3. The promise

The appeal

On a sunny morning, Lussandra and her two daughters, Fanua and Kilaila were getting ready to go to the market, as Abelar and his friends were going to meet again to catch up. Griao always liked parties and forced his wife and daughters to prepare for the occasion.

While Lussandra was in the kitchen preparing the shopping bag, Kataleya was washing the dishes.

“ Mom, can I go to the market too?

“ No daughter, you know I don’t want you to go to those places! Someone also has to stay at home.

- I do not want to be alone!

“ Your father is here and we're going to the market, then we'll come back and we'll all be together, me, your father, your aunt Kucaia, your sisters and your friends.

“ The Pope and Aunt Kucaia don't like me.

“ Yes, they like it, they just don’t know how to show it.

- But I…

“ We can't take too long either, the Footman will also join us! We have to have it ready before the pope's friends arrive.

Kataleya asked her mother so much to go with them, but Lussandra refused, leaving her at home. The little girl stayed in the backyard of the house, sitting in the sand and started crying, drawing her father's face in the sand. The little girl knew how to draw like no one else, as she spent most of her time alone she got used to solitude.

Her mother and sisters didn't care, they thought she was just crying out of a tantrum, ignoring the little girl's plea.

Maarifa had already gone out with her friends from the village, she barely played with Kataleya, in fact she felt the same contempt that her father felt.

Hours later, Lussandra and her daughters were leaving the vegetable market that was a little far from home, encountering heavy rain along the way. The three of them hurried their steps, to get home as soon as possible.

- Let's go! We have to be quick, otherwise we'll still get sick from the rain!” Lussandra stated, holding the bags.

“Wouldn’t it be better to postpone this party?” Kilaila insisted.

“ We're not going in time, the Footman and his father's friends must have arrived by now, we're late. “ Lussandra took her capulana and covered her daughters, leaving them with their hands free and herself holding the bags.

“ Let's go quickly and we still have to prepare something to eat!

“ They must be more interested in drinks than food, mother… “ Fanua laughed as she ran out of the rain next to the kilaila.

The sooner they arrived, the less delay they would have in preparing the food, as Griao didn't help at all. He was the kind of man who said that a woman's place is in the pots. After so much rain and so much running, they arrived at the village, just a few meters from the house.

“ Father's friends have arrived! I can see through the window! “ Fanua pointed with her finger.

Kilaila: “ Mom, who is that? “ Kilaila pointed her finger, seeing a girl from afar that she couldn't recognize due to the rain.

Lussandra recognized her from afar:

“ Kataleya, daughter, what are you doing outside in this rain?

Kataleya was walking towards her mother so painfully, she seemed to be tired and was limping, that she ended up falling to the ground. She pressed her hands against the sand and cried out crying.

His mother and sisters approached. Distressed Lussandra passed her hand over Kataleya's face, she couldn't believe it when she saw her little girl's clothes torn and blood between her legs.

“ It hurts, mama... It hurts “ Kataleya cried in her mother's arms.

“ what does she have, mom? “ Kilaila didn’t understand what had happened.

“Wait here, stay with your sister, don’t enter the house. “ Lussandra got up and ran to the house, picked up an ax that was leaning against one of the logs on the ground. Furious, she ran and went to the house, when she entered she saw the Footman and her father's friends in the living room, all drunk, bare-chested and adjusting their pants. She saw her daughter's blood along with semen on the floor. She saw the cruelty that had been done in her absence.

“ My daughter... You hurt my little one! She's eight years old! “ Lussandra with an ax in her hand, threatening them, one of them wanted to approach her but she cut her hands off, angry and out of her mind, but there were many of them, There were eight against one woman. Against a fifty-year-old mother who was fragile. She was then attacked by them, so violently, while another man with no hands fled the house. Fanua, hearing her mother's screams, ran to the house and then went to her father's room. Abelar went down, picked up two machetes and went down to the room. Despite being drunk, he still had strength, and that was when the men left. Lacaio had the audacity to break up his marriage with Marifa, stating that he could get something better.

“ Lussandra... “ Griao approaches his wife who was injured on the floor.

Lussandra got up, went to meet Kilaila and Kataleya, and returned home with the little one on her lap.

Abelar looked at his daughter painfully, he felt guilty for not having protected her. Soon after, Maarifa arrives at the house, sees the house in disarray and doesn't understand what happened. He looks at his father who was devoted to what happened. Just by the look in his eyes, she realized that something serious had happened.

- Where were you? See you soon!” Griao shouted.

“ With friends, I said that... “ Marifa looked at him in surprise.

“ You haven't had enough of meeting the Footman, have you? to sleep with that man?

“ No, Papa, wasn't he here with you? They've already decided when and how my wedding and lobolo will take place...

“ There will be no lobolo. “ Griao stated.

- But why? I...

“ Lackey canceled the wedding, just as we don't insist on having him as a family.

“ I don't understand, what happened? “ Marifa begged, almost crying.

“ Lackey raped his sister

- What? No, he wouldn't do that

“ He did it... There's no marriage.

Marffa took steps back, in disbelief and ran to her room, coming across the others, Fanua and Kilaila.

“ It's true, the Lackey...

They both nodded their heads positively. Marifa lay down on the mat, crying in silence for having lost her fiancé, for her dream being shattered in a fraction of minutes. The little ones could see her hurt.

Lussandra walked through the house, carrying the little one and as she passed her room she saw her sister lying on her bed. The sisters looked at each other, they could see a wounded mother and a satisfied woman. Lussandra could expel her, but she had her daughter who needed her and it was the little one she gave priority to. She took her to the bathroom, ordered Fanua to prepare a bucket of warm water, while she took off the rags that had once been Kataleya's dress. She saw her little girl's sad look, accompanied by bruises spread across her small body.

“ It hurts, mama... “ Kataleya flinched when her skin was touched by her mother's soft hands.

“ I know, I'm sorry, my little one... I'm so sorry.

Soon Fanua came in with the bucket of water and left it beside her and then left, unable to bear to see her sister's condition.

“ Mama has to give me a bath, let me

- It hurts

“ I know, but you need to be clean! I'll be careful...

Kataleya nodded positively, accepting that she was touched once again, letting the water pass over the child's body.

“ Mama...

“ Says daughter...

“ You all did what I did... “ Kataleya looked at her mother. “ My sisters also did what I did, they bled a lot... It hurt a lot like me... Why didn't you tell me that one day I would have to do this...

Lussandra let out tears, not knowing how to respond.

“- What did I do“

“ You didn't do anything, daughter...

“So why did they hurt me... They put that thing in me, they... It hurts, I don't want to do it anymore

Lussandra shushed her with her thumb, unable to bear the situation her daughter was in.

“ You will never go through that again, never again! I promise!“

“ They said that's how I was born...“

“ What they did to you was evil!“

“ So if they were bad, they will be punished? Here in the village, when it's bad, there's punishment“

Lussandra remained silent. She knew that nothing would be done to the criminals, because in her time, rape was always the woman's fault. She continued bathing Kataleya, trying to entertain her with other matters, despite knowing that it would do no good. She tried to erase the cruelty from the memory of her daughter, who had been raped and tortured with such brutality. That night a child, like many in the world, was a victim of rape and the criminal went unpunished.

(…)