I was inspired to put this story down in writing by an old friend who called me today. We chatted and somehow she managed to persuade me to recollect and she listened.
The woman was about 40, married for 12 years, with 3 children ages 11, 9 and 6. That day was to become the start of a most depressing and confusing period in her life.
It started very simply. A postman came. She waved thanks to the postman and went to retrieve the letter from the letterbox. It was addressed to her and it was very thick. The handwriting was very familiar to her. "Why should he write me a letter when he could just call me?". She wondered, bewildered.
The contents of the letter shocked her. In the letter he confessed he had been having a torrid affair with his ex fiancee for a long time. There were some details about where they would meet and how he had been unfaithful. The letter also told her that the abusive and anonymous phone calls that she used to get very often late in the night were all from his lover. The letter acknowledged that she had been looking after their family while he had contributed little. At the end of the 10-paged letter, he asked for forgiveness. He also said that since she now knows that he had been unfaithful, he was sure she would want a divorce and he was ready to divorce her. He said he wanted to come clean and he was ready for the consequences and a divorce.
She was bewildered. I remember she did not cry. I remember she took a long bath, washed her hair, went for a long walk in the neighbourhood (with the letter in her pouch) and when she came home she read the letter over and over again, how many times, I cannot remember.
This may be the plot for a short story I am working on. Let's wait and see how A story (Part 2)goes...when I get the inspiration again.
The woman was about 40, married for 12 years, with 3 children ages 11, 9 and 6. That day was to become the start of a most depressing and confusing period in her life.
It started very simply. A postman came. She waved thanks to the postman and went to retrieve the letter from the letterbox. It was addressed to her and it was very thick. The handwriting was very familiar to her. "Why should he write me a letter when he could just call me?". She wondered, bewildered.
The contents of the letter shocked her. In the letter he confessed he had been having a torrid affair with his ex fiancee for a long time. There were some details about where they would meet and how he had been unfaithful. The letter also told her that the abusive and anonymous phone calls that she used to get very often late in the night were all from his lover. The letter acknowledged that she had been looking after their family while he had contributed little. At the end of the 10-paged letter, he asked for forgiveness. He also said that since she now knows that he had been unfaithful, he was sure she would want a divorce and he was ready to divorce her. He said he wanted to come clean and he was ready for the consequences and a divorce.
She was bewildered. I remember she did not cry. I remember she took a long bath, washed her hair, went for a long walk in the neighbourhood (with the letter in her pouch) and when she came home she read the letter over and over again, how many times, I cannot remember.
This may be the plot for a short story I am working on. Let's wait and see how A story (Part 2)goes...when I get the inspiration again.
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