| General Fiction posted July 13, 2018 | Chapters: |
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A woman takes desperate measures to escape an abusive spouse
A chapter in the book Prelude to Freedom
Hidden Retribution
by PastorTee
| Background A woman takes desperate measures to escape an abusive spouse. Freedom is what she seeks, but will she be totally free? Will holding on to this dark secret keep her emotionally and mentally hostage? |
As a sea of darkness settled in over the secluded, wooded area which surrounded the little log cabin, Marta Duclos made quick preparations to make her long awaited exit. Heavily breathing, she charged through each room, making sure she procured any personal items before the final departure. This would be her last time living in a place that had not been a happy dwelling for many months. Escape was the only thing on her mind as she checked each room not once, but twice and then packed plenty of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and apple slices along with bottles of water. Hurt and shame had imprisoned her and chained her to a life that was filled with much pain and misery.
As the sun set, she stopped for a quick second and embraced her one and only child, seven-year old Lexie, and then continued her way using every second she had to prepare. The cool of the evening would help to make their way less strenuous through the rain drenched, mosquito infested pathway. Days prior, she mapped out a plan and made sure that this path was clear of any large debris. She also noted the dips and ditches that would be hidden in the dark of night. Therefore, even being careful to avoid these holes would be a tenuous feat. She needed to be safe and secure from any accidental trips or falls which might cause a delay in their escape. This tree lined pathway would be their shade...covering them from the hot sun during the day.
Fearing for the safety of her little one, Marta knew that this was the only way to finally be free from the hurt and turmoil she’d endured for so many months and years. Her bruises became a souvenir and a depressing memory that was hard to endure. Some days were worse than others. Resembling fragmented tattoos, they were carefully hidden beneath the plain dark clothing she wore. These were garments that were specifically chosen to cover the scars – clothing that was gifted to her by an angry, troubled man who was referred to as her husband. It was time to leave this evil life which was filled with anguish and no hope of any future survival. Her husband had beaten her for the very last time.
While carefully crossing the threshold of the bedchamber, a flood of memories of how he used to be crossed her mind as she gathered some warm clothing.
"Come, Lexie," she shouted. She kept her child close by her side.
He wasn't always like this, she thought while looking through the chest of drawers for extra pairs of socks. No matter how much she tried to concentrate on getting away from the cabin, her mind roamed deeply into past events that got her into her current situation. Her husband, Linwood Duclos was the Chairman of Deacons in the church where she was raised from her youth. She remembered the former days when prisms of color danced from beautiful stained-glass windows, and the fresh scent of burning incense filled the place of worship where she sat and admired him as he stood before the people encouraging them to work and give into the ministry. His deep baritone voice and speech was charismatic. He was bold as he spoke with great compassion about the need to complete building renovations.
He was tall and handsome with hazel colored eyes. With his paled complexion and short blonde hair, Marta was enamored with him and the way he presented himself. She sat on her favorite pew staring as inconspicuously as possible, hoping that he would not see her teen-like infatuation. For Marta, it was truly love at first sight. Apparently, he also felt the same way about her.
Fighting back tears, Marta thought about how on one Sunday after service, he approached her and kindly asked if she would accompany him to the annual fundraiser; a church garden party. Hesitating to answer him, he gently persisted and almost had her heart from the start with his cute little pout - but she refused and watched him walk away dejected.
The next time she saw him was at that church garden party, which was held at the Whitfield Floral Gardens - just a few blocks away from the church. At first, he ignored her as he made his rounds to each table, welcoming the parishioners who came out to support the affair. Dressed in his off-white suit and silver colored shirt, accessorized with a gray matching tie set, she thought about how handsome, suave and debonair he was on that day. Finally making his way over to the table where she sat with her parents, he addressed them first.
"Mr. and Mrs. Shelby, thank you for your support today. I hope you're enjoying yourselves."
Wasting no time, he turned and walked away, but then quickly turned back and looked at Marta. She could tell he was feeling a bit on edge as his eyes finally met hers.
Focusing on her alone, he said, "Ms. Marta, we meet once again. How are you on this beautiful Sunday afternoon?"
"I'm well," she said with a shy nod of her head. "It's such a beautiful day and the flowers are outstanding. I wish I could take them all home with me."
With a twinkle in his eyes he said, "Well I desire to give them all to you; their beauty pales in comparison to yours."
He spoke as if he’d forgotten where he was and who she was seated next to. A half smile appeared on her face as she thought about how her dad cleared his throat and said, "Deacon Duclos, are you flirting with my daughter? Haven't I heard that you may soon be promoted to church elder?"
"Oh, yes sir and quite soon," he proudly said.
