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Chapter 3 - Beginning of the Curse

  The silence that descended on that room in that moment could have filled the universe. It was as if all the sound was swallowed by a big black hole that absorbed anything and everything in its path. Annette eventually could open her mouth to scream, “Take it out, take it out!” as she scratched her tummy with her nails. The violence of the scratching ripped open her skin and blood poured out as if she ripped open an artery. Annette saw the blood and all the memories rushed back in her mind of that terrible night, not six weeks back and as if her body remembered what to do, she blacked out.

  Doctor Botha called the emergency team to come and help him. They picked Annette up and placed her on the emergency trolley, “Take her to her room and clean her up. Put her under sedation until tomorrow. We can then handle her and calm her down.” John and Marie looked at one another in horror. “Doc, I thought that you said there is no chance? You cleaned her up and disinfected her? What happened? How could she be pregnant?” John and Marie were visibly shaken. “That thing has now taken the last little bit off dignity my baby girl had!” screamed John. Doctor Botha looked at John, “John, there are options. The law of the country dictates that in a case like this we can abort the foetus up to 22 weeks gestation. All you have to say is yes.” John looked at Marie. “I say yes doctor; get that demon seed out of my little girl!” Marie started crying, “John it may be a demons seed, but whatever is in her, boy or girl, is still blood of our blood. It is already a human being, the little heart is beating, and the face and arms have started forming. How could we kill it? This will make us the same as Squeal. Our Bible says that we cannot kill another human! That is murder!”

  John looked at his wife with disgust as he hissed, “How can you call that thing blood of our blood? How can you even fathom calling it a human?” Doctor Botha interrupted his tirade, “Look, it is clear to me you need to discuss this. I will give you one week to decide and then I need to know. After eight weeks I have a moral dilemma with abortion even though it is legal.”

  That night at home there was no holding one another. Talking was an effort and the food in the fridge was safe for one night more with Marie on her knees and John chopping wood in the backyard as he tried to get to grips with this tragedy. “God, I don’t understand this. When I prayed to you six weeks back you gave me such peace, but now...” Marie sobbed. “Our little girl is expecting a little boy or girl, what now? John will kill it after birth even if we do not abort now. God how...what is your will on this? My God, if it is to be, you need to soften John’s heart and that of Annette. Please God give me wisdom?” Marie walked outside and looked at John sweating away, “John, do you want to talk about this?”

  John looked up with his sweating face which hid the tears and pain, “I have decided to leave this decision to Annette. She will have to carry this demon to term. I will support her decision, whatever it is. Is that okay with you Marie?” Marie looked at him and nodded, “That is okay with me.” She walked off to her study and decided to make some coffee. John came in from chopping the wood and packed the fireplace. He lit the wood and they sat down and stared into the fire until the early morning hours.

  At around nine ’o clock the phone rang and John picked up, “John, this is Doctor Botha here. I have put Annette under some sleep therapy until next week Wednesday. We can re-evaluate the predicament at that time. This will give us time to digest the pregnancy and we can then think more clearly. Until then my orders are that nobody visits Annette. Is that okay with you?” “That is fine Doc; you just may be right on this one. See you Wednesday.” John put down the phone and told Marie what Doctor Botha said.

  That Sunday in church was hell for John and Marie. Everybody asked how it was going and hugged them. Eventually John just could not handle this anymore, “Can you people not understand...” he screamed as he jumped up in the middle of the Pastor Pieter’s sermon, “If you want to pray, do so! But if one more of you hypocrites come to me to give me a hug I swear I will knock your head off! And to answer you all, Annette has become pregnant of that demon, so the God we serve, I doubt if He lives! Why do I say so? Because if He lived, He would not have allowed this!” Marie grabbed his arm and directed him out of church, “You know John, the people inside that building did not harm you, and they just loved us and wanted to help. You need to apologise!”

  John looked at her with eyes filled with hate, “Not on your life!” He jumped into the car and drove home, leaving Marie standing in front of the church. As the car sped off, some of Marie’s friend came out and held her, “Come on in Marie, let John go and cool off.” Marie went back into the church and after church Pastor Pieter took Marie home.

