful fool!’’ he roared, using his leg to hit her face.
‘’Please….”
‘’You wretched idiot’’, he said, hitting her face again with his shoe.
Mum ran over to me to cover my eyes, but dad turned to look at her and she ran back to her seat. One of dad’s rules was to always look when he is punishing his children. No one is to look away. Anyone who tried to look away got worse punishment than the person who got the punishment first.
              After dad hit Charlene fifteen times, she bled so much before he stopped temporarily. I thought it was over until he smiled. I begun crying; not the kind Charlene and mum does by making a lot of noise. My cry was silent, just tears rolling down my cheeks.
               Charlene was crying so much now that the look on dad’s face changed from anger to something to something else I could not imagine. He looked at Charlene as though she was food he wanted to feast on.
“Take off our clothes!” he ordered and that was it. I froze.
“Dad I do not think that this is a good idea” Jordan said quietly.
“What did you day to me?”
“Nothing it just slipped,” Jordan said not daring to look dad in the eye.
               Dad turned back to look at the helpless Charlene. “Didn’t I say something?  Or would you rather have me keep on hitting you? Come on! Don’t waste the beauty. Show daddy how beautiful you are”, he spat. His words sent shivers running down my spine.
               Charlene began taking her clothes off on by one, out of fear. She was bleeding so much. I felt like looking away. Soon she was in her underwear and the look on daddy’s face got a lot worse. I hated dad, hated him with all my heart.
                “You look so beautiful. Take your underwear off right now”, he ordered. The hunger n his eyes were clearly increasing.
                  Charlene shivered as she took off her underwear in pain and pure embarrassment. Jordan looked away and luckily dad was not focused on us, so he did not take notice. Right in front of us, dad raped Charlene. She cried in pain as dad continued mercilessly. At a point, everyone froze.
                   The only voices heard were the screams of Charlene and the grunts of dad.
                   We all looked sad except Alice who bit her lip and watched with excitement like this was her favorite show. After dad, I would say that Alice was the next crazy person in this house although she was just three years older than me and was still a small child.
                    One week passed. Everyone remained quiet and kept to themselves. Dad gave Charlene medication and she was getting better physically but mentally? I don’t think so.
                     I noticed dad started to be nice to me just as he is to Alice. He punished me less and was not so arrogant with me. Wednesday, dad came home earlier and said he had gotten food from the restaurant for us to eat that he was happy.
‘’Children, I am home. Come to the dining table, I have a special surprise for all of you.’’
         We all came downstairs scared that he was going to do something crazy like does sometimes.
We take our seats and he smiles at all of us then winks at me. I force a smile so he will not get angry at me while Alice glared at me like I stole her stuffs. He gives us each a plate of rice with huge chicken in each plate.
‘’Today is a special day. The day Satan our Master has given us to what to eat. We shall continue to glorify him alone’’, dad said adding some incantations after that.
‘’You may start eating’’, he added after the incantations.
            We obeyed immediately and gobbled down our food. Mum could not eat much because she was heavily pregnant and maybe sick. After the food dad walked up to me and without any sign or warning pressed his lips on mine and everybody froze before mum walked over to us.
‘’She is too little for this Arthur. Please, do not do this.’’
Dad pushed mum away with a great amount of force that she hit the dining table and fell as she started bleeding.
‘’I will do as I please and nobody will stop me.’’
                I wanted to run over to mum to make sure she was okay but my instinct told me that was not a good idea. Jordan, Charlene and Alice were helping mum out while dad led me to his room and what was done to Charlene that night was done to me only that he let me go when I cried so much.