Not one to mince words, her dad sternly said, "Well you need to watch the flirting with young girls, especially with my daughter if you want my vote."
He promptly apologized to her parents and quickly walked away.
Things had changed – they were different now. Even on their wedding night his demeanor had transformed. He beat her for taking too long to lie with him in bed. It was the beginning of the end; a life once filled with happiness was now a secret life of misery that had never been fathomed. Threatening her with the death of the ones she loved, deterred her from opening her mouth and telling anyone of his dirty deeds.
Clear skies and warm rushing blue water on a beautiful sandy beach were promised, but he feigned those honeymoon plans and now here she was in a dark log cabin, deep in unknown woods. It was a place where she'd never ventured; isolated from the world she once knew. Marta had been taken away from family and friends with no possible communication or way of easy escape.
Are they searching for me? The thought cumbered her mind daily.
When she got pregnant, she prayed that there would be mercy, but things only got worse. She now feared for two lives. He lay in the comfort of a goose down featherbed, while a baby girl with blue gray eyes and blonde hair was self-delivered by Marta on soft, cotton padding, in a corner of the living room on the solid wood floor. He gave Marta no chance to heal from a painful delivery as a same day dinner was served with threats of more beatings and a promise to kill the new born baby.
Marta watched carefully over her child and waited for a time of relief. This cross she was bearing had worn her down to the core. Now, it had come down to this moment in time. Anger built up in her and encircled her mind like a crazy woman. She was tired in the body and in her mind. She had to find a way of escape and on this day, her deliverance had come.
She managed to get a most important piece of property that she'd hidden deep beneath clothing in a chest of drawers. Small, but valuable in her eyes, it would not be lost because of fear. A rectangular antique, mahogany box with a small heart shaped mirror dropped into the center of the top frame, kept a message of hope alive in her heart day after day as the beatings became more and more intense and frequent. The box had been given as a special memento from her mother on their wedding day.
As she stood waiting in her lace, pearl beaded wedding gown, her mother came to her with teary eyes and said, "Each time you look into this small mirror, also look deep within your heart and remember who you are and whose you are. Never let anyone take power away from you. Let your life be a reflection that is bigger than what you see of yourself in that little mirror and bigger than what you can ever imagine. It will help you to live when life gets hard."
As Marta thought back, her mother was actually prophesying to her? As she spoke, Maggie Shelby gently placed the box into her daughter’s hands.
Desperation filled Marta’s pounding heart as she took Lexie and left in the night. After getting some distance away, Marta looked over her shoulder at the skeleton of the cabin. This place was a place of horror. Marta felt a new sense of freedom and sweet peace as she and her child made their way through the dark. She hastened to make the long trek to find the highway as Linwood Duclos’s blood soaked, dead body laid hidden beneath the floorboards behind the bedchamber door. It was finally over. Or was it?
As the sun set, she stopped for a quick second and embraced her one and only child, seven-year old Lexie, and then continued her way using every second she had to prepare. The cool of the evening would help to make their way less strenuous through the rain drenched, mosquito infested pathway. Days prior, she mapped out a plan and made sure that this path was clear of any large debris. She also noted the dips and ditches that would be hidden in the dark of night. Therefore, even being careful to avoid these holes would be a tenuous feat. She needed to be safe and secure from any accidental trips or falls which might cause a delay in their escape. This tree lined pathway would be their shade...covering them from the hot sun during the day.
Fearing for the safety of her little one, Marta knew that this was the only way to finally be free from the hurt and turmoil she’d endured for so many months and years. Her bruises became a souvenir and a depressing memory that was hard to endure. Some days were worse than others. Resembling fragmented tattoos, they were carefully hidden beneath the plain dark clothing she wore. These were garments that were specifically chosen to cover the scars – clothing that was gifted to her by an angry, troubled man who was referred to as her husband. It was time to leave this evil life which was filled with anguish and no hope of any future survival. Her husband had beaten her for the very last time.
While carefully crossing the threshold of the bedchamber, a flood of memories of how he used to be crossed her mind as she gathered some warm clothing.
"Come, Lexie," she shouted. She kept her child close by her side.
He wasn't always like this, she thought while looking through the chest of drawers for extra pairs of socks. No matter how much she tried to concentrate on getting away from the cabin, her mind roamed deeply into past events that got her into her current situation. Her husband, Linwood Duclos was the Chairman of Deacons in the church where she was raised from her youth. She remembered the former days when prisms of color danced from beautiful stained-glass windows, and the fresh scent of burning incense filled the place of worship where she sat and admired him as he stood before the people encouraging them to work and give into the ministry. His deep baritone voice and speech was charismatic. He was bold as he spoke with great compassion about the need to complete building renovations.
