A Story Part 10 (the Finale)

Continued from:

a-story-part-1.the Shock!

a-story-part-2-the forgiveness

a-story-part-3-the tall-and-white-apparition

a-story-part-4-the truth

a-story-part-5-i-now-release-you.html

a-story-part-6-the parting

a-story-part-7-the trauma

a-story-part-8-long-nightmare-began

a-story-part-9-intervention-from the religious authorities

She had decided that, to cut the long story short, this will be the final part of "A Story".

About 2 years after her nightmarish life, finally, one day at the same dining table where he had 2 years ago pronounced, "I now release you" and "I don't want the children, you can have the children", he told her that they should go to the religious Court to officially divorce.


While 2 years ago she had begged him to stay and he refused, now she could not wait one minute longer for him to disappear from her life.

On the appointed day she took leave from her office and went to the Court, all by herself, while he was surrounded by an army of his office personnel and some relatives.  When it was finally over, she went to the Mall opposite the Pan Pacific Hotel, then the largest mall in the city, strolled through the Mall and had a huge T- Bone steak. All she wanted to do was to be by herself. It was like a cleansing of her soul.  In the evening she went back home to start her life again, pledging silently to be happy and to do her best for the children and herself.  Finally she had back her sanity and peace of mind.

Add caption

The Story Teller says "Bye...!"

                                                                                          

A story (Part 9 )- the intervention from the religious authority

Continued from:

a-story-part-1.the Shock!

a-story-part-2-the forgiveness

a-story-part-3-the tall-and-white-apparition

a-story-part-4-the truth

a-story-part-5-i-now-release-you.html

a-story-part-6-the parting

a-story-part-7-the trauma

a-story-part-8-long-nightmare-began

Due to her continued rejection of his advances, he decided to apply external pressure on her.  He sent a team of people from his office to see her, led by a female religious authority called the Ustazah.  The Ustazah gave her a very long sermon on marriage and that according to the religion, she should be always obedient to her husband. 

She could not take it anymore.  She decided to tell the Ustazah everything that had happened and let the Ustazah judge for herself.  The Usatazah was very patient and took more than an hour listening to her. 

After the Ustazah listened to her side of the story, the Ustazah was moved and was crying openly.  Finally, wiping off her tears, the Ustazah said to her, “Now, I understand.  He has no right to ask me to persuade you to reconcile with him.  In fact morally after he uttered “I release you”, you are already divorced and the divorce has to be formalized.  If he wants you back he has to marry you again.”  

However, even after the Ustazah’s visit he stayed on and refused to formalize their divorce.  She lived her life in the next 1 year and a half in some kind of a nightmare, a nightmare too painful for her to recollect. 

Let's wait and see how A story (Part 10) goes...when I get the inspiration again…

A Story part 8- The Long Nightmare Began

Continued from:

a-story-part-1.the Shock!

a-story-part-2-the forgiveness

a-story-part-3-the tall-and-white-apparition

a-story-part-4-the truth

a-story-part-5-i-now-release-you.html

a-story-part-6-the parting

a-story-part-7-the trauma

About 4 weeks after he left the house, he abruptly came back as if nothing had happened.  He even obtained a transfer back to KL.    After making some inquiries she found out that his marriage to Dr. J did not happen because of very strong objections from Dr J's father.    She did not realize then that this was to be the beginning of a worse nightmare for her!

She just could not accept him again.  He was like a stranger to her.  In fact she felt repulsed whenever he came near her.  She approached a religious organization, PERKIM, which had given her confirmation that when he said “I release you”, they were already considered divorced, because it was his intention or “niat”, even though the divorce had not been formalized at the religious office. 

Let's wait and see how A story (Part 9) goes...when I get the inspiration again…

A story (Part 7 )- the Trauma

Continued from:

a-story-part-1.the Shock!

a-story-part-2-the forgiveness

a-story-part-3-the tall-and-white-apparition

a-story-part-4-the truth

a-story-part-5-i-now-release-you.html

a-story-part-6-the parting

Two days after he left the house she received a telephone call from his superior.  In the Army, the superior has to give permission if the subordinate wanted to marry again. His superior officer asked her whether he has her permission to marry again.    She told him, “Sir, he does not need my permission.  He already divorced me two days ago.  He is no longer my husband”.   

