"Pardon me, pardon me." The little girl's body was full of cuts and bruises and she was begging for forgiveness from an adult man who had hit her earlier. In the man's hand hung a black leather belt. The strong smell of alcohol wafted from the heartless man's mouth.
"Please let go of my daughter. She wasn't wrong." Adult women also beg for mercy from the man. The woman was the biological mother of the little girl.
"I told you not to trouble me with your illegitimate child. Quickly get her out of here! Otherwise I will take our baby away." That was the threat that came out of the man's mouth.
"She is still too young to be separated from me. Please don't punish her. Ozora knows nothing."
That nine year old little girl was Ozora Felysia. Her mother became a victim of rape which resulted in fetus in her womb. Jessica was pregnant, gave birth, and took care of Ozora. She really loves her daughter, Ozora
Ten years ago,
Jessica had to come home late at night from the office where she worked. Getting on the bus at nine pm made her shudder in horror. The house she rented was at the end of the alley. She knew there was only one way to get there. Usually she always came home in the afternoon when she was not with her boyfriend. Jessica traced the road while being wary of her surroundings. She knew nights like this had a lot of drunken men in the area.
Jessica's mouth was gagged from behind and she was transported to an old house. A fifty years old man had the heart to abuse her and didn't care how much Jessica begged to be released. The woman's tears did not stop flowing after her clothes were torn and her body was used as an outlet for the lust of a middle-aged man whose wife had divorced a few months ago.
A few weeks after the incident, Jessica felt something strange inside her body. Prolonged nausea and dizziness. She had been taking medicine but it's not getting better. Jessica was suspicious of the changes in her body because her breasts were also getting bigger. She also missed her period that month.
She was determined to buy three test packs. According to the information she read through online articles, the best time to use the tool is in the morning. Jessica decides to sleep and hopes if the device shows negative results. She couldn't sleep well even though her eyes were closed.
The next day Jessica woke up and tested the tool she had bought from the nearest pharmacy. Jessica put the device in the urine she just collected. Jessica's heart was pounding and her hands were shaking when she had to see the results. Two red lines indicate there was life in her stomach. Jessica couldn't believe it and the woman tried three tools. The result was the same.
Jessica kept her pregnancy a secret from her fiancé. There was no way she could cancel the wedding which was to be held in two weeks while the invitations were already scattered. The woman could not dare to embarrass her family and the family of her future husband. Jessica planned to keep this a secret for the rest of her life.
Lies will never last. When Ozora five years old, a lie that Jessika has kept for six years exposed when the man who raped her came and admited he was wrong. The man believed that Ozora was his daughter. Jessica's affected husband ended up doing a DNA test. It was evident that all this time he had been raising a child from another man.
The beginning of the destruction for their household. Her husband who had been nice turned violent and liked to drink alcohol. Not only that, he hit his wife and he often hit a poor girl named Ozora too. When Ozora got her eighth birthday, her mother became pregnant. The greater the suffering she had gotten. Ozora's father didn't want her anymore and he often locked her in the back shed. Even a small mistake would end with Ozora getting soaked in the bathtub.
"Please don't torture her anymore. You can hit me as much as you want." Jessica pleaded at her husband's feet.
"If you want to live with me and our child, take the illegitimate child to the orphanage and never visit her. Understand?"
"She still needs me."
"Doesn't our baby need you?"
***
Jessika took her daughter to an orphanage called Agape. Along the way the tears didn't stop flowing down her cheeks. "Don't be sad, mom!" Little Ozora wiped Jessica's tears with her tiny hands. "I know you are doing this because you want to protect me and the baby. I am okay if I have to live in an orphanage. I will study hard so that when I grow up I can earn a lot of money and return to you."
Jessika hugged Ozora when she had signed the handover letter for Ozora to the orphanage. No one a mother would leave her child in a place like that except Jessica. She was forced to do that. Jessica gave a pink bunny to Ozora.
"Hug this if you miss me. Believe that in my heart there will always be Ozora." Jessica didn't stop crying while Ozora tried to be strong and didn't want to make her mother sad.
This was the chapter of Ozora Felysia's life journey. She had to get up at five am. Together with other children she prayed and listened to lectures from the orphanage leader. After that, they would exercise together, do picket duties, and take a shower to get ready for school. Ozora liked the place. At least she was not physically injured and her ears didn't have to be hot to hear every word of an illegitimate child that her stepfather always said.
"Are you a new kid?" a little girl of Ozora's age greeted her with a question.
"Yes. Yesterday I came here."
"My name is Cana." She gave a hand for a handshake. The little girl was very beautiful. Her skin was soft and white, her hair was straight with a golden brown color, her eyes radiated a spirit that could be transmitted to anyone.
"I'm Ozora." Ozora said and welcomed her new friend's hand. It was the first time someone had asked her to introduce herself. While living with Jessica and her stepfather, neighbors and friends always bullied her as an illegitimate child. No wonder because her father often shouted at her like that.