He was tall and handsome with hazel colored eyes. With his paled complexion and short blonde hair, Marta was enamored with him and the way he presented himself. She sat on her favorite pew staring as inconspicuously as possible, hoping that he would not see her teen-like infatuation. For Marta, it was truly love at first sight. Apparently, he also felt the same way about her.
Fighting back tears, Marta thought about how on one Sunday after service, he approached her and kindly asked if she would accompany him to the annual fundraiser; a church garden party. Hesitating to answer him, he gently persisted and almost had her heart from the start with his cute little pout - but she refused and watched him walk away dejected.
The next time she saw him was at that church garden party, which was held at the Whitfield Floral Gardens - just a few blocks away from the church. At first, he ignored her as he made his rounds to each table, welcoming the parishioners who came out to support the affair. Dressed in his off-white suit and silver colored shirt, accessorized with a gray matching tie set, she thought about how handsome, suave and debonair he was on that day. Finally making his way over to the table where she sat with her parents, he addressed them first.
"Mr. and Mrs. Shelby, thank you for your support today. I hope you're enjoying yourselves."
Wasting no time, he turned and walked away, but then quickly turned back and looked at Marta. She could tell he was feeling a bit on edge as his eyes finally met hers.
Focusing on her alone, he said, "Ms. Marta, we meet once again. How are you on this beautiful Sunday afternoon?"
"I'm well," she said with a shy nod of her head. "It's such a beautiful day and the flowers are outstanding. I wish I could take them all home with me."
With a twinkle in his eyes he said, "Well I desire to give them all to you; their beauty pales in comparison to yours."
He spoke as if he’d forgotten where he was and who she was seated next to. A half smile appeared on her face as she thought about how her dad cleared his throat and said, "Deacon Duclos, are you flirting with my daughter? Haven't I heard that you may soon be promoted to church elder?"
"Oh, yes sir and quite soon," he proudly said.
Not one to mince words, her dad sternly said, "Well you need to watch the flirting with young girls, especially with my daughter if you want my vote."
He promptly apologized to her parents and quickly walked away.
Things had changed – they were different now. Even on their wedding night his demeanor had transformed. He beat her for taking too long to lie with him in bed. It was the beginning of the end; a life once filled with happiness was now a secret life of misery that had never been fathomed. Threatening her with the death of the ones she loved, deterred her from opening her mouth and telling anyone of his dirty deeds.
Clear skies and warm rushing blue water on a beautiful sandy beach were promised, but he feigned those honeymoon plans and now here she was in a dark log cabin, deep in unknown woods. It was a place where she'd never ventured; isolated from the world she once knew. Marta had been taken away from family and friends with no possible communication or way of easy escape.
Are they searching for me? The thought cumbered her mind daily.
When she got pregnant, she prayed that there would be mercy, but things only got worse. She now feared for two lives. He lay in the comfort of a goose down featherbed, while a baby girl with blue gray eyes and blonde hair was self-delivered by Marta on soft, cotton padding, in a corner of the living room on the solid wood floor. He gave Marta no chance to heal from a painful delivery as a same day dinner was served with threats of more beatings and a promise to kill the new born baby.
Marta watched carefully over her child and waited for a time of relief. This cross she was bearing had worn her down to the core. Now, it had come down to this moment in time. Anger built up in her and encircled her mind like a crazy woman. She was tired in the body and in her mind. She had to find a way of escape and on this day, her deliverance had come.
She managed to get a most important piece of property that she'd hidden deep beneath clothing in a chest of drawers. Small, but valuable in her eyes, it would not be lost because of fear. A rectangular antique, mahogany box with a small heart shaped mirror dropped into the center of the top frame, kept a message of hope alive in her heart day after day as the beatings became more and more intense and frequent. The box had been given as a special memento from her mother on their wedding day.
As she stood waiting in her lace, pearl beaded wedding gown, her mother came to her with teary eyes and said, "Each time you look into this small mirror, also look deep within your heart and remember who you are and whose you are. Never let anyone take power away from you. Let your life be a reflection that is bigger than what you see of yourself in that little mirror and bigger than what you can ever imagine. It will help you to live when life gets hard."
As Marta thought back, her mother was actually prophesying to her? As she spoke, Maggie Shelby gently placed the box into her daughter’s hands.
Desperation filled Marta’s pounding heart as she took Lexie and left in the night. After getting some distance away, Marta looked over her shoulder at the skeleton of the cabin. This place was a place of horror. Marta felt a new sense of freedom and sweet peace as she and her child made their way through the dark. She hastened to make the long trek to find the highway as Linwood Duclos’s blood soaked, dead body laid hidden beneath the floorboards behind the bedchamber door. It was finally over. Or was it?
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