David noticed her only a few days after she joined her mother and sisters to sell waakye at the joint where he dropped his sister on his way to work. “The girl was a drop-dead beauty,” he told himself.

She responded politely to his greetings, even though her two sisters bared their teeth, obviously because they wanted to protect her from predators.

One day the elder sister followed him to his car and told him politely but firmly,

‘Sir, my sister has been bethrothed to a young man, a graduate like you, so please leave her alone. Maybe you don’t mean any harm, but I just want to let you know, just in case.’

‘Okay, madam’, David said. ‘She is certainly very beautiful, and I ad­mired her, but I would never have meant her any harm. Still, thanks for advising me. The young man who got her is very lucky’. She walked away, unimpressed with his long talk.

He continued to buy from her for over two years. She was always polite and friendly, and in days when he bought several packs for his col­leagues, she carried them to his car. He never got over thinking that whoever had won the girl was indeed very fortunate. Perhaps he was well known to the family, or even from the same town.

The fact that her sister had come over to drop a ‘friendly warning’ showed that the connection was very close, and they were not going to allow any nonsense to happen to it. One day she asked him his name, and she followed it up by giving her his number.

‘I’m sure you can remember it easily. 2044 244 240. You can just call once in a while to say hello. Please don’t be afraid of me. I don’t mean any harm.” She flashed a bigger smile and assured him that she would call. She said her name was Stella.

One afternoon she called him. He could tell she sounded a little dis­traught. ‘David, please, I need some advice. Can I meet you anywhere near the joint? It can be very ear­ly in the morning, say by six thirty, or in the afternoon at about three o’clock’.

‘Six thirty in the morning is fine, but I can come over this afternoon, if it’s okay. I can stop at about fifty me­tres from your joint, in front of the bank’. ‘Yes, that would be fine. Thank you very much’.

She was waiting and she joined him in the car. He moved to the car park, to avoid prying eyes. She thanked him for making time to see him and went straight to the point’

‘David, I have no one to help me that is why I am talking to you. You see, my parents agreed with a young man from our home town that he would marry me.

He appeared to like me, but I soon realised that he was more interested in having sex with me than marrying me. My sisters and parents kept push­ing me into the relationship, saying that he is one of the few people from our town who has been to the uni­versity, so this is one chance to get a good marriage and have children who would have a good future.

Due to their pressure I went into it, even though he has only promised to marry me. It is obvious that he does not love me, and I have realised that he and his friend call me ‘Waakye Girl.’He goes out and comes late, and on two occasions when I complained about this he slapped me.

I told myfamily but they were of the view that such problems are nor­mal in every relationship, so I should have patience. You see, the truth is that I don’t love him, and he is only interested in a sexual relationship with me. Sooner or later he will drop me. I have tried to explain this but my parents just don’t agree’.

‘Okay, Stella. I see the problem, clearly. Now, here’s my advice. You must never allow him to lay his hands on you, not even if he is married to you. So next time hetries to assault you warn him that you will report him to the police. Maybe he already knows that your parents will not pur­sue charges against him, so he does not fear that.

In any case, resist him whenever he makes the attempt, or leave the house. Your parents should not allow this. Please, let me know how things develop. Things might change. He may realise how lucky he is to get a girl like you. And please, delete all call records and messages you make to me.’

She called him three weeks later. ‘David, I’m afraid things have not improved. A few days after we spoke, I went to him when he was prepar­ing for bed, and told him that I had problems with his late hours, with his manner of speaking with me, and with the beatings.

He gave me a very nasty reply. He asked me to go and ask my father if he does not beat my wife when she misbehaves, and reminded me that in our town beating is the accept­ed means of disciplining your wife. If I did not want him to beat me, then I should behave myself, and he concluded that many girls from my hometown would be happy to be living with a graduate like him.

The next day he slapped because I asked about a girl who had come to the house to ask of him. I went and complained to my parents, and they came to the house, but he was very rude to them.

He asked my father if he never beat his wife, and advised him to take me away if he did not agree to the discipline he is enforcing in his home. He started raining insults, and my dad advised that if he spoke one more word of insult, he would rather discipline her, and he kept quiet’.

‘Ah, so he fears something. Great. Let’s see if the fear of your dad will get him to behave himself. But Stella, allow me to say this. You are a very beautiful girl, and you have a great future ahead of you. If your man has made it so clear what he would do to you in future, perhaps it would be a good idea to leave the relationship and get a good education.

You already have a good WASSCE certificate. There are university courses for working people. Even if you continue the relationship, I suggest that you pursue education as a priority.’

‘Thank God I spoke with you, David. I will take this up very seriously. Next time we talk, the story will be much different’.

By Ekow De Heer