Chapter 5

My older sister Stella was already gone. She had joined the man of her pregnancy since daddy had been alerted to the news and had taken her out of school in the middle of the school year as a punishment. Natitingou was the city that had welcomed her, one of the cities in Benin.

Apart from Stella who had joined the man of her life, my two other sisters still lived in my father's house. One of them was called Nadège and the other, Charlotte.

My sister Nadège has always been strange with me; strange as her name is pronounced. We never get along. I don't like to feel her around me at all because she likes to brag too much and likes to hit me a lot, especially when I make little mistakes. She never likes to show tolerance towards me. To her, I'm nobody to do something stupid.

Charlotte, as for her, saved me from Nadège's hands. That's why I loved Charlotte very much. I also liked my big brother Michel because he too was not too hard with me.

I was already in my room and I could never imagine that my mother could be telling my sister about the dirty attitude I had just had towards her. I was quiet, walled up in my room, when suddenly the door to my living room slammed shut. I had forgotten to lock the door. I was stunned to see Nadège penetrating in my living room.

Sat on my chair, I observed it. I waited for what she wanted to make or to say to me.

- Who are you, you, to threaten your mother ? she scolded me.

I wanted to say something, but honestly, I didn't know where to start or where to end.

- Octavia, if you don't watch out in this house, I swear you're going to end up picking up your filthy jaws on the floor one day, do you hear me?

Me, pick up my dirty jaws on the floor? Who does she think she is?

- Are you done talking nonsense?

At this question, my sister's anger grew even stronger.

- Are you calling my words nonsense?

- If you haven't finished yet, then just go on, I'm listening.

Feeling humiliated and challenged, my sister approached me more and slapped my face twice. These slaps had immediately increased my fury and I rose abruptly from my chair and threw myself on her.

Bad luck for her. Nadège was not fat just like me. I was more corpulent than her. Because she was always my elder, I never dared to raise the hand against her and even less, to miss him a penny of respect. This time, I had had enough and threw myself at her and rolled her on the floor. I ran to close the door because it was time to end her royalty. It was time for me to show her that not every day was a holiday.

That afternoon, I had hit my sister. I had beaten her up and in the end, she had been taken to the hospital by the one she was taking revenge on, her mother.

***

It was eight o'clock and I was in front of my notebooks. I was revising my lessons, the door tightly closed. Suddenly, I felt someone enter my room.

- Founkè, good evening; I was sent to inform you that two of your brothers are on their way. They have come to correct you for what happened between you and your sister this afternoon.

At his warning, I felt a great pang of sorrow.

- And what should I do, Aline?" I asked her, my heart beating wildly.

- We must leave the house quickly, she answered.

- To go where?

- I don't know; the queen sent me to tell you the sad news.

- All right, I'll see what to do.

- Be quick I tell you, they are already close.

- All right, go ahead, Aline; I'll handle it.

- OK, but don't call me Aline anymore, they call me Baya.

- My bad; you have to let me handle it. Even if they hit me, I won't die but they'll hear from me later.

- Okay, I'll go.

- Yes, see you later.

And my girlfriend disappeared.

Indeed, in less than five minutes, I heard someone knocking on my door. From inside, I imagined who it could be. I could hear two people whispering to each other.

- Octavia," one of them shouted, "open this door!

Calmly, I walked to the door and unlocked it. Behind the door, my two older brothers, who my teammate had just announced to me, were getting impatient.

- Good evening big brothers," I said reverently.

- Yes, good evening," replied my brother Samuel curtly.

Next to him stood Michael, my beloved brother. Without having invited them into my living room, they entered without my consent. I did not ask for anything. I returned to my ankles and instead of continuing my exercises, I remained standing and did not take my eyes off them.

- Well, Octavia, what happened today?" Samuel asked me as he sat down on one of the couches in the living room.

I didn't know what to say. My heart was pounding because Michael, who was supporting me, had a long bobby pin in his hand and a big look on his face. Samuel, on the other hand, had a stick in his.

- I'm talking to you, aren't I?" said Samuel, already red with anger.

- Nothing happened," I answered timidly.

- Didn't it? Was it on purpose that your sister was taken to the hospital today?

What was I going to say? Frankly, I didn't know what to say.

- Aren't you going to answer?

I started to make a show like a mother gorilla.

- Have you seen this stick," Samuel intoned, "you have thirty blows to take. And beware if you give a single feint. It's Michel who supports you all the time and that's why you started to rot. Now, let's go, let's go!

And top, I began to receive in the palms of my hands, repeated blows from Samuel. He was hitting me so hard that I didn't know what to do. I was finally in pain when the twelfth blow hit my left palm. I still had eighteen to go. So I was not yet halfway through. I was writhing in pain when suddenly I saw Oga herself appear. Out of compassion, she put a white percale on my head, a percale that no one would see. I received the rest of the blows without fearing any pain. At the end of the blows, Oga left with the percale. I was the only one who saw her coming and the only one who saw her leaving. It was after she had left that I ended up with small but not so blatant pains.

- The next time someone asks me about you again, believe me, I'm going to kill you, you stupid girl," Samuel told me.

Since I had not feigned any of the blows, my brother Michel had not touched me with his long snout.

That night, after their departure, I imagined what to do to my mother, to my sister Nadège and also to my brother Samuel but I had no idea. The only person that I deprived of the affair was Michel. Lying in my bed, I imagined their fate. And, if I acted right away, they would suspect something. Faced with this situation, it was a mishmash. That night, how to deal with my tormentors, including Samuel, had become my biggest worry.