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You Never Have to Feel Guilty for Doing What’s Right
I need to follow my own advice
Justice is a fickle bitch.
There was a time when I was absolutely positive I made the right choice. I put my Father and his brother in jail for sexually assaulting my sister and I. It began when we were very young. For me, it started when I was around 5 years old, and lasted into my preteen years. For my sister, who is 6 years my senior, I assume it was the same ages for her.
She left our house when she was 15 years old, and ended up in an abusive relationship. I was left behind to deal with the mess that my parents made of me, and of my life.
Moving On
After a few years in my own abusive relationship with a boy, and many lessons learned, I found love, got married, and eventually had a baby girl. I kept her far away from the toxins in my family tree, and vowed to protect her with every fiber of my heart and soul. At 28 years old, now, she hardly knows my family, and it is because I did the right thing.
Once I had managed to escape the roots of my childhood home and find my own way with my husband, we moved 40 hours away, to keep my kid safe from the harm of our family. What I didn’t expect, or prepare myself for when we moved away, was that my nieces were still at risk, back in our home town. The monsters were still lurking around, and after a year away, I was informed that the Uncle was moving in with my brother, and his 3 daughters.
I wasn’t having any of it. I refused to allow my nieces to be abused by the pedophiles I had left behind.
I could have pretended to not care. I also could have ignored the issue and saved myself from two years of legalities and stress. I could have also hung up the phone when my sister called to tell me about the Uncle, and shut it all off.
But, of course, I didn’t. I did the right thing.
I went to the local police detachment, and dug all the skeletons from my childhood and preteen closet. I spent 4 hours, explaining occurrences that I had shoved away. I…
