Stories our mothers told us

The same way folktale passes from generation to generation,
The stories passed from our fore mothers to our mothers.

And they told us,

When I was born, still an infant sucking my mother's breast,
She told me am meant for good things .
Mama told me even as an infant to never settle for less.
So here I am a grown woman aiming only for the big things.

When I started forming words,
Mama told me to pray.
"The world is a battlefield" she always say.
"If you don't pray , you won't survive " this still rings in my ears till date.

When I was 9, right before I became a woman,
She told me that when a male cross my legs i get pregnant.
I started fearing that transit to womanhood and the other gender.
I never have them around while growing up.

As a teenager,
She told me that virginity is the highest gift,
She told me that losing it equals losing your life whatever the way,
I went on with that stigma hung on me like a permanent cold blanket.

When I became a woman,
Mama told me that any mistake brings pregnancy,
I hated womanhood and I wish it never came.
Each times it comes, it brings much pain that increases with each hatred.

These stories formed me and destroyed me.
When I become a mother. I'll filter those tales
While I pass them on.