Gender Violence - What Cecilia Never Understood

By Marco Paulini Espinoza

She saw thirteen times the Spring to flourish. Already at mid-morning, sshe had gotten away the village too much, than her spirit felt to be free as when her mother took her hand to guide her way just some years ago.

The remembrance posessed her most intimate thougs when she suddenly felt tired, and a light dizziness made her to look for a place where to lay, while she streched Carola among her hands.

The cool wind made to collide some dry leaves against her face, awoke, and magically the Moon enlighted the prairie letting to glimpse tthe absence of the ten sheeps those were the perfect motivation and excuse of her taking-away.

Her hand slided on the grass and found the lace of Carola's dress. Within very much bad luck, a smile sketched out on her face at the time that a tear ran over her chick. as she could, she held Carola  into her arms, squeezing it, and wishing to bring back  to that day of her eight birthday when Aunt Sofía, who had years far away, came back from the city bringing the doll with its pretty smile embroidered on his little cloth face, which came in a beautiful box decorated  with a red ribbon, what would be her gift remembering the day when she born.

She got up and a strange waist pain brought her down again almost inmediatly, while  a tearing pain scream  who nobody heard at the lonely prairie escaped out from her being.

She tried to slow down when she felt a warn fluid  to run her thighs. She could not understand why she was bleeding profusely. The cold of the death took  her fragile body making her to tremble, she cried and she tried to scream for help, but she was completely alone.

Foolishly, as theatrical motion scenes, almost programmed thoughs passed through her head: What would be thinking about her at his husband Juan's house? Surely that as at her parents' hhouse "she was very pampered", she as not been accostumed to her new family. In the other hand, wwhat her father could think about of her running-away offense as the much he earned to negotiate with Juan for the town's people not to speak and realize her daughter was not virgin anymore.

As she does not arrive into home, Juan surely would despise her  and look for another girl at the lonely countryside for forcing her to make love as the habit was, because in his 22-year-old, he had it done many times, as that time when Cecilia went out from the school and the fortune, the misfortune, made to match Juan at the lonely countryside, no words crossing each other... and her destiny could change forever.

What did Juan care about doing it once again? What did Juan care about leaving Cecilia dishonored and marked lifetime?

She blamed for taking away too much because her intenttion was to feel free only but not running away, she blamed  for losing the sheeps, she blamed for being a bad daughter, she blamed for being a bad woman  and she could not understand what her body was passing through.

She did an unnatural effort  and walked as she could, almost dragging. Her body did not responsed once more time and a "My God, help me" was her ultimate reasong.

It was four in the morning wen a farmer tripped on Cecilia amid the fog, who was white as a paper and cold because of the sierra's air, but still having pulse. Rushing, he took her on his arms and covered her up with his poncho. A rampage started at the town. Juan did not want her to be addressed to the health post because it was  a villagers' habit to heal their diseased with healers and shamans.

At five in the afternoon, Don Evaristo, a very respected shaman, said he could not do anything else yet for Cecilia and bring her to the medical post.

Cecilia was evacuated and arrived into the city's hospital almost at midnight.  Half an hour later, her death was confirmed. The innocence of her years did not let her to understand she was pregnant eight weeks. The medical doctors confirmed the next day the bleeding cause was a miscarriage.

Let's denounce the machismo too ingrained inside the cultural practices. Stop the gender violence!

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