https://Voice.club - Seated at the window, Tessa was conscious of being trapped behind a pane of glass, unable to touch, or smell, or taste life. The barrier protected her from a harsh, deceptive world, but sometimes the glass shattered, piercing her so she knew she was alive.
Her isolation began soon after her wedding, when she realized she’d been captured and incarcerated in a gilded cage as Peter’s possession, to be taken out for show but denied her freedom. She’d railed against these limitations, so he tightened his control: withheld money, took her car, and cancelled the phone. She became his prisoner.
Her value as his showpiece declined when she became more vocal in public, thwarting his purpose for capturing her. Then the physical abuse began. Eventually, it overwhelmed her. She lashed out violently one night with a kitchen knife. He took the evidence of his injuries to a doctor and had her committed. The panes of glass separating her from the world became impenetrable. No more broken shards to remind her that she was alive.
Finally, an old friend found her. Ashamed of her victimization, Tessa folded in on herself. Averting her eyes, she remained stubbornly silent and remote. But Carry sensed that something wasn’t right. She persisted, questioning others about Peter and Tessa’s journey together leading up to the wedding and afterwards. Finally, she sought legal assistance based on the evidence of an abusive marriage. Tessa was released, and the slow process of rehabilitation began.
Now, Tessa sat gazing at a flurry of raindrops glistening in the sun and a partial rainbow. A monkey’s wedding—that’s what it had been. The sunlight danced with the rain. She smiled at the rainbow glimmering with pearly colour, and wondered if she might shatter that last pane of glass. Perhaps she was ready to smell the rain, feel the warmth of the sun, and savour the mellow flavour of red wine shared with friends. Could the rainbow complete its arc of colour in the light refracted by the broken glass in her past?