  “John?” Pastor Pieter called as he was knocking on the door. The door swung open and he and Marie walked in. They found John with an old friend he swore he would never meet again, Jack Daniels Whiskey. John was half passed out on the table looking like death itself. Pastor Pieter helped to put him in bed and promised he would come later when John was awake and sober. John slept for almost a day and a half before he came out of his stupor.

  He tried to apologize. “Marie, I am so sorry! I snapped at the wrong people, at you and our church. I feel like an imbecile!” Marie looked at him, “Firstly John, she is not just your baby but mine too! Secondly, you promised never to drink again! Thirdly, you have not only embarrassed me, you also left me next to the road. I can understand that you are broken, but what about me? I don’t know all the answers and am supposed to look up to you! What do I do now? My pillar of strength is gone! I feel like I have not only lost Annette in this process but my husband as well! Where do I go now? You tell me John, you tell me!”

  The doorbell rang and it was as if the bell rang to stop the two boxers fighting in the ring, “Marie, John, it is Pastor Pieter!” “I am coming Pastor!” Marie answered, “Now John, you behave or so help me, you will sleep with the dogs tonight!” Marie opened the door for Pastor Pieter, “Welcome Pastor!” “Thank you Marie. Is John here? I would like to speak to him?” “Yes I will call him. John! Pastor Pieter is here!” John walked into the room and greeted Pastor Pieter, “Hello Pastor, before we talk I need to say that I am sorry.... No don’t interrupt, I screamed at you, my wife and in fact my God, but I am sorry. The hurt in me is so big and the hate and frustration even bigger.” Pastor Pieter looked at this broken man and leaned forward and gave him a hug, “My brother, don’t worry, all is forgiven and everybody at church sends their regards. I am here to give you a word from God. God spoke to me in a dream and said that you need to forgive Squeal.... Now don’t you interrupt me, God said that even though the baby will be born out of violence, hate, hurt and anger, his life will be a blessing to this earth. God says that you need to show him the way and that He, your Heavenly Father, will provide.”

  John looked at Pieter, “Pieter you don’t understand, we need to tell the doctor tomorrow to abort or to keep. The hate in me is consuming me and you want me to do this? May God help me! I will take note but we have decided to let Annette decide for herself.” After coffee Pastor Pieter prayed with them for guidance and went home.

  Doctor Botha woke Annette. “Annette, you okay?” Annette looked at him, still dazed from the sleep, “Yes, yes doctor. I had this funny dream that you said I was pregnant!” He looked at her, “Yes you are Annette and tomorrow you need to decide if you want to go on with the pregnancy or terminate.” Annette looked at him with tears in her eyes, “Doctor I need it out of me now!” Doctor Botha looked at her, “Annette your mom and dad will be here tomorrow to help and sign the documents as you are still under aged and you need consent from your parents. Take tonight, and tomorrow we will finalize it all. To help you tonight, I will send you some food and then a sleeping tablet to take the strain off.”

  Annette ate the hospital curry chicken and rice. It tasted like cardboard, but it took away the funny feeling in her tummy. As Annette drifted off to sleep, she could not help but play her answer for tomorrow in her mind. “Do
ctor, take it out!” As Annette drifted deeper and deeper into her sleep she could feel a darkness surrounding her. “Hello Annette, you remember me?” Annette could not believe her eyes, “Squeal? Is that you?” “No!” the dark angel Lucifer laughed, “It’s me! You, my dear, have something of value to me. You want to kill him! Now let me tell you this missy, if you touch that little one, the little life you have left will be that of horror. I will take you to an inch of your life and bring you back just for fun for the rest of your miserable life! Do you understand me?” Annette was now very scared and nodded, “Yes I understand sir. I will not kill it.” “To remind you of our little talk I will give you my mark on your hand and this will only leave the day the baby is born. You will have a red spot shaped like an L and it stands for Lucifer. Every time you see it you will remember our little deal.”

  Annette woke up screaming and looked down to her hand that was burning like fire. On her hand a perfect L appeared just above her wrist. She tried to rub it off, but the more she rubbed the more it hurt. The night eventually became day and Annette’s nerves were near breaking point. What would everybody say and do when she told them that she will be keeping the baby?

