Munachi

|Chapter 10|

Past.

“Stop, please, stop!” I scream, while struggling on the cold floor.

I'm pin down to the floor with my hands hold down. My clothes and underwear discarded onto the floor next to me.

“Someone help me!” I cry out. “Please—”

The rapist put a hand to my mouth, gripping it shut. “Shut up you fool,” he hisses. “No one is going to save you. You should know better than being out here in such a late hour.”

I look at him with so much fear, and with tears slipping down the corners of my eyes.

“Nrmph!” I weep, my painful cries pounds against the walls and even beyond, couple with a terrible thunderclap.

Eleven thirty-two p.m. I make it back home on foot, leaving my car and every other possession behind. A loud crack of thunder sounds directly overhead as I burst through the door, standing by the threshold, water steaming down my face, and soak from head to toe.

“Muna! Thank goodness!” I see Nate rushing towards me. “Where have you been? I was so worried. What happened to you?”

I begin to murmur some words.

“What is it?” Nate asks, bending slightly to hear me better. I become silent again, before collapsing onto the floor and everything goes dark.

For the past few days now I become sad and agitated. This mood continues into the next day and to Nate's bewilderment, I would not confide in him as before, although he pleads with me to tell him what is troubling me.

“What's wrong, Muna?” Nate asks as my depression continue into the following day.

“Nothing,” I reply.

“Of course, there is,” he says affectionately. “There's something bothering you. Why can't you tell me? Haven't we always been frank with each other?”

I say helplessly. “You can't do anything about it.”

“Tell me all the same,” he pleads.

But I still would not tell him, and he doesn't press me any further.

♣♣♣

As my depression continues, Nate becomes more and more puzzled. Not long afterwards, a sudden news adds to my depression.

“Your wife is pregnant,” Dr. Samson, a friend of Nate, informs him and I as we sit puzzled in front of his desk.

I blink twice. Is this a joke, I thought to myself.

“Wait, hold on Doc. Are you sure about this?” Nate asks.

Dr. Samson smiles. “Of course I'm sure. She's three weeks gone.”

“But I thought she was down with malaria and . . .”

“No, no,” Dr. Samson shakes his head. “Those were just morning sicknesses. It happens at the early stages of pregnancy.”

“Oh my God. You hear that Muna.” He turns in his seat to face me. “We're going to have a child after all.” He beams at me, but I remain silent and expressionless. Facing Dr. Samson, he takes his hand. “Thank you so much.”

Dr. Samson chuckles. “You shouldn't thank me. I did nothing. You should thank the Lord for finally granting your heart most desire.”

We return from the hospital to see Ma waiting for us in the living room.

“Mom, what're you doing here?” Nate asks as his mother pulls him into an embrace.

“What do you mean what I'm doing here? Am I not welcome in my son's house? Or has your wife warned you never to allow me into this house?” She gives me a sidelong glare.

“No, Mom. It isn't like that. I'm just kind of surprised seeing you here.”

“Hello, Ma,” I greet behind Nate.

Ignoring me, she pulls Nate towards the sofa and they both sit. I turn on my heels to walk away in order to leave mother and son alone to talk, but Ma stops me.

“You sit,” she says to me. “What I'm about to say concerns you too.”

That's new, I thought inwardly, as I take my seat in front of them.

“Nathaniel, why haven't you taken action concerning what we talked about the last time?” Ma begins in a mornful voice.

“Mom, I . . .”

“Why can't you get a second wife?” she asks. “What's wrong with marrying again when your wife cannot give you a child?”

“Mom, Muna is—”

“I know why you don't take another wife,” Ma continues, interrupting him. “She's the cause of everything. She has bewitched you! She has used some sort of voodoo on you not to make you look at any other woman. She's charmed you that you don't even listen to me anymore.” She turns on me. “Hence forth your charm will lose its potency—I'll see to that! And let me warn you, I'll not leave you alone until you do what I want!”

Once again Ma begins to disparage me. Once again Nate fails to stop her. She goes on and on until copious tears begins to run down my cheeks. One may think the tears are due to Ma's hurtful words, but they are actually the fact that I'm been raped days ago and don't have the courage and too shameful to tell anyone about it.

I rise from the sofa, and walk silently towards the bedroom. But before I'm out of their hearing, I hear the following words:

“Mom, Muna is pregnant. You keep interrupting me and . . .”

For hours I lay awake because I can't seem to fall asleep. Later I hear Nate get into bed and I shut my eyes, pretending to be asleep. It must have been past midnight—four hours after I'd left him and his mother.

“Muna,” he calls. “Are you still awake?”

I remain silent.

“Look, I'm sorry about Mom. I've explained to her about the pregnancy and she's happy now. She left being so happy. Everything she said back there was because she had no knowledge of you being pregnant. I wish you could see the look on her face when I told her. It was so priceless.” He chuckles, and I remain silent still. “Muna, what's really the matter? You've been acting all moody ever since the night you returned from the Maxwells'. Tell me, did something happened?”

I don't reply, but now my eyes are open. We remain awake but silent; the silence between us says eloquently what we are afraid to say, while the current of love and understanding which used to pass between us, seems to have come to a standstill. The night crawls, until we are overcome with sleep—the balm of troubled minds.