Double Ache.... From the archives

I am a secret hopeful. A secret dreamer, hoping for a world where acceptance for who you are and not what you are would be the reason behind a happy ending. Please, come with me as we follow the journey of one Ophelia. Moral of the story is: there is always light at the end of the tunnel. Life goes on with or without you and your mistakes cannot dictate the state of your happiness. Work past them or through them and continue living.

Part 1

Double Ache

“Ophelia, there is something sinister about that pal of yours,” Ellen said to Ophelia, her close friend. She, Ophelia, was dating a man, ten years her senior. She was only seventeen and doing her matric at a very prestigious school. Ellen, her friend, was also in the same grade as her.

“Don’t be silly, girlfriend. Tom may be older than me but he is a gentleman. He respects me; besides, he loves me,” she said to dismiss Ellen’s insinuation.

“OK, but he is way too old and has been in the game longer than you,” Ellen finished her pep talk with Ophelia wearily.

One afternoon, Ellen and Ophelia were walking home from school when Ophelia’s mobile phone rang. It was Tom who had called her. After five minutes, she said to Ellen, “Say, Ellen, could you please cover up for me today? Tom wants to take me somewhere for fun.”

“Again? What if your mom gets suspicious? What if she comes over to our house to see if you are really there? What about the test?” Ellen asked.

“Today is Friday, remember. So mom will be enjoying her weekend with her books and T.V. The test can wait. You darn aware of the fact that I can score sixty percent without even trying,” Ophelia replied.

She was going to go away with Tom for the night and had told Ellen to tell her mom she was with her, if she called to check on the plausibility of her daughter’s words. It was a game she played. She would tell her mother that she was going over to Ellen’s but instead, she was going out with Tom.

That evening she dressed up and went out. Tom was waiting for her at the street corner in his Chrysler. He was handsome and looked young for his age. He had a condo in the plushy suburbs of Park Avenue and owned banks and a shipping company, thanks to his late father and fore-fathers. He drove away to his condo, with Ophelia next to him.

“So, Tom, where are you taking me today?” Ophelia asked as they drove on.

“It is a surprise, sweetheart…you are gonna love it,” he said to her.

When they got to the palatial condo, Tom told her to make herself comfortable and feel at home. They listened to music, watched movies and had takeaways for dinner. Ophelia wondered about the surprise. “What could it be?” she kept asking herself.

Suddenly Tom’s countenance changed. He looked like a desperate animal and asked Ophelia to follow him to his bedroom for her surprise. Gleefully, she followed hoping to be presented with jewellery fit for a queen like they do in movies. Without hesitation, upon entering the room, Tom fondled Ophelia and kissed her vigorously. She resisted but his grip was too strong for her.

“What are you doing?” she asked him between kisses.

“What do you think? It is payback time of course!” he roared at her.