  She was moved to Doctor Botha’s consulting rooms. At ten ’o clock her parents arrived and they all sat around the table. “Okay Annette, before you tell us your opinion I need to give you all this information. Your little baby is now about a quarter of an inch long. It has its arms and the little hands are formed although it is still called flat paddles. The little legs have started growing and the blood is flowing through the little body. If you decide to terminate...” Annette looked at the L on her hand, “Doctor Botha, I cannot abort this baby! My religion prevents me from doing so!” she cried.

  A stunned silence came down in the room, “I have decided to keep it and then give it away at birth.” Marie and John was stunned, “Annette? Are you sure? We will understand and we think that God will too.” Annette looked at them with tears in her eyes and the pain etched in her soul. “You don’t understand, I have to!” John and Marie walked over to their little baby. “We will be okay Annette, we will be okay! We Promise!”

  “Doctor Botha, Annette has given us her answer and we will respect it!” Doctor Botha stopped filling out the consent forms. “If you want, I can help with the adoption.” Marie was first to answer. “Doc let’s get past the first six months and let’s decide then.” John and Annette were confused, but reluctantly kept quiet.

  It was one week later that Doctor Botha released Annette to the care of her parents. “I have already sent her file to my colleague, Doctor Mustard. He will now take over her care and will also manage the birth. Good luck Annette, and if you ever need to talk, you know where to find me. O yes, you have a visit scheduled with Doctor Mustard tomorrow and from there he will take over.”

  They left the room in silence, still in shock. They arrived home and Annette ran to her room and fell crying on her bed in fear. “God if you are there please, please help me!” Marie walked past her daughter’s room and walked in. She took her hand and played with Annette’s hair. “Don’t worry my baby, you will be okay!”

  Annette arrived at Doctor Mustard’s rooms, “Good morning Annette. Now let me examine you and then we can talk.” Doctor Mustard completed his examination of Annette. “Annette, you are in perfect health and I have to applaud you for doing this selfless deed, not a lot of people in your position would. You my girl, need to now look after yourself and eat sensibly to make sure you and the baby are healthy so you can survive this ordeal. My job is to help you get there in one piece and to see if I can help you with the scarring. I have been doing some research on a cream that helps with the lightning of scars and with all my subjects it has helped. It is not a miracle cream, but it does get rid of the redness and softens the scar tissue so that we can reduce it later on.”

  Annette looked at him, “Doc, do you mean that you can help me get half my life back?” “Yes Annette, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves, it takes a lot of time. Okay, back to your baby. The little one is about half an inch long and has started developing his lungs. His brain is developing and the hands and feet you can see. The genitalia have also started to grow.” Annette was smiling for the first time in months. “Do you mean that you can help me look better? O thank you doctor, o thank you!” Doctor Mustard was not even finished when Annette jumped up and ran to her dad screaming. “Doctor Mustard said that he will help me look better! Is that not great news?!” They ran down to the car not even asking details or when Annette’s next appointment is going to be.

  Relief and happiness filled the car as they drove home. Marie met them outside the house. “Doctor Mustard called. You must be back in a month. He then will give you a cream, for what I don’t know, and will examine you again. Now what are you two so happy about?” John and Annette told her everything Doctor Mustard told Annette and the laughter rang through their house like church bells calling the sinners home on a Sunday morning.

  Time flew past as her date with Doctor Mustard came closer. “Only a few more days then I will start with my special cream. I will not be hideous anymore!” Annette felt like a million dollars. It was Marie that looked at the school calendar and phoned the headmaster of Diamantveld High School. “Sir this is Annette’s mother. Annette is out of hospital and ready to come back to school. When can we bring her by?” The head master paused for a few minutes, “Marie! Good to hear from you. We are so grateful for Annette being okay, but we have a little problem. The trauma of that night plus the fact that Annette is now pregnant makes it impossible for the school to take her back before the baby is not born. Adding to that is the extent of Annette’s injuries....Let me put it like this, kids can be horrible and it may be that some kids could set her back months with their rude comments.” Marie felt the blood rushing to her head. “So, you mean my little girl will lose out on her schooling?”

  “No, no Marie!” the headmaster replied, “All we are suggesting is, the teachers will work out her work for each day and in the afternoons come and give it to her. If she does not understand they will take the time to discuss and explain the work. We are only thinking of Annette. We have heard the kids talking and some kids call her the bride of Lucifer.”

