Songs for this chapter are:

Suicide Nets - Nobigdyl. ft Emily Allman

Yoga - Tay Iwar ft Asa

Psycho Heart - Nobigdyl.

Bad motives - Nobigdyl.

Pressure - Nobigdyl., John Givez

Still fighting - Lee Chan Sol

Ebun

Ebun was able to graduate from high school.

The printed sheet that contained answers to her examination questions helped immensely and they were indeed the correct answers. Josephine had successfully moved away from her bad book. When the results for the final exams were released, Ebun saw that she got grades that were good enough to meet up to any pass mark required from any university of her choice. Even around the world.

Ebun's mother took a good moment to cry on the day of the release of the result. She was the happiest to see that her daughter could finally graduate from school. But how did Ebun, the celebrant feel?

Well...she wasn't overly excited about it. It was more like a simple intake of fresh air for her. Finally, she was out of the school that was responsible for her six years of misery and intense trauma. Everything that existed in that premises presented itself as a demon that gravely tormented the realm of her senses.

Tree branches hiding white masks, distinct but hollow noises and shrieks that she often time blamed on auditory hallucinations, dark, strange shadows that always seemed to hover around her, a low guarantee of safety. Everything.

Even the people.

Yes, no one knew about her trauma and what had happened which was great but their ignorance didn't help matters either. Everyone expected her to be okay. So she couldn't scream, run or hide if she saw, felt, or heard things that others were oblivious to. She couldn't react the way she would have wanted to.

There were sometimes when she just needed to sleep or go home. Times when she didn't feel like engaging in any activity but unavoidably had to stay back for group meetings or presentation rehearsals. Trying to think of an excuse not to stay back was another causative factor of stress and it put a strain on her mental energy.

Most times, she made those situations avoidable by skipping such meetings but she came back to school the following day to get scolded either by affected classmates or subject teachers because she was putting her group members in academic trouble as they lost marks due to her absence.

She could not share her story so the weight could be lifted off her shoulders. Hence all she did was stare, sob, and apologize for all the tongue-lashing and scolding she got because she couldn't say a word. But all of that was over now.

On the day of her graduation party, her family came as expected. No one was absent except Cassandra who was abroad. Her mother being the extra drama queen she was, gathered about five tables and decorated them with many table cloths, napkins, cutleries, dishes, gourmets, and flasks.

Her outfit was extravagant. She'd most certainly dropped hundreds of thousands at the garment maker's shop to have such loud regalia adorned by her body. She looked beautiful regardless. Ebun had to admit.

However, Ebun could not understand why there was a big feast even though the occasion was worthy of celebration. It still seemed a little too extra. Why five tables? It was too much for just one family. Yes, she had many siblings, Yemisi already had children so she brought them along with her husband to her graduation. It was still a lot because Ebun didn't have friends that could come around to celebrate with her and fill the tables.

After the photo session which felt like an hour to Ebun, the party was over.  Her family wouldn't stop taking millions of photos with her like it was the last time they would ever get to do that with her and the worse part was that, she had to act like she was happy; like she deserved to graduate when she didn't make any efforts of her own.

Her family believed she had finally started to focus on her academics which was why she did so well but she knew she just wanted to breathe which was why she had to cut corners.

"Where would you like to study for your university education?" her father asked her when they were driving back home from the graduation ceremony.

"I want to study abroad. I don't know what country precisely. Please give me some time to think about that sir, " Ebun answered.

She just didn't want to be anywhere near this goddamn country as a whole and more still, she felt she had a better chance to follow her dreams if she wasn't around her family members. Her dream being unstoppable vengeance.

The only thing that could stop that dream from being a reality was if her dad decided to enroll her in the same school as her sister, Cassandra. Asides from that, she needed to be as far away as possible.

"Wow. So you don't want to stay around us. Don't you love us? You know I love you so much, my daughter, and today was the best day of my life. Seeing a worthy cause to celebrate you. I've longed for such occurrences for you, " her mother expressed.

For a moment, Ebun could not say anything. Tears threatened to fall down her eyes for the second time. She couldn't understand why those words touched her heart so dearly. Maybe it was because they were true? Or because she only realized at that moment just how much her family had always loved and empathized with her.

Earlier on, Yemisi's daughter, Gifty had walked up to her and promised to help her find the rapists and deal with them. The girl was just twelve. Ebun wanted to laugh at her but she saw herself in her twelve-year-old niece. The exact age when the incident had happened.

Ebun became a crying mess on the spot but she couldn't tell her family why she was crying when she was asked. Her niece was as audacious as she was at that age and she didn't know how to take it. She didn't know if she could like the girl or not, If she could accept or push her away, warn her to be careful or be herself. Now, her mother was trying to make her cry again.

"I...I love you all, " Ebun said those words for the first time in so many years. The last time she'd said those were when she was ten. "But I just want to study abroad. Dentistry is best learned in advanced countries I believe, " she managed to explain, hoping her excuse was feasible enough.

"Yes, I agree, " Ebun's Dad confirmed. "I asked her. I gave her the option to choose so you shouldn't make her feel like staying if she doesn't want to. After all, she would come home during the long holidays," he convinced her mother and indeed, the words calmed her mother down.

Everything seemed fine and settled at that moment till Yemisi gave Ebun a suspicious side glance. Damn her for always reading deeply into every single thing. Why did she have to feel like something wasn't right?

***

Ebun engaged in boxing for the main time.

Since she temporarily wasn't getting schooled, her siblings asked what she would like to engage herself in before she decides as to what country she would like to school and the process starts. On the afternoon that she decided she wanted to wrestle, her siblings tried to suggest many other things.

