• Today is the day. She will run.

    It has been almost 2 months when she had asked for an early out from work, for her sick husband, who tried to make her stay in for that day. She had explained she needed to go to work because there were some very important things she had to do.

    Remembering his face, she rushed through the essentials of the day and quite earnestly asked her boss if she could go home. She was allowed.

    The house was not very far. When she reached their door, she found it quite peculiar that it looked almost empty. She quietly opened the front door, went in and peaked into her daughter's bedroom, where she saw her sleeping soundly. Her suspicions rising, she tiptoed slowly to her own bedroom door and opened it.

    There she found her. The she-devil seemed to be enjoying "entertaining" her sick husband, by doing what seemed like serious acrobatic movements on top of him.

    All at once, she felt flushed, cold, dizzy but amazingly alert. She staggered into the room ready to grab hold of her maid's/cousin's hair and drag her naked butt out the back door, but her husband who was alerted to her presence was faster in stopping her while her target fled.

    She felt her heart break into pieces and watched numbly in her head how every other dream she had of that place vanish. She clawed and punched at her husband's chest, screaming obscenities she often associated with criminals.

    That was the last straw.

    She has endured so much out of her marriage after all.

    2 years ago, she had attempted to kill herself by pouring gas all over her body and locking herself inside her car. She had intended to light herself up, but the lighter she took didn't work, being soaked with gas as well. Her husband, who was so shocked by what she did, stopped battering her from then on - the reason why she was driven to kill herself in the first place. A mixture of terrible fear from what was coming to her, being used to his painful fist and cruel sexual advances, and extreme hate, had turned her almost insane.

    But that she forgave. This one, she can't. That’s when she decided. She will run.

    No one knew about the plan except a couple of people in her country’s embassy. Being in an island where her husband’s family is very powerful, she knew that one leak and it would be impossible to attempt to do ever again. For 2 months she played the role of a forgiving wife, even if she hated his guts.

    Today, she walked towards freedom in shorts and a regular t-shirt, holding a supermarket plastic bag with nothing but money and documents in it. Her daughter was wearing her usual house clothes.

    They checked in just a few minutes before boarding started, an essential part of the plan because she knew that if they came in a lot earlier than that, the airport officials would have tipped his husband and he’d be able to stop them.

    Her daughter, who was about 5 at the time and oblivious to what was going on, even asked for candy before they boarded. It was only when the plane took off that she felt finally safe. Her heartbeat went back to normal. She lied on her back, closed her eyes and felt elated for their successful escape. She promised she will never return…

    ….

    She opened her eyes. The room was dark. She realized she was having the nightmare of a past life. That’s over now. She shifted to check on him, who was still sleeping and snoring a little loudly. She stared for a good ten minutes at the man who gave her a second chance at life and 4 more kids. She felt overwhelmed and cried silently, touching his face so lightly to avoid waking him up. The horror of her old life seemed to be light-years away as she laid her head on his chest and he subconsciously wrapped his arm around her. She floated just as easily back to sleep.