The Villain so close to home.

There was once a young girl who lived close to cousins, aunts, and uncles. It was all sunshine and rainbows, why wouldn't it be? Can you imagine how cool it would be to just wake up and walk less than sixty seconds, knock on a door and your cousins that are around your same age answer the door. You get to play from sunrise to sunset and nobody is complaining because you literally live right there. Having Grandma alternate between houses because you live so close and she wants to be with everyone. Well that was the story of little young Cony. She was the happiest of kids, having someone to play with and grandma there always. There is nothing better than that when you are a kid. Mom and Dad had to work to provide, so Cony was with Grandma while they were at work. If we are being completely honest being with Grandma was awesome. The best food, snacks, and ice-cream before bed. Mom and dad would sometimes have to go out and Cony had to stay home with Grandma. As a child you do not really mind it if there is someone to play with. Which there was. She had her three cousins that where her age. There was one of her cousins that was a couple years older and did not pay much attention to them during the day. Once the night came, Cony had to stay over because her parents would not be home. Grandma would sleep on the couch, and Cony would sleep on the floor because even at the age of seven she knew that Grandma could not sleep on the floor because of her back problems. So once everyone was asleep, Cony was beginning to fall asleep. Of course it was a little harder because she was not home and neither were her parents. Once she finally fell asleep something woke her up. It was not Grandma and it was not mom or dad. It was one of her cousins. The one she least expected, and in the way she never thought she would ever be woken up. Her cousin was at least 5 years older than her, and never even tried to play with her. For some reason that night, the night she will never forget, he wanted to play. In a very unpleasant way. Cony could not even begin to understand what was going on. She was only seven! It was way too much for her to comprehend. What would she do after waking up to him touching her leg? She was awake and was careful to keep her eyes shut no matter how hard that was. She could not possibly say anything or make a scene. If Grandma woke up many things could happen. What if he did something to hurt her? What if nobody believed her? He was older, why would they believe a kid? Mom and dad had nobody else to help them watch her. I would be changing everything. My family would completely get torn apart. I did not want to stop seeing my cousins. Of course, I hated him for making me go through that, but I could not say or do anything. All that was left was to do was lay there pretend to be asleep and hope that it all ended fast. He would not stop! Next thing I knew he was putting his disgusting hands up my shirt. “Make it stop! Make it stop!” That is all that went through my head. I turned my body around hoping that it would stump him and he would finally leave. That monster just would not stop. He tried pulling my pants down and I quickly thought to twist and turn as one would do while they sleep. That scared him and he stopped for a while. When he thought I was back fully asleep he put his hand inside my pants and started moving his hand in places where it should never had been in a first place. He started to do things that made me really scared and I did not know what to do. I just wanted to scream and cry! Just when I was about to open my eyes and push him off and yell, someone walked out the rooms and he quickly stopped and went to the kitchen as if he were just getting water. I remember hearing him pour water on a glass and answer to that person, “I was just thirsty.” To be completely honest, I do not know who it was that saved me at that time. I heard the voice, but my mind was so confused as to what had just happened. The next day my parents got home, and I finally went home. I refused to ever go back there again. My parents did not understand why I did not want to go back there but they did not force me to. I remember a few weeks later my grandma could not watch me because she had a doctors appointment. So, my dad who was so close to my cousin, the monster, asked him if he could please watch me for a couple hours. That beast agreed. My dad left and told me be good your cousin should get here in about 20 minutes to watch you. I said okay dad and smiled. However, deep down inside I was petrified. I knew my parents did it because they needed to, and because they had no idea what was going on. I had not told anybody, and I did not plan to. I heard the doorbell and my heart dropped. I knew that the monster was about to make my life a living hell. It is because of him that I never feared the boogieman, or anything. The one thing I did fear was him! He opened the door and smiled at me. Before he could say anything, I ran to my room and hid under the bed. I heard him calling me, telling me “Let’s play a game.” I was not interested at all in his games. He opens my door and looks for me. When he realized that I was under the bed he tells me, “come out and we can play doctor.” With tears in my eyes I tell him, “I don’t want to play I don’t feel good.” So, he did not waste any time and he pulled me out from under the bed. As soon as he got me out, he threw me on-top of the bed and I remember crying and feeling so much pain, physical emotional, and I was full of fear. I wanted it to be over more than anything. Once it was over, I got in the closet and stayed there. Before he left, the room he opened the closet door and he said, “It was not that bad now was it?” I cried so much that day. I felt like a lost soul. Alone. My dad came home that afternoon and right when he came in through the door I ran out and hugged him. He wondered, “What is wrong?” I looked at him and smiled, “Nothing dad, I just missed you!” After that I was not around him alone for a few years. Then when I ended up seeing him, I was 14 years old. By then he stayed over to just be with me because my parents would be gone for the weekend. I felt a lot better by then because he took his girlfriend and her kids. I did not think anything would happen. I have never been more wrong in my life. He got in a fight with his girlfriend and it got physical. At that point I did not expect her to stay, and she did not. It was then when I realized it was game over for me. He went to my room, sat next to me and tried to make a move. I threatened to call the police and it stopped him for a while. When he was about to make a move, his girlfriend came back. After that she saw me anxious and on the verge of crying and she stayed. About a year later I decided to tell the police. There was an investigation going on. Everyone in our family found out and hated me for it. The reason they found out was because he was incarcerated. However, it was a joke of a sentence because he was incarcerated for only two months. After that, everyone in our family kind of saw me as the bad guy. It was all supposed to stay just among our closer family. They did not want the family in Mexico to find out because it would tear our family apart. Really tear our family apart? It was already torn since I was a child and he decided to not respect the fact that I was a child and the fact that we were family! After that I took counseling, tried to move on but I could never establish a good relationship. Eventually years later I was able to get into a serious committed relationship. I am now happily married! With a very supportive husband that is helping me grow as a person. As you read this, I am trying to become more focused on my passions and growing that way. I was torn as a child and did not get to enjoy my childhood. Now, I am growing as a person doing what I love and hoping to get my story out there to let whoever reads this know, “You can always achieve what you want in life!” Little innocent defenseless Cony is now powerful, strong, rebuilt Cony. A writer that became one because it was a way out of reality and now it is a passion.

“It doesn’t matter how slow you go, as long as you don’t stop.”

~Confucius