Chapter 2: Sweet Mother

What just happened? What had happened while her eyes were shut? Where had her mother got the bottle she had used on Ken? It was obvious that he had been hit on the head and very hard too for him to have passed out.

She offered a silent prayer of thanks to the Lord. She knew that the nightmare was not over but for the night at least, she was safe.

She kissed her mother on the cheeks,even in her stupor, she had still managed to stop Ken from defiling her. She had saved her daughter and she might not even know what she had done and might not remember it when she woke but that was okay. She would see how they would go far away from this beast. They were better off without him anyway.

The bottle had shattered as it fell from her mother's hands as she collapsed from the exertion of hitting Ken with her strength.

She carried her mother with some difficulty to the flat bed that was no more than a mat which they had in the house and taking a broom, she started gathering the bottles together and packed it with a broken dustpan in the house.

He kicked Ken to one side of the room and stayed awake to guard her mother and herself, in case Ken woke and attacked them.

She dozed some of the time due to the exertion of fighting off her stepfather and losing and the fear of violation but she always came awake with a start.

She need not have worried about Ken coming around because he did not till it was morning.

As soon as it was dawn, Mirabel woke her mother by sprinkling water on her.

'Oh, my head. It feels like it is splitting', Mira, her mother complained.

They had similar names. Her father had given her the name Mirabel because it was almost as though it was the full form of her mother's name. Mirabel- Mira.

'It is just a hangover. You had too much to drink last night. I have told you that alcohol is not good for your health nut you won't listen, if it causes your death, what would I do? I shall be all alone in the world, you know'.

'Stop saying such useless things and get me ready, to go to work'.

'You will have to stay home today. You do not look too good. I shall tell them at the factory that you are not feeling too well'.

'Are you out of your mind? It would mean my money bring reduced, you know. And I cannot afford that'.

Mirabel was tired of all these. She had taking to housekeeping for some families and was paid stipend for her hard work but at least it helped keep the hunger away and they also gave her their used clothes and when they are really in a good mood, some food stuff.

Mirabel was really hardworking and loveable.

Her mother worked in the factory but majority of what she earned, she used on alcohol and was drunk most of the time but anytime she was sober, Mirabel would glimpse the mother she had known before the death of her father.

Tears poured down her cheek.

Life was just unfair.

Her mother had brought Ken home as her new husband immediately afterwards, she could not stay without a man's live. Mirabel had been disappointed. Ken was working someplace at the time but conviniently lost his job almost immediately he started living with them and Mira had to go look for a job when Ken could not seem to find another.

But how could he, a lazy man who could not even brush his own teeth!

She had not liked him right from the first because she could not bring herself to trust him and had not hidden that fact. How right she had been.

She looked over to where he was lying and knew that he would be stirring anytime soon. She had made sure he was still breathing because she had thought at first that the blow to his head had killed him

Though it would not have been a bad thi g at all, only that it might have put her mother into trouble.

When she had managed to make her mother conscious enough, she spoke urgently to her.

'Mum, do you remember what happened last night?'

'What happened last night? What do you mean?'

This was what she had been afraid of.

'So, you do not remember hitting Ken with a bottle on the head?' Mirabel asked urgently.

'No. But why would I do that? Do I want to kill him?'

'He tried to force himself on me last night. I screamed and screamed but you were out because you had too much to drink. I tried fighting him off but he was too strong for me and he had almost succeeded when you hit him on his head and he fell down unconscious, that was how I was saved from being violated. Thank you so much mum'.

Her mother was staring at her like she had grown horns.

'Ken would never do such a thing. You are his daughter, remember?' she stood up and staggered a little as she went up to her daughter to feel her temple.

'Are you sure you are not running a fever? Or maybe it was a nightmare that you had. It must have been so vivid that you thought that it actually happened'.

Mirabel could not believe what she was hearing.

She looked for evidence to show her mother but she felt hurried. She wanted to be out of that place with her mother before that beast came around.

She showed her mother the scratches on her body and how her panties had been torn. Still Mira would not believe it.

'I know that you hate Ken but do you really hate him that much that you would accuse him of all these? That must be the case for you to have gone as far as I juri g yourself to frame him'.

Mirabel was exasperated.

'Mother, it is true that I do not like your husband but I could not accuse him of doing what he did not do. He actually forced himself on me last night but you saved me!'

'How could I when I was out cold because of the drink I had taken and how come I can't remember anything?'

'I could not believe it as well, when you hit him. It must have been your subconscious working to save me. It was nothing short of a miracle and now, we must leave. I was able to pack the few things we had last night while the both of you were out. We need to leave because I can assure you that he won't spare us and I might not be lucky next time!' she said with a sense of urgency.

'I am not going anywhere with you. How do you expect me to leave my husband? Who will accept me at this age? Ken loves you like his own daughter. Try to accept him or at least tolerate him. But never you accuse him of such a disgusting thing again!'

There was no time to argue, Ken was coming around. She had thought that by the time he did, they would have been long gone by then.

'Mother, please, he is coming around. Let us leave!'

'Now, I understand. You actually hit him on the head while he was sleeping and injured yourself to show me as evidence of his attempted violation of you? Then you packed our things because you wanted us to be rid of him, right?''

'Mum,please, let us go. You will find another work somewhere else and I might even work for the both of us and all you need to do is stay at home'.

'Will you also be my husband?'

'If you stop drinking and take good care of your health by eating right, men will be attracted to you. You are a very beautiful woman. You will be the one now making the choice of who to marry and who not to and not the other way round. Ken does not appreciate you'.

'Says someone who begged me for love last night and hit me on the head when I refused?' a voice said behind them.

They both turned round to find that Ken had regained consciousness.