Of hope, dreams, and a voice.
She closed her eyes and tried to think of something else. Anything to let her escape from the reality of the moment.
Sand under her feet, wind in her hair, water all around her. A place with no one but her. A place where dreams came true and hope had a chance.
Of not being woken up in the morning with the call of domestic chores that grew itself a pot belly every night and demanded more everyday along with her mother-in-law.
Of not having her movement and life restricted to the confines of only what came with her chores and those boundaries she dare not cross.
Those invisible boundaries: some that were explicitly stated, some that remained unspoken in the glare of their eyes but with their message loud and clear.
She dreamed of ..
A pain seared through her, reality crawling up her thighs like an irate child.
He thrust himself inside her again, harder this time. Just a few more for his carnal needs to be taken care of and let out in the vessel.
Harder and harder. Spasms of pain shooting up inside her. Like a rogue, bad firework. And just the same it ended for him.
For her, the residue remaining well behind just like dregs after any occasion.
Rolling off her, he was asleep in moments. Oblivious to everything but his fulfilled need that was taken care of by his vessel, so joyously presented to him in ceremonies over days.
Days where she had dreamed of better days.
The nerves, the laughter, the anticipation of what was to come.
Those nights after the betrothal where she used to giggle talking to him on the phone when he asked for a kiss before sleeping. Those days when they met outside the confines of their families and homes, and he shyly asking her if she wanted coffee.
Oh, the tenderness and love.
Her mother hadn’t given her the talk before the days, but she knew what to expect.
A bunch of nerves as the ceremonies took place. A yellow dress, a green dress and a red dress.
The initial days were all that she had dreamed of, but reality upset that it had been forgotten came to stake claim to what it believed rightfully belonged to it.
The brutality startled her. All she could do was lay there unable to recognize and believe the monstrosity of the man as he forced himself on her.
With that, all her dreams lay shattered. All the walls having closed in around her. Everything confined. A life smaller than it had been before and only in dreams where she could fly.
They said marriage was a sacred institution that needed to be upheld. The sanctity of it was too important as against her voice to even matter. How do they believe her words? How can they? Why will they?
How could she even prove the veracity of her voice?
Who could she even tell?
How do you break free from an invisible cage?