  Marie started crying, “How could they do this to my child? As if what she has gone through was not enough. I will have to accept the way you want to do it sir, but please don’t let the kids do this to my child again.”

  I can still feel the hurt and anger around the table that night when Marie told Annette about the arrangements for school. Nobody was prepared for the reaction that Annette had. “You know what mom, send them to hell! I will go to college after this and finish there. I don’t need school!” Marie looked at Annette. “Annette you need to complete your school my angel. I am not sure that you will finish if you go to college!” “Well mother, I did not ask for where I am now nor did I ask people to reject me so it’s my way or the highway!” Annette stormed off to her room in anger, but as she walked past a mirror she remembered that she needed to see Doctor Mustard the next day. This changed her mood in an instant as she sat on her bed.

  The next day could not have come fast enough. After breakfast they climbed into the car and left for Doctor Mustard’s rooms. They arrived there at ten ’o clock and reported at reception. “My name is Annette. I have an appointment with Doctor Mustard. I am here because he is going to make me beautiful again!” The receptionist looked at Annette and thought, “Young lady not even God can make you look pretty again!” “Miss, please take a seat, Doctor will be with you in a few minutes.” What felt like hours changed when Annette was called in. “Hi Annette!” Doctor Mustard greeted her. “Morning Doctor!” Annette smiled, “Where is the cream, I want to start using it immediately!” Doctor Mustard looked at Annette. “Young lady, first things first. Let’s examine you and then we can talk about the cream. Come and get on the bed!” Annette hopped onto the bed. “Okay Annette you look good and healthy.
If you wanted to know where your baby’s development is now, here it is, he or she is about the size of a kidney bean and all the cells are in place to start forming the organs of your baby...”

  Annette interrupted, “Doctor it’s all nice but what about the cream?” Doctor Mustard looked confused. “Annette, please forget about the cream for now, your baby before you!” “Doctor you said I am fine so let’s get on with it! I will look after myself and you just keep on giving me the cream that will make me beautiful again!” “Annette, the cream will lighten the scarring but will not take it away. I doubt if you will see any improvement before the baby is born. Your hormones are in flux and it will keep your scarring red and at best it may go to a softer shade of pink!” Annette looked at him. “Doctor, just give it to me, don’t you worry!”

  Doctor Mustard gave Annette the cream in a big tub. “Annette, now remember if it does not work immediately, it will take some time to lighten the scars.” Annette glowed with excitement. “Yes, yes, yes doctor...” “Annette you need to see me in three months time again!” screamed Doctor Mustard as Annette ran out. “Yes Doc....” Doctor Mustard looked as Annette disappeared down the stairs and he could not help but have this feeling of impending doom. Annette’s expectation of his cream was totally unnatural. It was as if she thought that it would take away all her hurt as well as her scars.

  The little one in Annette grew with vigour and he could not keep still. He discovered the rough things on his fingers. It looked funny all squiggly and tickled when he rubbed it together. He found out he had some prickly stuff above his eyes and if he touched it, it felt funny! A few times he got startled when Annette hit her tummy softly when he got too excited. He could experience that mommy ate the wrong food which upset him and he would move more to let her know to stop with the awful stuff.

  Annette used the cream morning, afternoon and night. She was so excited, “This is going to make me beautiful again, Tralalaaaaa....” not even caring about her voice being husky. As the weeks dragged on, she did not see any changes in the colour of the scars. She sent her dad back six times to get more cream. She remembered the doctor saying that it will take time but she thought it would have shown some results by now. Annette was confused and angry and could not wait to see Doctor Mustard again.

  Time went by so quickly and three months have passed by like it all happened in a day. They arrived at Doctor Mustard’s rooms. “I am here to see Doctor Mustard.” She reported to reception. “You can go through, doctor is waiting for you.” “Good morning Annette! How have you and your baby been?” Annette looked at him. “Baby, baby is all everybody want to know! What about my scars?” Doctor Mustard smiled. “Annette, I have told you that it will take time and to be straight with you, your baby comes first.” Annette looked at him with disgust. “I am the important one here DOC! Without me the little demon would not have lived! Get rid of my scars or else.....”

