Slumped into darkness

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The world felt cold as I sat on the prison floor. I was to be put to death by hanging the next day. I had just today to live, to pray, I had just this night to watch my whole life again.

Mother had died 6years ago due to complications while giving birth to my little brother Andrea.
Life with dad had not been easy with his constant emotional, verbal and physical abuse. He would hit me and Andrea at the slightest provocation.

I had become the house keeper at just 14, I would cook, clean, do the laundry and take care of Andrea who was just 7. Dad would come home very late at night and look for a reason to beat me and Andrea. We hated him, we had grown very scared of our own father. He would call us "evil" "stupid" and "demons".

Memories of when mother was alive had faded as I was too young to keep memory of everything then. People around the neighborhood would always whisper and gossip about how dad used to beat mum and how that was the leading cause for Andrea's premature birth and mother's complication.

That evening, I came back sick from school. I managed to tidy the house, help Andrea with his school homework and fix dinner. I was tired from the work and sickness so I slept off after eating with my plate on the floor. I woke up to the wiping of Dad's belt on my back. I rushed up and took the plate in my hand as I pleased with dad explaining that I slept off by mistake and I was not feeling strong.

I was muted with a hot slap on my cheek and more lashes of belt on my body, Andrea was crying as he ran to plead with dad on my behalf and dad hit him too with the belt. I looked at him, my little brother, he was hurt. At this point I knew I had to stop him, I couldn't let him hurt Andrea any further so I ran up to his room, opened his bedside drawer where he always kept his loaded gun for security use.

Dad followed me upstair, he looked surprised as I pointed the gun at him. I remember him saying "you dare point a gun at me kiddo? Put it down" I remember telling him "you will never hurt me and Andrea again". I remember the heaviness of the gun and the sounding shot as I pulled the trigger. I remember saying "I'm not remorseful for what I did, he deserved it" to the judge. That is why I was here, that is why I'll soon be persecuted. I slept off.

It wasn't long till morning, it wasn't long till I saw the prison guards coming to handcuff me to my death. As I hung on the rope with my face covered, I imagined Andrea with a new loving family, I imagined him having a good life, he'd miss me, I'll miss him too. But we were both going to be fine, I'll get to be with mum and him, he'll get adopted by a loving family. I wished things had been better but I dared not regret at this point. I smiled and slumped into darkness.