As Siya grew up, her life felt full of joy.
Her parents had shifted to her paternal grandfather's home for her further studies.
She was so smart that people around her praised her endlessly.
She was a happy, confident child. A girl who laughed loudly, spoke brightly, and lived like the world was hers.
But then, one day came.
A day that would take everything away.
She went to her uncle's house-her chacha.
He was just around 7 years older than her.
Their houses were right beside each other. First Siya's home. Then her bua's, who was her favorite and only 5 years older than her. Then her cousin sisters' home. And then-his.
That house. That room.
Siya went there with her mother.
Her mother was busy talking to her uncle's mother-her grandmother by relation (h Her uncle took her to another room.
He started touching her inappropriately.
She was just around 5 years old. She didn't know what was happening, didn't understand anything, but something felt wrong.
Still, she tried to refuse. She tried to say no.
But he didn't stop.
He became furious.
He threw her onto the bed.
Then... he started undressing his jeans.
He came close, moaning around her.
She lay still in fear, too small to fight, too scared to scream.
She didn't move. She couldn't.
Her mind was blank. Her body froze.
And then-
he removed his pants.
That moment hit her like a lightning bolt.
She didn't know what to think.
But she knew she had to run.
So she did.
Suddenly, somehow-she ran out of that room.
Ran fast.
Ran without looking back.
She ran straight to her mother.
Nervous. Shaking. Confused.
Trying to explain, in the only way a five-year-old could.
Telling her mother what just happened.
But her mother-
Her mother didn't believe her.
Not even a pause. Not even a question.
Just disbelief. Dismissal.
That was the first time Siya felt it.
That heavy, cold feeling inside the chest-
Betrayal.
Not by the stranger who hurt her.
But by the one person who was supposed to protect her.
From that day on, every time she visited that house...
Every time her uncle smiled at her...
He took advantage of her. Not always in the same way.
Sometimes a touch. A whisper. A presence too close.
But each time, he stole a little more of her.
And she didn't even realize it.
She didn't understand what was happening.
But her body remembered.
That room. That silence. That yes.
And slowly, Siya stopped talking about it.
Stopped crying.
Stopped expecting anyone to believe her.
She didn't understand what was happening. But her body remembered.
That room. That silence. That yes.
And slowly, Siya stopped talking about it.
Stopped crying.
Stopped expecting anyone to believe her.
But inside her, something had already begun to change.
She no longer looked at her mother the same way.
The woman who once felt like a goddess herself, a shield-
was now just someone who didn't believe her.
At five years old, Siya had learned her first brutal truth:
Not every mother listens. Not every child gets saved.
She would still visit that house. Still pass by that door.
Still hear that voice saying, "Come play."
But now she carried a secret in her bones.
He didn't stop.
Each visit brought a new discomfort-
a hand too close, a breath too near, a look too long.
But it all blended into something she couldn't name,
because no one ever gave her the words.
She started walking with her head lower.
Stopped laughing loudly.
She would pause at thresholds, looking into rooms with suspicion,
even though she didn't know what she was afraid of.
No one noticed.
How could they?
To everyone else, she was still the same child.
Still bright, still obedient.
Still the girl they once called a goddess.
But inside her, there was only silence.
Not a peaceful silence-
a trapped one.
A silence that pressed against her skin like wet clothes,
never drying, never leaving.
She started to wonder if it was her fault.
If maybe she had misunderstood something.
If maybe bad things were supposed to happen and good girls were supposed to stay quiet.
And so, she did.
She stayed quiet.
Even when it happened again. And again.
Because in her world, monsters didn't live under beds.
They lived next door.
Smiled at her in public.
And no one-not even her mother-could see them.