  At that moment the L on her hand started burning and the pain that shot through her arm felt like burning coals in her veins. “Ouch that hurts!” “You okay Annette” Doctor Mustard asked. “Yes I am okay, just forgot a few rules!” “What rules Annette?” asked Doctor Mustard confused. “Nothing Doctor, now please just give me stronger cream! The baby is fine and he is jumping around in me so let’s go, let’s go!” Doctor Mustard took her hand. “Annette the cream will help a little, but it will not take the scars away. Focus on yourself and the baby for now. The rest will come, I promise.”

  “Doctor this cream is all I have to give me hope! I have lost faith in everything I was, had and believed in. The God I serve could not protect me nor could He help to take away my scars nor could he stop this baby. Don’t you understand! The hope I have with this cream is all I have, just give it to me so that I can go.” Annette started crying and Doctor Mustard held her against his chest. “I understand dear child, just promise me that you will not get your hopes up too high, okay? Now, I want to see you at eight months again and here is your prescription for the cream.”

  Annette left the room feeling empty and depressed. John could see that his daughter was distraught. “Annette, are you okay?” “Yes dad. Let’s just go home!” “You know my baby, I can understand how you feel but the doctor did warn you that it would take time for the scars to lighten.” Annette looked at her dad with emptiness in her eyes that could have swallowed The Milky Way. “Please Dad, not you too. All I have is my cream. That is all I have and if this does not work I have lost it all. Please let’s go home and just leave me alone, just for a while.”

  John only looked in front of him as they drove home and felt like he failed his little girl again. He could not for the life of him think what to do to help his daughter. They stopped at home and as they walked in, it struck him, “Annette I am going to make an appointment at Doctor Botha for you, just to talk, is that okay with you?” “YES, whatever dad, do what you think is good, I will go!”John walked in the door, “Marie we need to talk! Annette is getting obsessed with this cream Doctor Mustard has given her. I think we need to ask Doctor Botha for an intervention because I think she may implode if this cream does not work.” Marie looked concerned and agreed. “John, I think we must do it. If she has a setback now it might affect the baby and that will not be in her best interest!”

  John picked up the phone. “Can I please speak to Doctor Botha? I will hold.... Hello, hello Doctor Botha? I need to book a visit for my daughter Annette.” The voice on the other side answered with concern. “John, no problem, what happened?” John answer with some hesitation, “Doc, Annette got a cream from Doctor Mustard. She has become so obsessed with the cream that her health and the baby’s safety are in jeopardy.” “Well John, I suggested to Doctor Mustard to take her as a research subject. The cream would get her mind off the baby and the incident. What does concern me however, is that she has become so obsessed with the cream that it is actually influencing her grasp of reality. Bring her in tomorrow and we can have a talk, okay? Around ten, does that fit into your schedule?” “Yes Doc we will be there.” answered John.

  “Annette we need to go to Doctor Botha tomorrow at ten. Please be ready!” “Yes whatever dad, even if it is just to get you off my back!” answered Annette with a contempt that could freeze over hell. The next morning Annette, still in a foul mood, arrived at Doctor Botha’s rooms. As they walked to the room they walked past chrome boards showing the way to the doctor’s room. Annette looked at them and noticed that the scars on her face were light pink and not dark red as yesterday. “Daddy look my scars are light! O the cream works!” Annette shouted with joy. John looked at her barely noticing the difference. “Come on Annette, Doctor Botha is waiting!” They arrived at the rooms and were shown through immediately. “Hello Annette!” greeted Doctor Botha. “You look beautiful! Your tummy is starting to show, how adorable! Okay let’s talk, John please leave us alone for a while. Okay Annette, talk to me...” Annette looked at him with a smile, “Doc my scars are fading! Can’t you see? I finally have hope for my future again. I cannot wait for the baby to get out of me so I can carry on with my life!”

