The Beauty of Ayanda
by Does violation of the body and soul have the power to strip and destroy beauty.
Whenever there is an unbalance of power, the potential for rape increases. This is true particularly during the chaos of wartime.
Rape during wartime appears to have gone through three main stages: rape as a routine and expected reward to the victors, random rape due to lack of military discipline, and systematic rape as a military technique to demoralize the opposition.
We need to be a voice in the nations fighting this disease with everything that is within us. No man or woman has the power or right to violate the body or soul of another.
I ran as if being chased. For who knew, maybe I was. The crisp crunch of the autumn leaves resounded under my feet. Trees with long arms waved at me as I moved through the midnight mist and breeze. No respect I thought as it lifted my skirt and flirted with my knees. There it was. Barred was an understatement. There was no way anyone could pass through those. Not without a magic word or wand. Those who alternatively tried the windows had hopelessly failed. A giggle escaped my parched lips. They were deceptively low and seductive but beyond them, was an enclave of vipers you didn’t want to cross.
Such a pity I thought that this hideout did not exude deeper and warmer tones but instead had an unseen sign that said “stay out or else”. Or else what I thought. Get your heart ripped out? Your eyes punctured? Your body disemboweled? Your head smashed by rock? What? That was in any event the atmosphere and action outside its walls. I was close to finding out. Just a few more yards to run.
I could feel her, sensed the depth of the darkness and panic ready to consume and waste her. The intensity of her presence overwhelmed me. Her presumed failure, her desire for death, her loss. I felt fear call me. I knew very little. In fact I knew almost nothing except that she once carried the voice of an angel and the feline grace and beauty of a ballerina. I could feel her reach out to me. She knew I would come. If I had any last minute thoughts to bolt, they were shattered as the door opened and groaned as it fell from hinges that were decades old. Well not literally, but I imagine you get the picture. If I gave dimensions the picture I’m sure, would grow in clarity. It just seemed impossible to hold open. Rising hysteria almost choked me as I looked at the giant who opened the door.
He was mahogany skinned and bigger than massive. One could understand for he guarded those doors as if they were the portals to heaven. Not that any portal to heaven would need guarding. His eyes belied his appearance. They were deep set and round. Clear black pools of compassion. Amazing I thought. That such deep emotion could penetrate such a threatening appearance. I relaxed.
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