She thought she was strong.  But she was not. 

She locked herself in her office and refused to attend meetings.   Her behaviour attracted the attention of her whole office including her Boss.  She was called to explain and she broke down.  Her Boss was very understanding and approved her 1 week leave.   She was later to realize that her recovery would take many years. 

How was she feeling?  She felt small, she felt herself very ugly, and most of all, she lost her self - confidence.   She was later to realize that her behavior had not only cost her to suffer professionally but also caused her to neglect her responsibility towards her young children who were left only to the housemaid most of the time.   She was not there for herself, not there for her job and not even there for her children.          

Let's wait and see how A story (Part 8) goes...when I get the inspiration again…

A story (Part 6 )- the Parting

Continued from:

a-story-part-5-i-now-release-you

a-story-part-4-the truth

a story-part-3-tall-and-white-apparition

a-story-part-2-the forgiveness

a-story-part-1 the Shock!

Her knees went weak, she was actually shivering. She had to hold on to the dining table to keep steady.  Then she pleaded one last time, “please do not do this, please think of the children.  What will happen to the children? ”.  What she meant to impress upon him was the negative consequence a divorce could have on the children and she did not want this to happen to the children. 

But, his answer, which still rings loud and clear in her ears until today, after 25 years, was “You can have the children, I don’t want the children!” 

Strangely, what he just said gave her back her strength.  She pulled herself up and told him very firmly, “Ok, you have released me, you don’t even want the children, you now pack your bag and get out of this house.  If you ever, ever regret this, I will never ever take you back! This I swear! ”  Very quickly, he packed his things and was out of the house without even looking back, not even to say goodbye to the children. 

Let's wait and see how A story (Part 7) goes...when I get the inspiration again…

A Story part 5 - I now release you!

...continued from,
a-story-part-4-the truth
a-story-part-3-tall-and-white-apparition
A story-part-2-the forgiveness
a-story-part-1-the shock

It was nearly morning but still dark.  She took a bath, changed her clothes, waiting for what was to come next.  At that point of time she was still thinking of saving the marriage.  She decided to appeal to him to put the children’s interests first.   Yes, that’s what she will do and surely he would put the children’s interests above all else, she reasoned to herself. 

She decided to talk to him before the children woke up.  So she called him up an invited him to go downstairs with her.  By then, it was about 6 am.

She asked him whether he intended to marry Dr J and whether that was the real reason why he wrote the 10-page letter to her.  His reply was, "Dr J?  What has she to do with this? What are you talking about?  Who told you this lie?  I just want a divorce because I don't think you can really forgive me after my confessions of infidelity in my letter".

At this point, she took out the letter Dr J wrote to him and the photo of both of them together.  He snatched the letter from her.  She then took out the Koran that she had got ready and asked him to swear on the Koran.  Then, at last, he confessed.  "Yes, I want to marry Dr J.  All my love for you has been transferred to her.  I now release you".

Let's wait and see how A Story (Part 6) goes, when I get the inspiration again...

A story (Part 4 )- the Truth

Continued from,
a-story-part-3-tall-and-white-apparition 5 November 2013 

a-story-part-2-the forgiveness.5 October 2013

 a-story-part-1- the Shock 5 September 2013

She followed the light downstairs.  The light shone directly on his leather briefcase which was standing upright but was slightly ajar.  She put her hand into the opening and pulled out a thick envelop.  The contents of the envelope were what the Apparition wanted to show her!

 The envelope contained a thick letter from a woman signed J… It also contained a photograph of him and a woman whom she recognized as a Dr. J who was working with him in the same location up north.  She had met this woman Dr J when she visited him at his work station several months before. 

The letter was long.  In the letter Dr. J confessed her love for him.  The letter at the same time reminded him that he was the one who wanted to write the 10-page letter to his wife.  The letter stressed that writing the letter was not her idea and that she should not be blamed if his marriage falls apart as a consequence of the 10 page letter he sent to his wife.  

