A Girl In The Rose

                                       A Girl In The Rose

By N.J Intja

“No! No! I am not going to slip my dreams. You have done enough to my sister, are you not yet satisfied, mum, dad?” Victoria cried at her parent. Her voice went far through the evening air when she screamed. “Am I not your mother that have brought you on this earth? I have nurtured you like a jungle that does not miss seasonal rain. I have taught you good traits to use when talking to elders, but now look” she pointed into her unmovable eyes, “I am considered like a plastic bag that have been thrown into a bin after it has given you bread! “ she startled for moments. “Mum, I love you, that’s why I am doing this…” “ Doing what? And did you just say you love me? Never! A loved person will never be let down, Victoria!” Her mother intervened her. Her father’s eyes were swaying past her face all this moment his wife was talking, but now it seemed like he was going to say something too. “Victoria!” Mr. Mike called his daughter in a convincing voice which was soft and soothing. “Am I and your mom not happy couples? Are you not happy to be brought in this lovely world? So don’t get me wrong, I and your mom want you to get married to Mr. Emmanuel’s son. You are grown up, Victoria, and it is a must to me for you to get married to that boy, Frank.” Mr. Mike said, his eyes were unmovable when he said all of this. “But..” “Shush! May you please close your stinky mouth!” Mr. Mike shouted at Victoria when she was about to gain say once again. “Are you going to disrespect me just like how you have disrespected your mom. This will not take you anywhere. Right away, go and prepare. Today is Wednesday, so on Friday they will be here once again” he said eagerly. “No! I swear.” Victoria cried, jerking her body around to take off to her house. In a split second, she was whirled back by her father and slapped a painful slap right onto her cute face. Nothing to do, she scuttled into her house.

She set by herself on her bed. Victoria is a nice stunning girl that drains almost each and everyone man’s energy. She have been proposed by a lot of boys, but the ongoing one is weird. She has never seen a family proposing a girl for their son. What surprised her most is for that family taking the proposal to her parents instead to take it at her. The slap her father have flung at her was still haunting in her mind. She began to ponder her dreams and how her parents are destroying them. She again reckoned how the Emmanuel’s have expressed their proposal. “We have been in the longest queue to looking for a lovely girl. We have been dreaming and imagining of getting a commitment girl, and for that we felt left out. But God knows the world, so he has piercing eyes and ears that he showed us a pretty girl that takes breathes almost of each and every man, plus she has good traits that surpasses others’. The world needs interventions and hands swapping’s, so I would ask the big brains to lend us your daughter so she will be our daughter too, Mr. Mike and Mrs. Mike Larissa. Remember: roots alone will not make it without leaves, neither leaves will do without roots, so I will give you what ever you feel like to be given.” Said Mr. Emmanuel in Victoria’s mind. She began to weep, tears tracing down her swollen cheeks. She thinks she is not ready to get married, she is just 20 years old and she yearns to become a doctor, but today she is being forced to get married to a man that she have never anticipated get into her life and even feel up the wrong space. She heaved herself onto the bed and dived into her soft pillow. Something just popped in her mind, “Your pillow is your solution” she whispered to herself. But what solution will the pillow give her? She has been told already to leave the house if she really mean it to gainsay Mr. Emmanuel’s proposal. She rolled over at the other side and gave it another thoughtful… “My sister is married to a man that she have never dreamt of in her whole life.” She thought. Of course, her sister was forced too to get married to a soldier because of his strength, despite the proposal came from himself, the soldier. Her mind kept on wandering around all night long, driving her into uneasy sleep.

Family issues are sometimes discussed at the national level. Mr. Emmanuel was tutoring his only son, Frank, on how he’s going to talk on Friday. “I have realized that both land animals, water and air birds move in pairs with the opposite gender. This is when I have got a lesson to know that we human beings ought to be the same too. Of course, there are many birds in the air, or someone can say: there are many land animals, despite it is only one bird that have tangled into my net, and only one animal has been caught into my trap… and that is you, Ms. Victoria.” Said Frank, after he has been taught by his dad. “Well done, Frank! Good job. I am not anticipating an disappointment from you for blushing off in front of a crowd. Let me even think optimistic that she’s going to acknowledge you.” Added Mr. Emmanuel, his face splitting into a big smile as if they have achieved their goal already.

Here Friday comes. Victoria could not believe what her eyes is showing her. A box full of jewelry is being given to her mother on her name. She can again not believe to see everyone around her wearing big smiles on their faces. She, the loneliness only, feeling blue and feeling as a bird locked into a cage whose wings has been removed, as gathering darkness whose brightness is being dimmed. She is still wondering where she is going to heard after she says, “No!” because almost her whole family have despised her for denying the first proposal. She is not minding about the goons she has been sent before this occasion is taking place. She has been given cautions. She has been told to reject the proposal only if she is having an appointment in heaven. She can’t believe innocent person like her to go through this sufferings. She is full of pathetic or even compassionate, that she cannot even kill a fly, but yet she is going through this kind of plights. “…Victoria! I hope you can hear what your mom is saying. We love you , that’s why we are doing this. We want you a bright future. Our son, Frank have said his word, his parents too have said something. So what are you going to say about this proposal? Remember: Mr. Emmanuel have said that he will offer what ever we want him to offer us. For today you can see this three bulls being offered between your eyes” said Mr. Mike, his forehead drawing a frown after another so he scare Victoria.

“By one condition, elders” said Victoria, rising her eyes toward the crowded listeners. “A condition to doing what, my child? You will be given what ever you want” intervened Mrs. Emmanuel Kimmy, Frank’s mother. Victoria gnashed her teeth and said, “I will get married to your son…” “Yes! You are talking like that. You are making me feel million dollars” said Mr. Mike, his smile splitting even more, from ear to ear. Frank’s heart which was beating gave a halt and began to vibrate instead. Victoria was in daze. “I am not done talking, elders” she added. “Go on my daughter in-law, go on” said Mrs. Emmanuel Kimmy. Victoria looked around, set down her eyes then gave a big sigh and said, “I will get married to your son the time Hell will freeze out!” she began to sob. People got astonished, some frozen in their seats and gazing her with open mouthed. Immediately, Mr. Mike stood up and began to pound her black and blue in front of a crowd. “Yeah! She deserves that. You can even beat her to death_ no hard feelings” said Mr. Emmanuel. Her mother gave it a whirl to try to save her but all went in vain. She was left in bloody and covered in a black eye.

This day was the worst one ever. She is removed out of the house while her body was still aching. It was a stroke of luck for her to be accepted in her grandma’s house where she have spend his whole week before she came across a compassionate boy like her that asked her what happened to her. They met in the shop when she was just helped by him when she was shorting with R5 at the till. She tried to reject but went in vain. She waited for him outside to give him an appreciation. “Sir, I don’t know how to thank you, but I would like to say ‘thank you a lot' may God bless you” said Victoria. “No need to thank me, Madam, It was out of my pleasure. I am Alpheus, I am yearning to become a doctor. So I am feeling pity for you to see you in that condition… what happened to you?” the boy asked her. “Thanks! But it is difficult to explain it. And I am Victoria, thanks to meet you” said Victoria. Since this day, Alpheus have changed Victoria’s life. They once again came across each other in town. This time she did not manage to evade him. She did not even know how they swapped the phone numbers and how fast it was to convey what happened to her before.

It was a fortune that this boy showed her a lot of pavements to success. They both applied for scholarships and fled the country. Victoria didn’t inform her parents, only her grandma. Their business with Alpheus didn’t end right there. They became couples after some years past.