If only the society would let her be? But why should they? Tare has been living with a man who is not yet her husband for the past four years. She had had three children to show for it. First, it was a set of twin boys and then a girl. They were the reasons she held onto Abimbs.
To the best of her knowledge, he seemed comfortable with the whole arrangement. They were family for all he cared. As far as he was taking care of them, providing money for their upkeep, paying for his children’s education and his dependants have a roof over their heads. What’s more? However, this did not count because he had not put a ring on it, so it was still far from marriage.
If only, she had not been a juvenile runaway, she would have gone the normal pathway like her peers. Growing up was one memory she wanted to wipe off. She would not mind a restart. As the scenes of her step-mother maltreating her replayed, she cried bitterly.
Her father had been widowed during the early stages of his marriage. Left with two children to cater for and a demanding job, he needed a woman in the home. It was not long he married a new wife. That marked the beginning of Tare’s woes. There were days that her elder brother and herself would go hungry while the aroma of steaming soup from her step mother’s cooking filled their nostrils. It was hard labour all through and no food. Her father was too attached to his work to take notice of what was happening in his home.
Things were getting out of hand, Tare thought it best to leave home and start a new life elsewhere. All efforts to reach her proved abortive. Tare had run away to meet an aunt in another state. Narrating her ordeal, her aunt, who had never liked her father for remarrying her ex-best friend, had no option but to accommodate her. She was doing manual jobs at a construction company to make ends meet. That was when she met Abimbs.
He had noticed the naive curvaceous teenager carrying block. After doing some findings to know more about her condition, he thought he ‘helped’ her. Initially, Tare did not fall for his constant wooing but when he was using expensive gifts to entice her. She gave in. One thing led to another and she had to move in with him particularly as she was pregnant with his first child. Her aunt was happy that she had stripped off some burdens.
Tare was now a woman, she needed to face life head-on. The Abimbs she knew was not the marrying type. He was comfortable as a caregiver. The only issue was he wanted to be ‘free’. According to him, marriage was going to entrap him. Tare had never caught him cheating but she still wanted some form of security that he was hers.
It is going to the fifth year that she has been living with a man who is not officially her husband. She had to continue putting up appearances. But how long can she maintain this knowing it is a taboo? She had to make peace with her past, reconnect with her family and obey the custom of the land. Most importantly, she had to regain her peace.