Bell, witnessing another child being physically assaulted leaves that child with emotional scars of helplessness and powerlessness, and with a host of other adverse effects as well. Don't ever lose sight of what you tried to do for your step-cousin; it was so very brave of you to go to his rescue when you were so young yourself and risk being beaten by a woman who was so clearly out-of-control. One can only imagine what this little boy's life was like. I would bet that he has never forgotten what you did for him that day. You may well have been the only person who ever tried to rescue him. That my dear Bell, probably left just as large, but positive, impression on him as the events of that awful day left on you.
As for kneeling on rice for two hours, I can certainly relate to that cruel and malicious punishment: My parents made my siblings and I kneel on salt with our pants rolled up, sometimes for hours at a time. Sometimes they waited until we passed out before allowing us to get up. The salt would burrow into our knees and mix with the blood; truly agonizing pain that left us unable to walk at times. And when my father wanted us to feel severe and immediate pain, he would make us kneel on a heating vent grille, leaving us with deep cuts into our skin, right down to the bone.
I know you said you lost touch with this step-cousin...if there is any way for you to find and get in touch with him, perhaps talking about the incident you described above could be a very healing experience for the two of you.
I thank you for sharing this story with my visitors and me, Bell.
Disclaimer: To the best of my knowledge the child abuse
stories on this site are true. While I cannot guarantee
this, I do try to balance the need for the submitter to be
heard and validated with the needs of my visitors.
