Life as a caged bird

Jovi is the middle child of six siblings. She has a sister and four brothers. In a family so large, getting attention is just about impossible unless you are the self-professed black sheep. Jovi’s father was belligerent, condescending, verbally and physically abusive, a tyrant. Growing up with a serial philanderer for a father left much to be desired. Dario, Jovi’s dad would beat his wife for her indiscretions, while he disappeared for days at a time, with no accountability. Working as a mechanic, money was always tight. For the slightest infractions, the children were beaten often. One day Dario received a phone call about one of his sons skipping school. Dario searched for his son throughout the town until he found him. Once he got ahold of his son, he beat him, shaved his head, and tied him by his ankles, and wrists to the matrimonial bed for all to see until his wife arrived from work. Trauma, humiliation, physical, verbal and mental abuse was the elixir of their childhood. He would grope his wife, Monica, for others to witness and she had no say. Monica was treated as property. Dario had countless indiscretions however one woman he never denied, Angela. Angela helped Dario financially and was his lover for countless years. Everyone knew of her and no one dared speak ill of her. Jovi was sexually active by the age of twelve. Never feeling pretty, smart, or worthy of anything. She was never the girl boys noticed or chased, so she offered boys the cookie instead. Jovi was insatiable, she would sleep with her little brother’s friends and think nothing of it. She kept a scorecard of how many men she was able to dominate. Jovi honed in on men who were in relationships and would flaunt them as though they belonged to her. The thing is sooner or later they always returned to their rightful owners. Jovi temporarily rocked the world of many men however no one ever managed to stick around long enough. When someone did stay, it was conditional, she had to withstand beatings. Whenever her lover grew angry or tired he would place her belongings in black garbage bags and return Jovi to her parent’s home. Once the dust settled, she would return to the same circumstances, everyone knew and no one intervened.

Something to declare

Santiago was the firstborn of eight children to an extremely toxic mother. She debased, beat, terrorized, and ridiculed her sons daily. Santiago grew up to be just as narcissistic as his mother. Like his mother, by the age of eighteen, Santiago had three children, born in the same year, by three different women. He has eleven children with seven different women, while solely financially providing for his youngest two children. Every other child never received any monetary or emotional support. His older children envied the youngest two, given they are the ones he had a vested interest in. Fiscally, Santiago did very well for himself however, he began to lose his fortune due to the drinking. Indiscretions were rampant in the marriage. Physical abuse of his wife was a staple and how he maintained total control. Santiago’s affaire with the bottle superseded all things. When he tired of running the streets and returned home, no one was spared of his vitriolic nature. The years of abuse manifested in excessive weight gain in his wife. She had gastric bypass surgery as a means of reinventing herself. While home recovering from the surgery, Santiago beats her, fearing she may finally leave. His youngest daughter is effortlessly striking, coquette. As she walks down the street, there is no shortage, in the awe of men. Habitually, Valentina was debased, ridiculed, and terrorized by the man responsible for loving and protecting her. No wonder, She lacks any motivation beyond being a kept woman even if it means grave degradation. Her lifestyle may seem foreign to many although this is how Valentina was groomed. Santiago projected the hollowness he felt within onto his daughter and she believed him.