• Posted on 2024-07-03
• Inspiration
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• Written by Marcelle

ADELINE'S TALE....

He was the best thing that had ever happened to her.
Or, at least that's what she'd thought.How wrong she was.
I keep asking myself how she did not see it.
And there is only one explanation.
She was a fool.
Believing someone when you know nothing of them is stupid.
She claimed she was in love.
Oh! The poor soul.
He had promised he would take care of her.
How full of naivete she was at the time.
This is not a story to lament about her ignorance.
No!
This is to tell the story of the bravest woman I know.
A woman who fought for the life she wanted, a life she desired.
This is her story.
This is Adelines tale.

She grew up in the worst way possible, her childhood was terrible.
I would never subject my worst enemy to the tortures she went through.
The woman who birthed her, I call her that for she has not earned the right to be called a mother.
That vile woman, she was a drinker.
Her whole life revolved around the bottle.
She had no room for other things.
Except her husband of course. For they were cut from the same cloth. He was a bastard.
One who had no control of himself.
He had a wife but he preferred his ten-year-old daughter. He claimed it made him feel alive. Said it made him feel powerful.
But no.
He was weak.
For it is only the weak and afraid who prey on the helpless. On those far weaker than them.
Addie had endured for six long years.
She had enough and so she fled.
Wandering for days and living on scraps until one day she saw a sign.
A store needed extra hands.
She could haul and lift and so she was hired.
She worked and worked tirelessly.
She earned her wages and paid for a dilapidated building. It was horrible but at least it was a roof over her head.
It was better, so much better than the cruel streets. Addie never spoke. Many people thought her dumb.
How she secured her job, none could figure out.
A month passed and Addie met Sam.
Sam was charming and he was easy on the eyes. He made her laugh and said he would take care of her.
What woman wouldn't be moved by such sweet words from a pretty man?
Especially after suffering for so long and craving love.
Only one immune to the charms of men.
Alas, Addie was no such woman and so she fell and she fell fast.Another month and she moved in with him.
History began to repeat itself.
She said she wasn't ready, he said she had no say in the matter.
He was worse than her father for Sam liked to see red.
He used knives and nails, pins and needles. He used a belt and a spiked whip.
He said the red made things interesting and the scars made her more desirable.
When he wasn't playing red, Sam was painting her black and blue.
Adeline never stood a chance.
One night, he went out and returned drunk. He came to her door and then he knocked. Adeline why do you never speak?
She stayed silent. He walked into the room I know you're awake Addie.
She stayed quiet and her eyes stayed shut
He pinched her eyes open and he smiled. He could sense her fear.He said it made him feel alive.
He asked her a final time but her lips did not move.
Things turned violent.
He used his fists and he used his belt, he used a cane and he used a whip.
He said it was for good measure. Said Adeline needed to be disciplined. Still, she made no sound.
His punishments became less physical.
He tied her to the bed.
Addie struggled but she was no match. He used her and he made it hurt.
He said it was her fault, said she made him hurt her.
He said she forced his hand. Still, Addie stayed silent.
He became irate.
His fists came down again.
One to the jaw and a tooth flew out, one to the eye and it sealed shut.
One to her throat it was not enough, another to her throat it was still not enough. A third to her throat and there was a crack, one more to her face and she finally she went still.
He finally moved from her."Why do you never speak Adeline?
Say something Adeline."
In character she stayed silent.
He called and called, Adeline never answered.
He panicked. Her breathing was shallow.He lifted her hand, it went limp.
He called her some more but she didn't reply.
He took her out and dumped her on the side of the road, then he went on his merry way.
Adeline laid there for hours. That was where I found her. I feared she was dead but she still lived albeit barely. I took her to a hospital, the doctors said it was late for her but not for her children.
For alas, Addie had been expecting twins and no one had known.She was conscious for a little while longer. She knew she would not live and so she made two requests.
One, that her babies be saved and the other that Sam would not be a free man for much longer.
No one in the room was dry-eyed as she was being scheduled for the procedure that would end one life and birth another.
And so on that cloudy Monday morning, as the bravest woman I have ever known drew her last breath, the twin echoes of her babies cries rang out loudly as they were ushered into the world.