By Beverly Brown
She says a prayer every night before she goes to bed. She rubs lotion on her face and on her hands and always has the sweet fragrance of peppermint wisping in the air to relax her while she sleeps. She sprays her comforter down in relaxing fragrances to keep calm while she sleeps to prevent the nightmares from reoccurring. But one night in a nightmare she relived a horrific time in her life like it just happened yesterday.
“I can’t stand looking at your face!” he yelled as he picked her up and threw her against the living room wall then kicked her. “You make my skin crawl.” He spit in her face and grabbed his jacket and walked out the door.
The tears poured down her face as she sat in a rounded ball in fear of moving. Some days nothing brought on her beatings but other days the simplest of things struck his nerve.
She waited for a few minutes before trying to get up to be sure he wasn’t waiting right outside the door to strike again. She couldn’t take any more beatings as her ribs felt like they were broken. She went into the bathroom and took a long hot shower just to let the hot water pour all over her wounded body. The tears rolled down her cheeks as she feared for her life. He threatened her if she was ever to leave. But she couldn’t stay much longer. Her body couldn’t handle much more.
He came inside and had gone to the store to buy her a necklace. He put it on her and told her she better never take it off because it was a sign of his unconditional love for her. She gave him a hug and hearing those words come from him comforted her. He told her sometimes he loses his temper a little and it won’t happen again. Things will get better.
Later that night as they sat down to eat she fixed his plate. As she was getting hers he got up from the table and put back half of what was on her plate.
“You’re getting fat. I can’t stand the way you look now. You need to lose some pounds. If you get any fatter I’m going to stab you with this fork.”
She took what he left her on her plate and sat down to eat. She ate very slowly, chewing each bite 20 times to savor the food much longer. He made her get on the scales each night and if she gained a pound she wasn’t allowed to eat the next day.
He put his arm around her and said, “You know I love you baby. I am just looking out for you.” She put her head down and looked at the necklace he gave her earlier and continued eating.
The next day with what little amount of strength she had she was hanging up pictures of his family on the wall. She wasn’t allowed to put any up of her family because there would be consequences if she did. He walked in the living room and took the hammer from her. “Why can’t you do anything right. You’re so numb.” He started to hammer the nails in the wall by doing it his way.
Days turned into weeks and it was always the same routine. He would beat her, put her down, or control her somehow. Then it followed with the best of times. The love, the compassion, the bonding but none of which lasted that long. She longed for his sweet words. His caring touch. She knew nothing different then to get those good times she craves she must go through the bad times first. She wanted to believe things would get better. She felt she deserved the beatings at times.
But then one day she knew she had enough. The only person that could help her was her. She had to make the choice to get help even though he threatened her if she ever left. She knew deep down she was beautiful. She knew she was smart and she definitely knew she did not deserve the beatings and most of all, nothing less than the real honest true respected love that anyone deserves.
She packed up her most needed belongings in a suitcase and drove herself down to the local police department to get the help she needed. Within minutes of filing the report and showing bruises he got arrested. She felt relieved and took a stand for herself and realized she deserved so much more than what he did to her.
In this fictional story we saw signs of physical, verbal, and emotional abuse. No one deserves to be a victim! You can stop domestic violence by taking the same stand and getting help for you or anyone you know involved in a situation.
Don’t let it go on. There is help if you need it. 1-800-439-2323 is the hotline number for Hope & Justice to call and talk to a trained person.
Don’t be a victim. There is a way out. It’s in your hands, don’t let it be in theirs.
Beverly Brown of Presque Isle is a freelance writer.