"Won't you like to be skilled with craft like Cassandra? You can learn hairdressing and styling and earn cool cash when you go abroad. Bag making is helping her immensely at school right now, " Alexander suggested.

"Or...you could intern at my law firm. You could read some books about sexual offenses that could be very useful to you, " Yemisi said.

"Come to my art studio!" Demi chipped in arrogantly.

"Thank you but I just want to box and release some of the anger that I haven't been able to release for many years because of you guys. Or will I be restrained again?" Ebun was frustrated.

"You might get into a serious fight though. What happens when you're unable to control yourself?" Yemisi wondered.

"Nothing bad is going to happen. I need this therapy, please. I'm not fighting a rapist or trying to defend a victim this time. I'll only be fighting with other wrestlers who won't take offense if they get slight injuries because that is what the game is about, " Ebun explained. "Shall I just stay at home and smoke weed instead?"

"What? No!" the three of them gasped.

If David was there to hear that, he would have given her another slap that just might deform her face.

"Well..." Yemisi sighed. "I guess we can let you box. Just be careful and come home on time. If you don't, you won't be allowed to box again. Agreed?"

"Hm...Yes, " Ebun accepted the conditions because it amounted to something at least.

Boxing was indeed the therapy Ebun needed. There was a decent building six streets downtown and she woke up very early in the morning so she could arrive there before anybody else except the owner of the building.

Usually, she was the only one at the boxing ring with the punching bag dangling from a surface above, and delightfully, she punched and punched the bouncing object with all adrenaline produced by her hormonal glands. Her pupils stay dilated for many minutes and sweat trickled down to her navel like raindrops as she jogged hither and thither, posting her arms in a parallel motion, both limbs aiming to bruise the bag - the meeting point.

Fastened breathes, grunting of the teeth and groans escaped her lips as she punched endlessly like a maniac. Her knuckles got sore eventually. But the thrill she derived from the activity was worth every second of bodily exertion. The satisfaction she got gave her a delusional sense of victory. She loved to imagine herself and the leader of the rapists as the punching bag in the boxing ring.

The boxing ring was a restricted area where no one could bail him out. Except for the referee who in this scenario did not exist. So she punched him to a brutal death in the faculties of her imagination. Whenever she destroyed the punching bag by bursting it open, she took it as her victory. Her mornings were very meaningful from that day henceforth. She left before noon every day since she figured that was the time other boxers had to use the boxing ring.

One morning, the manager of the sports center noticed her and called her attention just when she was getting set to leave.

"You, " he threw a cracker into his mouth and munched it. "Why do you keep destroying the punching bag? Do you know that there are rules you are supposed to follow if you are willing to continue boxing?"

"I'm sorry sir, " Ebun looked at her fingers nervously. "I'll make a refund for the damages, sir." she was sweating so much that she nearly couldn't see past her fingers because even her eyes had gotten moist with salty excretion.

"How old are you?"

"I'm eighteen sir."

"Huh?! How come? How can you fight so well at this age?!"

"I've been practicing since I was a kid, sir, " Ebun wiped the sweat off her face and looked at him in this face now since it seemed like he was trying to have a conversation with her.

"Hmm...would you mind wrestling with one of the men here on Monday? You seem like the perfect match for him and I'd like to see who would win because you're the closest wrestler I've seen that is as good as he is."

The offer was very exciting. She'd imagined blood spilling from whosoever lips it was for a second but she was suddenly hesitant as she remembered her sister's warning.

"You don't want to fight?" the man asked after observing her quietness. "This is a one-time opportunity kiddo. I don't allow just 'anyone' to wrestle with this man in question. I've been watching you fight like a beast for the past two weeks now. You either fight or pay for the damages you made. Punching bags cost about a hundred thousand."

Ebun knew that the owner was just trying to get her to fight and she was glad that he was convincing her. She couldn't let the offer go by so she consented to it.

"I'll fight sir."

***

Monday came at the speed of light and it produced a nostalgic feeling in Ebun. Should she be happy that the D-day had arrived that quickly or should she be anxious for what was really to come? Was she prepared enough? The words of the building owner replayed in her mind.

I don't allow just 'anyone' to wrestle with this man in question.

It was great to see that the man had thought highly of her but Ebun was starting to doubt her abilities at that moment. What if she lost? Like the day she got raped? What if she became as defenseless as an abandoned little rat?

Sighing, she packed her bag and tied her shoelaces before stepping out of the house. The boxing house was full of spectators by the time she had gotten there. It rippled the anxiety she was already feeling. What was she expecting? It was a match for goodness sake. She should have mentally prepared herself to accept this.

She spotted the owner of the building sitting on a bench by the window side and she approached him quickly.

"Has my opponent arrived?" she asked.

"No. Why are you shaking though? Take a deep breath!" he cackled loudly and downed a can of malt in one minute. "You should go and change your outfit though so I can give you a boxing belt. You are not allowed to hit your opponent below the boxing belt region just so you know."

"What are the other rules?"

"Go change your outfit first. The other rules would be announced before the match starts."

Immediately she turned in the direction of the changing room, loud applauds, salutes, and cheers could be heard as the main door of the entrance swung open. Instinctively, she knew it was her opponent that had just arrived. Her heartbeats became so loud that she could feel her ends of her ears vibrate.

She turned to look at the guy who had just stepped in and an inaudible gasp escaped the open part of her lips. She didn't know when she'd made the sound but the view in front of her dissolved all the anxiety she'd been feeling for just a second. She couldn't even believe that she would ever feel this way...this tiny surge of...lust towards the opposite sex.

But the man was very attractive.