| Writing Non-Fiction posted January 14, 2011 |
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Darkness and evil go hand in hand
Nowhere to Hide
by Mustang Patty
Sun streamed through the window, but it was dark within her soul. An unopened letter blocked the light. She could barely breathe. The letter sucked both oxygen and light from around her.
Down and down into the funnel of depression she went. She knew who the letter was from. Her sister-in-law had tracked them down. Why couldn't they leave well enough alone?
Ten years ago they said goodbye to her husband's family. She couldn't tolerate them, and they had made his life miserable from the time he was a child. After his father's death, and his mother's new marriage within six months, they hoped they could escape. Most of them had 'nothing nice to say' and refused to abide by Thumper's rule: "If you can't say anything nice, don't say nuthin at all!"
Looking at the handwriting on the envelope made her break into a cold sweat. Waves of nausea crashed over her as the memories flooded. Every year for seventeen years, a horrible Christmas followed an even worse Thanksgiving. At Christmas time, they were nice because they were getting presents. Because they lived the closest, and her self-employment seemed like she had nothing better to do, her presence was demanded several days before each family gathering. She cleaned the house, washed the china, polished the silver, and did the grocery shopping. On the day of the event, she was expected to play maid while her mother-in-law played the part of the gracious hostess with not a hair out of place. Of course, she looked rested and well, she took naps for the two days before!
Final straws came in the form of a large blow, and this one was especially painful. When one of her sisters-in-law was in a severe car accident, it was assumed she would take care of her and her partner through their time of need. She cleaned, cooked, ran errands, and tried to make them comfortable. She found a lawyer to take their case and negotiated with all of their creditors to wait until things settled down. She and her husband paid their bills, using their own money, for the two months they were unable to work. The only thing that stopped this insane abuse of her time was the phone call from her own family that her mother was dying. She needed to leave and fly to the east coast.
Upon her return, the only thing that was said to her by her mother-in-law was that her mother chose a very inconvenient time to die. There were no sympathy cards or offers to cook meals. They left her alone with her grief. Thank goodness the children were old enough to be a great comfort, and her immediate family banded together and turned their backs on his family.
The letter lay on the coffee table, taunting her. Finally, her husband got home from work. He looked at her face and asked what was wrong. She could only point at the letter - which now took up all the space in the room for her. He merely grabbed it and threw it away. He came back to the couch and took her in his arms, and she could see and breathe once again.
Sun streamed through the window, but it was dark within her soul. An unopened letter blocked the light. She could barely breathe. The letter sucked both oxygen and light from around her.
Down and down into the funnel of depression she went. She knew who the letter was from. Her sister-in-law had tracked them down. Why couldn't they leave well enough alone?
Ten years ago they said goodbye to her husband's family. She couldn't tolerate them, and they had made his life miserable from the time he was a child. After his father's death, and his mother's new marriage within six months, they hoped they could escape. Most of them had 'nothing nice to say' and refused to abide by Thumper's rule: "If you can't say anything nice, don't say nuthin at all!"
Looking at the handwriting on the envelope made her break into a cold sweat. Waves of nausea crashed over her as the memories flooded. Every year for seventeen years, a horrible Christmas followed an even worse Thanksgiving. At Christmas time, they were nice because they were getting presents. Because they lived the closest, and her self-employment seemed like she had nothing better to do, her presence was demanded several days before each family gathering. She cleaned the house, washed the china, polished the silver, and did the grocery shopping. On the day of the event, she was expected to play maid while her mother-in-law played the part of the gracious hostess with not a hair out of place. Of course, she looked rested and well, she took naps for the two days before!
Final straws came in the form of a large blow, and this one was especially painful. When one of her sisters-in-law was in a severe car accident, it was assumed she would take care of her and her partner through their time of need. She cleaned, cooked, ran errands, and tried to make them comfortable. She found a lawyer to take their case and negotiated with all of their creditors to wait until things settled down. She and her husband paid their bills, using their own money, for the two months they were unable to work. The only thing that stopped this insane abuse of her time was the phone call from her own family that her mother was dying. She needed to leave and fly to the east coast.
Upon her return, the only thing that was said to her by her mother-in-law was that her mother chose a very inconvenient time to die. There were no sympathy cards or offers to cook meals. They left her alone with her grief. Thank goodness the children were old enough to be a great comfort, and her immediate family banded together and turned their backs on his family.
The letter lay on the coffee table, taunting her. Finally, her husband got home from work. He looked at her face and asked what was wrong. She could only point at the letter - which now took up all the space in the room for her. He merely grabbed it and threw it away. He came back to the couch and took her in his arms, and she could see and breathe once again.
Down and down into the funnel of depression she went. She knew who the letter was from. Her sister-in-law had tracked them down. Why couldn't they leave well enough alone?
Ten years ago they said goodbye to her husband's family. She couldn't tolerate them, and they had made his life miserable from the time he was a child. After his father's death, and his mother's new marriage within six months, they hoped they could escape. Most of them had 'nothing nice to say' and refused to abide by Thumper's rule: "If you can't say anything nice, don't say nuthin at all!"
Looking at the handwriting on the envelope made her break into a cold sweat. Waves of nausea crashed over her as the memories flooded. Every year for seventeen years, a horrible Christmas followed an even worse Thanksgiving. At Christmas time, they were nice because they were getting presents. Because they lived the closest, and her self-employment seemed like she had nothing better to do, her presence was demanded several days before each family gathering. She cleaned the house, washed the china, polished the silver, and did the grocery shopping. On the day of the event, she was expected to play maid while her mother-in-law played the part of the gracious hostess with not a hair out of place. Of course, she looked rested and well, she took naps for the two days before!
Final straws came in the form of a large blow, and this one was especially painful. When one of her sisters-in-law was in a severe car accident, it was assumed she would take care of her and her partner through their time of need. She cleaned, cooked, ran errands, and tried to make them comfortable. She found a lawyer to take their case and negotiated with all of their creditors to wait until things settled down. She and her husband paid their bills, using their own money, for the two months they were unable to work. The only thing that stopped this insane abuse of her time was the phone call from her own family that her mother was dying. She needed to leave and fly to the east coast.
Upon her return, the only thing that was said to her by her mother-in-law was that her mother chose a very inconvenient time to die. There were no sympathy cards or offers to cook meals. They left her alone with her grief. Thank goodness the children were old enough to be a great comfort, and her immediate family banded together and turned their backs on his family.
The letter lay on the coffee table, taunting her. Finally, her husband got home from work. He looked at her face and asked what was wrong. She could only point at the letter - which now took up all the space in the room for her. He merely grabbed it and threw it away. He came back to the couch and took her in his arms, and she could see and breathe once again.
 Recognized |
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This is the story of abuse that came from my in-laws, and though I believe I'm married to the man of my dreams, and have been for over 27 years - the price was marrying into a family that was worse than my own. Thank you Dave Chappell for use of your artwork, 'Dead of Night.'
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