The weeks following Auntie Gifty's passing were the worst moments of my life.

I didn't see much of my uncle during those weeks. He was usually shut in his room in silence, and so I decided to stay in mine. Sometimes I'd cry the whole day, not stopping until the night came round and I fell asleep, my dreams filled with my Auntie's voice and her soft smile. Other nights I felt too numb to even feel anything, and I just lay in bed, holding Chocolate cake close to me.

One day, about a month after Auntie's death, Uncle Philip suddenly came out of his room, and when he saw me sitting on the living room floor quietly, he suddenly slapped me, and then beat me before telling me to go and make dinner. That was when he first started to take all his anger out on me.

I was afraid. And I had nobody to turn to at the time. For years, I dreaded him returning from work, only to take out all the stress on me, often beating or shouting at me to get things done. He'd get drunk a lot in the evenings, too, and I had to make sure to stay outside or lock myself up in a cupboard to make sure he wouldn't find me in his state.

I took it with silence for a very long time. Until that one day, when everything changed.

TEN MONTHS AGO FROM PRESENT DAY...

Eyram was my first ever friend since I started living with Uncle Philip alone. She used to be in my school, but we had only become friends after I left. She was twelve, just a year older than me, so we were pretty close. She was the daughter of the shopkeeper across the road from Uncle's house, and so we were only able to speak when I was sent there to buy something.

Uncle Philip didn't know we were friends. He would never have allowed it. Friends were weaknesses that only added extra problems to your life, he had told me. And besides, what did I need friends for?

Eyram and her Mum, who I called Auntie Aba, knew Uncle Philip would have been angry if he knew about us, so they kept it a secret. The two of them were kind of like my safe haven, Auntie Aba would give me biscuits and juice sometimes when Uncle was out, and I would sneak them into the back of the house and eat them secretly. On days Uncle was angry, and had beaten me again, I would run to Auntie Aba's in the night, and she would dress my wounds and give me a cup of Milo hot chocolate.

Eyram was an artist. She used to draw everything she found interesting, from chickens leading their chicks across the road, to school children playing. I had always wanted her to draw me, but I was never able to stay long enough to do it.

"I wish I had talent like you. I'm not good at anything". I used to tell her.

She would laugh at that all the time. I never knew what she found funny about it. Then she would look at me, grinning, and tell me, "there's more to you than you know, Abena. You should also try some new things to see what you are good at, else you will never know". Then her eyes would go sad, and her expression would soften. "But I know, that your Uncle...hmm. Don't worry, one day we will try some things together okay? Maybe you will even be good at art like me".

They had done a lot for me during my time knowing them so far, and so when Eyram announced her twelfth birthday, I was determined to give her something back. But I barely had anything for myself. Asking Uncle was not an option.

But then something happened that morning. I don't know what came over me, but I was willing to risk anything that day. Just so I could get Eyram a gift.

So when Uncle Philip placed a bowl of expensively wrapped chocolates on the dining table for the guests that would come later that day, I was already sure of what I was going to do. I remember how he caught me looking at them, as I cleaned the dining table, and he had threatened to starve me for four days if I took one.

"Those are expensive chocolates, do you hear me? If I catch you taking one of them, you will not eat, that is my first and last warning. Just one of those chocolates cost a week's worth of your supper, child".

I knew he wasn't joking about it. He had starved me before for taking a mango from the mango tree without asking her first. He was capable of anything.

But that day, I was foolish. That day, I decided to be rebellious. That day, all I wanted was to do something good in return for Eyram's friendship.

And so, as soon as Uncle drove out to meet his visitors in town, leaving me behind as usual, I walked cautiously over to the table. My hand trembled as I reached over to take one. The gold wrapping with the red strip in the middle was now at my fingertip. Just grab it, I thought, grab it and go.

But what if she used the phone charger? Or even worse, the hot rod...he had never used it before, but she had always threatened to.

But that bowl was full of those chocolates. Would he notice if I just took one? No...that would be impossible.

Without another thought, I grabbed at the closest golden cube. Now it was in my hand, there was no going back. My heart hammering in my chest, I fled out of the house, and ran to the gate, flinging it open. I immediately saw Eyram sitting on the bench in front of the small shop, laughing with some other girls. I smiled to myself. I couldn't wait to see the look on her face when she saw her gift.

Closing the gate behind me, I started making my way towards them. "Eyram!" I called over to her, and she turned to me. There was a second of a smile on her face, but then her expression dropped as she noticed something behind me.

I turned to see Uncle's car coming towards us, and my expression dropped too. Why was he back so soon? Please, God. No.

