The price I have to pay.

By Susan Majimbo

On a chilly Saturday morning, my 11-year-old cousin rang the bell continuously in a manner that agitated my mother. I opened the gate and found him with balancing tears in his eyes. "Tena?" -Again? My mom asked him. My aunt lived in the shadows of a very abusive marriage and this time, things had gotten out of hand. "Ameumia" - she is hurt, my cousin said in a frail voice. My mom sprang into action accompanied by my dad, rushing to see what had happened this time.

The news came in that my aunt was thrown from the third floor of their apartment by her drunk husband after she had made it clear she was leaving the marriage. This was not taken lightly as her husband claimed she was dressed too well to be leaving, he had called her a prostitute for trying to explain that she was tired of the marriage and she had now had enough of his mannerisms.

Jane's leg was swollen (Jane is not her real name), and she vehemently refused to be taken to hospital. She was hopeless and helpless but my parents insisted. The doctor analyzed her situation and immediately recommended that her leg be amputated. It is disheartening that none of her neighbors had come to the rescue because it was the norm and it was therefore not news that they would fight every night. Only the watchman was concerned after a loud thud had woken him up as he tried to stay alert.

She could not bear this predicament and 15 years on she lives with the horrors of the tragic night. She hides her reality often by covering the swollen limb with a scarf and still stays with her husband despite what she still has to go through. Nowadays, the abuse is more verbal and emotional and she does not want anyone asking questions about her marriage. She is silenced.

I pity Jane. She looks happier though because her husband works away from home. She has her peace for some four weeks before the chaos comes for her. It is a cycle! Her leg is now darker than the rest of the body and she walks differently and this is the price she has to pay.

This is based on a true story.