NEAR MISS.

JULY 6TH 2003
       I met a guy, his name is Jason. He is tall, light-skinned and has a cute smile. I thought he was genuinely interested in me and I felt he was ok since I met him through my brother. He told me to meet him somewhere at a garden. I was really excited about it because no one had really shown interest in me; I was beginning to think that God made a mistake in making me a girl.
      On the specific day we were to meet, I was really apprehensive about the meeting. I told him that I didn’t want to go but he insisted vehemently. I wanted to tell my brother but I insisted against it; I wanted to be a girl and have the kind of fun that other girls had.
     When I was done dressing up and was stepping out of the house, my mom who had been on a trip arrived at that same moment. I had totally forgotten that she said she was returning that day. Some part of me was relieved and the other part was a bit sad. You should have seen his face when I cancelled!
      Days later, I told my brother in what seemed to be mock-pride that I had a ‘date’ with his friend although it was unsuccessful. He asked where we were supposed to meet and I told him the garden and my brother’s face grew pale. He scolded me terribly and asked me to thank God that I didn’t go. Little did I know that my brother’s friend was known for taking young girls to that particular garden to rape them. It was alarming and I already felt violated. No wonder he looked at me the way he did, as if to undress you with his eyes! I had hoped never to see or hear from him again and true to my wish, I will never hear from him cos my brother gave him a beating. So cool to have big brothers.