  Doctor Botha looked at her. “O yes, I can see the difference! It is remarkable! But remember, it could flare-up at any time and go dark again. Remember Annette, your hormones....” Annette smiled. “Doctor, like all the other people in my life, you don’t believe the cream is going to work, but I know better, the cream will do its job. You know Doc, this cream gave me hope and that hope is keeping me sane. Why does everybody want to take it away from me?” Doctor Botha smiled. “Annette, there is nothing wrong with the cream but you are obsessing. Tone it down girl and remember you are the important one, okay?” Annette smiled and nodded yes. “John you can come in now!” called Doctor Botha. John took a seat. “Now John, Annette and I had a long talk and in my opinion she is fine. The cream gives her a sense of peace, hope and happiness. For me this is okay as long as it does not become an obsession. So let’s give it some time and evaluate in a month or so.” “Okay
Doc, if you think it is fine, I will abide by it. Let’s keep an eye on her and if it gets bad I will contact you again.” Annette and John left the rooms with a sense of not accomplishing much. John thought that Annette lied to the doctor and Annette thought it was a waste of time.

  The baby did not even worry about these visits. He grew bigger by the day and every day he discovered more and more. Yes, he was a boy and as a boy he just could not stay still. When mommy did not eat enough he would kick her in the ribs because a growing boy needs food. He could make out when it was light and dark. He just could not figure out the stinging sensation every time his body came close to his mommy’s sides and tummy. He had dreams that sometimes were nice and sometimes he got scared. In one of these dreams he saw this thing that looked just like him, only bigger.

  This thing talked to him. “Hallo, hallo little one! I am your dad, so don’t be scared. I have gone to very extreme lengths to get you and even if you will not remember this, you need to know that I will be around the corner when you need me!” This man scared him, but he was a fighter with a strong will. “My mommy will protect me, so go away you ugly thing!” He started jumping up and down in Annette’s tummy. Annette woke up from him jumping up and down and smacked his bottom so hard that he crawled up into her ribs to hide. “We will see little one, that burning you feel, you will remember for the rest of your life!” Lucifer smiled as he left him alone.

  Annette used the cream as if there was no tomorrow. One day she would be as white as a lily, the next she would look as if she had not used the cream at all and the next day her scars would light up like a Christmas tree and change every hour. This not only confused the poor child, but also sent her in a terrible downward spiral. She would stop eating for a day or two and then the baby would kick her for food. As if that was not enough, the L on her arm would start burning and paining when the baby started to starve in her.

  The only way she had to get her own back was to smack him when he came close to her skin. O boy and did she use this opportunity to get her own back. She at first just smacked his bum or foot when it touched the skin, but as her depression became deeper and deeper she started hitting him with her fist. Yes the little one had his fair share of black and blue bruises before he even left his mommy’s tummy.

  It was now eight months and time for Annette to go to Doctor Mustard. “Annette, are you ready to go?” asked John. “Yes dad, I cannot wait to see Doctor Mustard. I am by now ready to smack the snot out of him! He promised me beauty and all I got was a fat tummy and scars that light up like a Christmas tree. Let’s go!”

  They arrived at Doctor Mustard rooms. “Hello Annette! How are you doing?” “Well Doc let me put it this way, this baby is killing me and stretching me to my limits! Your cream does not work, because I look like a Christmas tree when my scars light up! You lied to me Doc, you lied!” Doctor Mustard looked at Annette. “Annette, I have never promised you anything! All I said was that the cream will lighten your scars and this will only happen fully if the baby is born. Your hormones also have a role to play and this also influences the scar colouring! But before we go on let me examine you!”

  Annette got undressed and put on her robe and what Doctor Mustard saw shocked him. Annette’s tummy was full of black and purple bruising and it looked like she was in an accident. “Annette what the hell has happened here? What is all this bruising?” Annette looked at him. “O Doc I bumped into a few drawers and doors. My tummy is so big I need to get use to it!” she lied. Doctor Mustard continued with the examination. “Okay, everything looks fine and the baby responds well. It feels like he has turned around and is ready to get into the birth position. He will still move but within the next 2-3 weeks he will be in position to come out. You must look after him and yourself now, okay!” Annette looked at Doctor Mustard as if she did not hear him. “Doc I hear you, but what about the SCARS? THE CREAM DOES NOT WORK! You want to tell me that I will not look beautiful before this demon is out? Well if that is a fact, this little bastard will suffer with me!”