 She was reading Dr. J’s letter sitting on a dining chair.  The light was not on but she could read clearly.  She was terribly confused.  His 10-page letter to her had asked for her forgiveness for his old affair with his former lover, N, and written purportedly to ask for her forgiveness over the affair.  His 10-page letter had not mentioned anything about this current love affair with Dr. J.

Being the straight forward woman she was, it took her sometime to take it all in.   After several hours, it finally dawned on her!  He had written the 10 page letter confessing to his past love affair with N, just to provoke her to agree to a divorce, not to ask for her forgiveness!   How gullible she was!  That was why he had insisted on a divorce even after she said she had forgiven him! 

Let's wait and see how A story (Part 5) goes...when I get the inspiration again…

A story (Part 3 )- the Tall and White Apparition

Continued from,

A story (Part 2)- the Forgiveness 5 October 2013

A story (Part 1)- the Shock! 5 Sept 2013

Yes, she had decided to forgive him and that’s that.  She placed a lot of value on the institution of marriage.   She believed marriage is forever.  A divorce should not be discussed.  A divorce is taboo.  Also, he had repented and she should put family above her own emotions. 

It was a weekday but she was at home as she had taken leave from the office, as requested by him the night before.  He arrived home very early in the morning, from his work place several hundred km away.  That showed he had driven through the night.  She was so pleased thinking that he must have made this great effort because he too wanted to make sure the marriage stays intact. 

She remembered the first thing he said when he stepped into the house was, “So when can we be divorced?”  She replied, “No need for a divorce, let’s forget about the past, I forgive you.”  He looked away and continued to mutter that they should be divorced because, “I don’t think you can ever forgive me after the confessions I made in the letter.”  “It’s alright”, she said “It is really alright.  You have asked for forgiveness in the letter, I forgive you”.  She remembered he repeated “It’s better we divorce”.  Then he went up to the room to sleep and did not wake up until the evening.  After dinner, he said “Tomorrow we will go to arrange for our divorce”.  She went to bed planning to continue to convince him the next day that she had forgiven him. “He just needs more assurance”, she thought to herself.

She was in bed but she could hardly sleep.  She remembered it was maybe 1 or 2 am.  The room was pitched dark.  All of a sudden there was this Apparition, the same tall and white Apparition who had appeared to her 2 times before.  The first time was the morning after her delivery of her first son.  She had a difficult high forceps delivery the night before.  When the nurse asked her to stand up, she could see a lot of blood gushing out and she passed out.  She felt the nurses holding her upside down and repeatedly called her name.  Just before she regained consciousness she saw this Apparition who told her she would be okay.  The second time was when her first son was ill.  The Apparition stood over the baby cot and told her the baby would be okay. 

She knew the Apparition was not human but somehow she was not afraid.  In fact each time she saw the Apparition she felt calm and contented, like being in a big embrace of warmth and love.  The Apparition indicated to her to go downstairs.  The stairway lighted up, although she did not switch on the electricity.  She followed the light downstairs.     

Let's wait and see how A story (Part 4) goes...when I get the inspiration again...

A story (Part 2)- the FORGIVENESS

Continued from, A story (Part 1)- the Shock! 5 Sept 2013

Yes, she was shocked. But she valued her family and valued her 12-year marriage.  When the sun went down and the children were asleep, she was all by herself.  She thought it through as rationally as she could.  Since he has confessed, reflecting his repentance, from the bottom of her heart, she decided to forgive him.  Yes, she did make a strong decision to forgive him and to put all the hurt of betrayal behind her.  

She toweled clean her tear-dried face, picked up the phone and called him at his work place in the north.  “I received your letter.  I understand what you said.  Let’s forget the past, it is not important anymore.  Please ask for a transfer back to KL and let’s just start again”.  “No, I think we should get a divorce because you can’t really forgive me”, he said. She repeated her willingness to forgive.  “I will come back tomorrow to sort things out”, he replied. 

Since she had made a decision, she was relieved and went to sleep, deciding not to look at the letter again.    Let's wait for Part 3...

A story (Part 1)- the SHOCK!

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.