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¶Haaaaah.....(Gwendolyn let out a sigh of relief). Today has been one heck of a ride.

Before we go further let's do a recap of what happened

"Lizzie's Dad".

As expected when you think of "Dad", you think "Father", "Protector", "Breadwinner", only problem lizzie's dad is nothing of the sort.

My first encounter with lizzie's dad was when I was 8. At this point I was old enough to think for myself.

We had all travelled to this tropical rainforest and to be honest that trip was the least troubling trip I had ever been on.

My mum and her friends didn't pay much attention to me which was more than I could ask for. My "friends" were more interested in the locals than me. All I did was take in the scenery and eat good food. I was truly alive.....until the "dads" came by

They came a day after our arrival and paid for everything and anything. Everytime we walked with them I could feel the stares and whispers. People were genuinely surprised by the way they carried themselves and for once in my life I felt confident. I felt really good, like a real "PRINCESS"

¶Later that day, Lizzie's dad took me and the girls out to the beach. It was late at night and the water was cold, chilling cold but we were having fun....Were we having fun??

Their version of fun was trying to drown me. Yes, Lizzie's dad 44 at the time, tried to drown an 8 year old. I was terrified, I didn't understand at the time what was going on. I kicked and fought but all I heard was the chilling laughs above the water. Were they enjoying this?, Do they really want to drown me?. Are they crazy?. These were the questions that filled my mind as I was slowly losing consciousness. At that slipt second, lizzie's dad softened his grip and miraculously I kicked out and swam as hard as I could. When I reached the shore, I bolted for the house as if I was being chased by dogs. At that point I hadn't realised yet that none of them were shocked by this. They didn't try to chase me down or stop me, as if they knew something I didn't. They all stood there in the water watching me, never moving, just watching, ever focused on one thing, ME

¶By the time I reached the house, I ran to the room I shared with the girls and frantically started to pack my things, I thought; " only my mother would understand, she would definitely help me". I soon came to realise how wrong I was.

That day marked the first day I was ever hit by my mother. As I ran out of the room straight to her arms, I felt a sting on my cheek. My mother had slapped me, hard. She looked dead into my eyes and asked "why aren't you by the water Gwendolyn?", "You're breaking my heart Gwendolyn", "After all I did to get you here?". I didn't understand, 'all she did to get me here?'. I looked straight at my mother and yelled, "Lizzie's dad tried to kill me, please help". That was met with another slap. How can you say that? (My mother yelled),

He was just having fun, can't a man have his hobbies? (She added).

I didn't understand, My mother was siding with that sick man, Is she crazy?.

At that moment, a hand reached from behind and grabbed my chin. It was Lizzie's dad. He smiled at me and dragged me to his room. I yelled and screamed but he threw me on the bed and told me how beautiful I looked

¶I had been educated about moments like this. Moments were escape and hope are fleeting dreams, I had seen it portrayed in movies.

Now that I looked back on it, I wished it had happened to me. A stained merchandise cannot be sold, it can only be discarded. That should've been my fate but fate had something different in store for me.

Lizzie's Father walked to his cupboard and pulled out a bundle of ropes with some tape. He pulled me to the edge of the bed and tied me up then he lifted me and dropped me on the chair and tied another set of ropes. As confused as I was, there was one thought in my head; "these people are sick in the head and I need to save myself".

He left me tied up through the night and wake up occasionally to "pleasure" himself while looking at me. I was a kid, just a year younger than his daughter, how could he do this?. Does he have no shame?.

When the sun came up, it was morning. To be precise it was 9:39 on the clock. I was laying in my bed and the smell of fresh pancakes filled the room. The sound of laughter echoed throughout the entire house and it only made me nauseous. I was so scared to go out and too tired to get up.

After a few minutes, I heard a knock on the door, "Gwen baby, are you up", I pretended to sleep, assuming the person would go away. "Gwen am coming in, okay". I closed my eyes shut and held my breath.

I could here the footsteps approaching my bed, they were not heavy and very sharp. The person sat on my bedside and began stroking my head, "Gwendolyn, I made your favourite". It was mum but could I really call her that. "Did you have a bad dream", "Won't you look at mummy". What were these words, I couldn't understand. I opened my eyes to steal a glance and there she was, Her soft feminine features and her beautiful auburn hair with her green eyes that reminded me of the trees during the morning dew. "She was beautiful". She laughed and gently touched my face. It didn't sting, it was soft and pleasant. "Gwendolyn, if you had a bad dream don't you worry, mummy will always protect you".

My face became wet, was I sweating?. No. The memories were flowing down my cheeks. I was Crying??!!

My mother wiped my tears and handed me a plate then she embraced me as I let the tears run down. Soon everyone had rushed into my room with worried expressions. They were worried about me, really worried. For a moment I fought the kind of people they were. They played me for a fool and I believed that it was all a dream. After all, I was adored. They would never hurt me. I was the cream of the cake. My mother loved me and everything was just a dream. A stupid dream