  Doctor Mustard asked Annette to wait outside while he and her father had a talk. “John, I think Annette is in a very deep depression about this cream that is not working as she has hoped for. If I take it away, I am convinced she will do something stupid. I cannot give her any medication for the depression so it is up to you and Marie to watch her!” John looked shocked after the comment from Doctor Mustard, “I understand Doc, should we not get Doctor Botha in as well?” Doctor Mustard looked at John. “I will phone him and discuss the situation with him, but for now look after her and don’t let her hit herself or the baby.” John was shocked. “She is doing what?” “Yes she has some bruising on her belly and I think it is from hitting the baby! One wrong punch and that little one is dead! Just keep her hands down, even if you have to sleep in her room.”

  Doctor Mustard called Annette in. “Okay Annette, please look after yourself. I have just made a pre-booking at the hospital for you, so if this little one decides he needs to come, they will be ready for you. You need to keep a lookout for contractions every five minutes and sudden excessive water flow!” Annette looked at him with the darkness of the blackest night in her eyes. “Almost time to get him out, then I will be free!” “John, have you, Marie and Annette decided on the future of this baby?” John looked stunned. “No, actually we haven’t even spoken about it!” “I suggest you get to an answer. If I am right, this little one will not see 3 weeks in Annette’s belly. Please let me know so that I can arrange with social services.” John nodded in agreement and took Annette home.

  Marie and John sat in front of the fireplace that night. “Marie, what about the baby?” Marie smiled and looked at John. “I am so excited John, a little Annette or a baby John in the house!” John nearly had a heart attack. “You say what? I told you, I don’t want that thing in my house! He or she is a demon!” Marie looked at her husband. “John, I have told you that he or she is blood of our blood, no matter who his dad is! I will not give him away to the wolves! I will not be the same as his father, nor will I do the same as Squeal’s mother did to him! If you don’t want him, I will take him. Even if I have to divorce you and move out! He is our blood and that my dear husband is my final word!” John was shocked. “Well let me tell you this, he then, my dear wife, will be yours. You two can live in the flat which I was building for Annette in the back of our yard and my daughter and I will live in the main house. As I said, I love you, but that thing will not live in my house!”

  The weeks passed by and the baby grew more and more. His little body filled out nicely and he became nice, cuddly and fat. He could feel how angry his mommy was and how she became sad. He could feel his little body pain every time she hit him when she became frustrated. He loved his mommy and decided to really love her because she is his own mommy. It was at thirty nine weeks that Annette went too far after she looked at herself in the mirror. She lost it completely and started smashing her mirrors. She did not even feel the L on her wrist burning, because she had enough. She started beating her tummy with her fists and the little baby could not get out of the way. He was ready to come out. Annette was an expert at punishing him and the fists hit that little body every time.

  Marie came running and saw what Annette was doing. “John! Call the ambulance we’ve got trouble!” Annette’s water broke with the force and violence she hit her tummy with. They arrived at the maternity ward in the nick of time and Annette was taken to the delivery room. She was put on the bed and tied down. The contractions were close and eventually the little one decided he will not stay in there any longer. The pain shot through Annette, “AAAAAAAAAAAAA, Get this thing out of me!” “Annette please breath and when I say push, you push, okay?” said Doctor Mustard. It felt as if somebody wanted to split Annette in half. It was as if the fire from hell was burning down there, with the demons from hell tearing away the flesh from her bones. “Annette the head is crowning, Push!” “Aaaaaaaaaaaa, it hurts Doc get it out of meeeeeeeeee!” �
�Annette calm down and push. Here come the shoulders! Annette, now for the last time push, go girl, push!” “Aaaaaaaaaaaa I am pushing aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!”

  Suddenly it went quiet in the room. “My God Annette, what have you done to your little baby?” Annette was crying. “At least now I can become beautiful and now I am free!” Marie was waiting outside the room for the baby. Suddenly the baby started crying and Marie smiled. “I will call him Leonard!” Doctor Mustard came out of the delivery room. “Marie, John we have taken the baby to Neonatal Intensive Care. Annette nearly killed the little boy! His nose was bleeding and he had a black eye and this matches the bruising on the rest of his body. Lucky for us he has no broken bones and he looks fine. I hope that he did not get any brain damage. If I were you, I would pray like you prayed for Annette nine months ago. Do you have a name for him?” Marie was shocked at the news, “Yes Doc, on this day, 15 November 1969, his name will be Leonard Botha!”

  Leonard was born by the grace of God on the 15th of November 1969, healthy with the skin colour of black and blue!

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