Post by Great Shaman on Mar 28, 2011 22:43:42 GMT -8
A New Life Possible
Henrietta sat atop a large, empty water tank in the middle of a deserted lot. The sky about her was barely illuminated by the residual light of the sun that had set moments ago. Her eyes, pupils dilated, were fixated on the nothingness all around her. She was calm and contemplative, but tired.
The air surrounding her was cool and dry. A quiet breeze was present, the only movement in what seemed to be an utterly still night. Henrietta's ears tickled as the evening air sleeked past. She was glad for the coming darkness, and for the first time embraced the loneliness that lingered from her all-to-recent divorce.
He hit her for the last time. She'd rather be dead than to have to face another one of her husband's episodes. Full of rage, he was -- and drunkenness, too. So, Henrietta packed the few things she owned and moved into a motel room near the edge of town. Of course, living there was only temporary, she thought to herself.
Immediately following her departure from her house, her job, her life, Henrietta knew what she was going to do. Her plan was to start fresh, reinvent herself and follow the dreams she had held onto all these years. You see, like so many people, Henrietta was a prisoner in her own life. But it was a life of her our own making. She had no one else to blame but herself.
Not able to escape or pursue the plans that had been set aside, Henrietta lived each day according to the dreams of others. Serving and pleasing those who she cared nothing for, her husband included. Divorce. She never thought it could happen to her, like it did to so many people. They were just two naive individuals who had grown apart years ago. And over that time, Henrietta saw how her husband changed. He became violent, angry, and used alcohol to treat his mania. She didn't ask for this, but how could she have known.
Despite how hard it got, they tried to work it out many times. And each time Henrietta remained honest and sincere with her husband. She wanted to save their marriage, but it wasn't destined to be saved. All that remained after years of fighting and hurt was a carefully nurtured hatred of one another.
She reached into her pack beside her and pulled out a blanket. The escaping light had all but disappeared. Darkness had finally set in, strengthening the already increasing chill. Draping the material over herself, she wondered what tomorrow would bring. Each day from here on out would be hers and no one else's. Finally, it was time to reclaim her life, and she was excited.
Henrietta smiled as she sat there, thinking. She took a deep breath and realized that everything was going to turn out alright. Worrying was only natural in her situation. But she had spent half of her life worrying. No longer would she let fear and weakness control her.
Henrietta served her time in the prison that had been her marriage. It was a lot like prison. Towards the end, she went to bed every night feeling cold and hungry, deprived of her humanity, of her femininity, of her compassion. Unfortunately, her prison wasn't one that reduced her sentence based on good behavior. She had served her time. And now she was ready to pick up the pieces and move on.
She lay atop the empty water tank, her back flat against its cold metal surface. With her head resting on the palms of her hands, Henrietta stared at the wide open sky. Its stars were littered all about, like millions of tiny particles giving off light so bright that they went on forever. Her mind was at ease, although exhausted from the turmoil of the past week.
Her gaze gave way to her stream of thought. It was as though her vision had gone blank and all that she was able to "see" was her own mind. On the other side of the darkness will arise the light of a new day, with many new possibilities, thought Henrietta.
Despite all that she had gone through, she was hopeful for the future. Her heart remained strong and she was most eager to search for that sense of herself that she had abandoned so many years ago. In that moment, Henrietta knew that there was nothing to stop her now.