He had seen me. I knew he was fuming. I turned to Eyram. Now it was all over, but I should at least do what I came here to do. Running over to her, I threw the chocolate towards her and she caught it in the air. Then I ran back to the house.

"Wait, Abena. Wait!" I heard her calling me, but there was no time. Uncle was already here. I ran in through the front door just as he jumped out his car, slamming the door behind him.

He stormed across the living room, viciously grabbing my arm. "How dare you". He hissed."I knew I should have come back earlier. You are lucky those visitors are not with me. What were you doing out there, eh? WHAT WERE YOU DOING"?

Tears ran down my cheeks, as I kept my eyes shut tight. "I'm sorry..." was all I could mumble.

"Where is that rod? Where is it"? Locking the door, and shoving the key into his trouser pocket, Uncle threw me back to the ground, and stormed into the kitchen.

No. Not the rod. The iron pole that he had kept in the kitchen for years, he had never used it, and I had always wondered what it was for. Now I knew. I heard the stove switch on. He was lighting it. My heart dropped, as I realised what he was going to do. He was going to burn me.

As I heard his footsteps coming out, I ran up the staircase, frantically, and sped down the corridor.

"Stupid girl. You think you can really run away from me"?

The small door of the storage room had a lock from the inside for when someone got stuck in. Without a second though, I flung myself inside, locking the door behind me, and crouching down against the wall.

The storage was cramped and small. I sat down, as I heard her footsteps thundering around downstairs.

I hugged my knees closer to my chest, and buried my head between. He was going to find me sooner or later. It didn't matter how long it took-the punishment would still be the same.

"Where is that girl? Jemimah!" His voice echoed throughout the whole house, and was getting louder each time he called. Shivers crept up my spine, and it wasn't because of the storeroom's cold tiles beneath my bare feet or the stone wall against my back.

I waited in the darkness, as I heard the dreaded footsteps coming towards the storage door. "Jemimah!" He yelled out again. I gripped my hair in fear and curled up into a tighter ball.

Please don't come here.

Please don't come here.

Please don't come here.

I heard the lock outside the storage door click, and the door flew open, Uncle was standing there like a giant beast, the iron rod in one hand with the tip blazing orange, and a paperclip in the other which he must have used to open the door.

"Just like that stupid hag. Completely useless. You women can never just obey".

My screams shattered throughout the house, as the flames burnt the skin of my back. Those moments are now a blur, as I can't remember exactly what happened in that time. But I do know I passed out. And I woke up, lying in the entrance of the storage room, the pain still burning into me. 

Still lying weakly on the ground, I heard faint voices from downstairs.

"I beg you, my brother, spare the child," it was Auntie Aba, "she is a small girl, only seven years. Children do these things all the time".

"How do you know her age"? Uncle demanded. "Why was she going to your daughter to give that chocolate to her? What relationship does she have with her"?

"Oh, she just wanted to give her a small gift, sister. Just a small gift..."

"Are you challenging me, woman"? He barked.

"Oh I beg you to just spare her. She has done nothing wrong".

"Clearly, you don't want to answer my questions. I don't like that kind of sly behaviour, do you understand? Don't tell me how to raise a child, woman. I will beat her if she ever comes near you again". I heard him slam the door, and then there was a grunt.

"What is this ugly old thing doing here...ah! It smells". That was when I remembered that I'd left Chocolate Cake in the living room, in a hurry to rush out to give Eyram the chocolate. My heart seemed to crumble inside my chest. Not him too. Don't take Chocolate cake away.

There was nothing Auntie Aba could do. That was the last time I ever spoke to her or Eyram. I was never allowed to go to their shop again. Uncle watched from the windows every time I passed there. That was how it was all the way up until Eyram finished Junior high School, and left with her mother to another part of the country. I never saw her again.

As for Chocolate cake, I didn't see him for a few days. It was only when I took out the rubbish at the end of the week, handing it to the bin man outside, that I saw him. But it was already too late. I only managed to catch a glimpse of his old furry face, before the bag was thrown into the rubbish truck, and devoured by the pile of other bags that were thrown onto it. 

He was gone. And there was nothing I could do about it. And once again, something else that I cherished the most in my life was ripped away from me, tearing out my heart in the process.

For several years, I had let myself be subjected to my Uncle's disgusting abuse. I didn't deserve it. I was sick of every person I loved being taken away from me. So that day sparked a fire in me that I never knew I had. That was the day that I decided...I wasn't going to take this anymore.

"Soon, when all is well, you're going to look back on this period in your life and be glad that you never gave up".