a story
It happened...many years ago. It's like a story told and retold, but this time, it comes from my own words. My own take to the story. I begin to share it now, lest the impending silence of forever quiets this whisper in my mind, telling a tale of life. Of lives gone. Of lives to come.
His mother was carefree and had a good head on her shoulders. Charming and pretty, she drew attention to herself just by entering the room. His father wasn't exactly the best. He was always scheming, always lying. He could take what you say and twist it around against you. To say the least, his siblings could care less for him. It was your typical poor girl, rich guy story.
Her parents were endearing and educated. Her father was a lawyer for the people. When the clients couldn't pay with anything more than food, he was content to accept it. He was a fair and moral man. Her mother was experienced in education, having taught for many years, rising to superintendant of many schools and had survived World War II during the Japanese occupation. The home she shared with her parents and siblings was humble, but it had love.
His parents were proud in the sense that they had an air about them. His father was a well respected lawyer, a law professor at the national university with many works under his name. Just prior to his death, he was nominated to become a national supreme court justice. His mother was a lady of high society. Their house had a very big receiving area with three sets of couches and other receiving room furniture. The farther into the house you go, the more expensive the furniture. The guest status determined where one sat.
The two had met in college through social gatherings, and it was a twisted form of fate that they met. She was of youthful beauty while he wasn't exactly good looking. At most, he had some sort of charm. I cannot remember the details of how they became a couple, but it seemed to work. In the beginning. Her parents were cautious, and his parents were cool towards the relationship. She knew his sisters before they had met.
In time, they decided to run away together. However, it was thought that everything should be formal, and so a grand wedding was to be. Her wedding gown was designed by a nationally known dressmaker, and was attended by the dignitaries and acquaintances of the father-in-law to be. But by this time, her Cinderella dream was beginning to unfold, and the outlook became less dreamy. Unfortunately, she was still too young, and now she was marrying at a very young age. It became more of duty than anything else.
The new couple was married. Happily? One can never be quite sure. Through time, which in this case, did not span ages, he became more controlling and manipulative. Change was counted and verified. Excursions were watched, and sometimes followed. And why should he be jealous? Of course, she was beautiful. And she was of a free spirited nature. You cannot contain such, and to do so would be to condemn that spirit to torture. But he did. For he had a secret to hide. While she was true to him, he began having mistresses, sometimes giving them the false hope that he would leave his young bride for them. But she never suspected a thing.
At times, maybe she would, but being naive, trusted that he really was working late hours or doing errands for his grandmother then living.
As she lived in his household, the mother looked upon her as one of the other house servants. During Christmas, while she would give her daughters and sons the finest that the stores had to offer, she would give her daughter-in-law whatever was left in the bargain bin. Unfair as it seems, she graciously accepted it.
She had dreams of being in the martime industry, with the fisheries and what not. To their controlling end, his family convinced her that it would be best to be a good wife and switch to something like home economics. They helped pay for her schooling, so how could she resist?
You cannot really hide the truth. The saying goes that the truth will set you free. So much so, that it also frees iteself. A few years had past since their wedding, and one of her sisters-in-law asked, don't you wonder sometimes? Wonder how he's gone? But to her, she was losing care, losing love. And yet by advice, maybe giving him a reason to stay at home would help.
His mother was carefree and had a good head on her shoulders. Charming and pretty, she drew attention to herself just by entering the room. His father wasn't exactly the best. He was always scheming, always lying. He could take what you say and twist it around against you. To say the least, his siblings could care less for him. It was your typical poor girl, rich guy story.
Her parents were endearing and educated. Her father was a lawyer for the people. When the clients couldn't pay with anything more than food, he was content to accept it. He was a fair and moral man. Her mother was experienced in education, having taught for many years, rising to superintendant of many schools and had survived World War II during the Japanese occupation. The home she shared with her parents and siblings was humble, but it had love.
His parents were proud in the sense that they had an air about them. His father was a well respected lawyer, a law professor at the national university with many works under his name. Just prior to his death, he was nominated to become a national supreme court justice. His mother was a lady of high society. Their house had a very big receiving area with three sets of couches and other receiving room furniture. The farther into the house you go, the more expensive the furniture. The guest status determined where one sat.
The two had met in college through social gatherings, and it was a twisted form of fate that they met. She was of youthful beauty while he wasn't exactly good looking. At most, he had some sort of charm. I cannot remember the details of how they became a couple, but it seemed to work. In the beginning. Her parents were cautious, and his parents were cool towards the relationship. She knew his sisters before they had met.
In time, they decided to run away together. However, it was thought that everything should be formal, and so a grand wedding was to be. Her wedding gown was designed by a nationally known dressmaker, and was attended by the dignitaries and acquaintances of the father-in-law to be. But by this time, her Cinderella dream was beginning to unfold, and the outlook became less dreamy. Unfortunately, she was still too young, and now she was marrying at a very young age. It became more of duty than anything else.
The new couple was married. Happily? One can never be quite sure. Through time, which in this case, did not span ages, he became more controlling and manipulative. Change was counted and verified. Excursions were watched, and sometimes followed. And why should he be jealous? Of course, she was beautiful. And she was of a free spirited nature. You cannot contain such, and to do so would be to condemn that spirit to torture. But he did. For he had a secret to hide. While she was true to him, he began having mistresses, sometimes giving them the false hope that he would leave his young bride for them. But she never suspected a thing.
At times, maybe she would, but being naive, trusted that he really was working late hours or doing errands for his grandmother then living.
As she lived in his household, the mother looked upon her as one of the other house servants. During Christmas, while she would give her daughters and sons the finest that the stores had to offer, she would give her daughter-in-law whatever was left in the bargain bin. Unfair as it seems, she graciously accepted it.
She had dreams of being in the martime industry, with the fisheries and what not. To their controlling end, his family convinced her that it would be best to be a good wife and switch to something like home economics. They helped pay for her schooling, so how could she resist?
You cannot really hide the truth. The saying goes that the truth will set you free. So much so, that it also frees iteself. A few years had past since their wedding, and one of her sisters-in-law asked, don't you wonder sometimes? Wonder how he's gone? But to her, she was losing care, losing love. And yet by advice, maybe giving him a reason to stay at home would help.
posted by Bum at 17:03
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