Strands of the Past (eBook)

A harrowing journey of hope and despair.

Sweden De Matas (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2020 | 1. Auflage
271 Seiten
Bookbaby (Verlag)
978-1-0983-3687-5 (ISBN)

Infos

Jessica was abused as a young person by almost all those closest to her; her parents, her brothers, and even the parish priest. Without hope, she tried all manners of self-harm, but with each failed attempt, looked to her eighteenth birthday as her only possible escape. Until then, she would survive, she would do what was needed to make it to the next moment, the next day, just like her sister had told her. The story follows her harrowing journey through hope, trauma, and despair as she strives for a better tomorrow and seek closure from the past,

Sweden De Matas can usually be found reading a book, and that book will more likely than not be a psychological thriller. Writing a novel was always on her bucket list, and eventually, with Strands of the Past, it became a reality. When not absorbed in the latest gripping page-turner, Sweden loves international travel and exploring the outdoors. She is a Veteran of the United States Armed Forces and lives with her family and pets.

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Jessica was abused as a young person by almost all those closest to her; her parents, her brothers, and even the parish priest. Without hope, she tried all manners of self-harm, but with each failed attempt, looked to her eighteenth birthday as her only possible escape. Until then, she would survive, she would do what was needed to make it to the next moment, the next day, just like her sister had told her. At eighteen and through a chance encounter with a Sailor, she enlisted into the Navy, but soon found that although she had left her family and childhood town behind, physical escape was not the same as mental escape, and the scars of her childhood not so easily erased. The story follows her harrowing journey through hope, trauma, and despair as she strives for a better tomorrow and seek closure from the past, only to be beaten back time after time, until one day an elderly psychiatrist restores some of her humanity. With life on the rebound, she falls in love and marries, only to have her life take yet another disturbing turn as her past demons resurfaces with the birth of her son, once again challenging and overwhelming her mental stability, this time possibly forever.

Textauszug

1 - Genealogy

John was the youngest from a large family of twelve siblings, mostly boys with a spattering of girls. His parents, Mama, a full-bloodied Sicilian, and Papa, a blue-eyed Spaniard were once well-known landowners with acres of their land leased and worked in support of their evolving lifestyle and the growing needs of their expansive and ever-increasing family. The family well-known throughout northern Alabama for not only their extensive property portfolio, but also for their convenient and adaptable religious beliefs, their ferocious nature, and even more so, their rumored dark side.

Rose, John’s high school sweetheart was the middle child from a somewhat smaller family of seven siblings, all girls. Her Caucasian family were owners of a small chain of independent grocery stores located throughout the surrounding area that specialized in dried goods, an important and necessary service to the community that they lived in. Though not immensely successful, the grocery stores were a good and dependable source of income that provided for the family’s needs, and supported the children’s higher education; a luxury in a time when post high school education was often unattainable and not always aligned with the practical realities of the mostly working-class community they were part off.

From the very beginning their relationship, John and Rose’s, was fraught with problems and frowned upon by their parents; the mixing of blood lines and classes seen as wholly undesirable and even sinful in the eyes of the Lord, though the opinions of others did little to slow or stop them and they carried on in concealment until one day, those stolen moments resulted in an unplanned pregnancy. The pregnancy a significant event given the religious underpinnings of their families, and the outcome, a foregone and disastrous conclusion. Their shocked and disgusted families more concerned about the soon to be obvious display of sexual immorality and paganism than the well-being of their children decided that a legally sanctified union was necessary and within days, the young couple was marched to the altar for a proper ordaining of their relationship.

Married, but lacking a clear understanding of the day’s events and its ramifications, the couple separated after the ceremony and returned to their respective homes.

Rose parents sitting in the Living Room called out to her as she entered the house.

“Rose. Come in here. We need to talk to you.”

Without waiting for her to sit down, her mother began, “You are no longer allowed here. You are a sinner that has brought shame and embarrassment to this household, to us and the entire family. We can barely look at our friends, barely stand to go to church. Because of you we will by praying for forgiveness for the rest of our lives. We want you to pack your things and leave.”

“But, where would I go?”

“You are married now. You have a husband. That is up to the two of you to figure out, but you are not welcome here anymore. You are no longer allowed to live here.”

“But I thought you said that if we got married … Wait, what about the baby? I don’t know how to raise a baby. I need your help. Please.”

“The baby is your responsibility, not ours. We have done what we can for you. We have done what we can in the eyes of the Lord.”

“What about school?”

“Really? That’s your question after all you’ve done? Were you thinking about school when you laid down with that boy, that boy from that dreadful family? Did you think about school when you got pregnant? You are a wife now and will be a mother soon. School no longer matters.”

Rose had begged and pleaded with her parents, but her own act of defiance and her parent’s perception of what others thought, outweighed her needs. She had not wanted to get married and didn’t even know if she was in love, but her parents had insisted, and she had naively believed them, believed that the marriage would have been her salvation, that she would be forgiven, but it had not been enough.

With no other alternative, and as her sisters looked on, she packed a bag and left to find her new husband.

John having returned home after the ceremony was similarly asked to leave. His large family unwilling to bear the brunt of his needs as well as the needs of his new wife and the added burden of a child that was already on its way. Unlike his wife though, he did not beg or plead, he knew his family and there was nothing he could do to change their minds. He had gone against their wishes and because of that, no help would be coming. He was on his own and considered himself fairly lucky. Lucky that they had not taken him out back and beaten him senseless for defying them, a not so uncommon occurrence within his family.

Gathering his things, he packed a bag and was on his way out when his father called him.

“John.”

Stopping in mid stride, he stood there and silently waited.

“The middle lot on Cranberry is yours.”

“What?”

“The middle lot. It’s yours to call your own. Its large enough for you to plant and build on once you clear some of it. The stream out back and the road out front will be helpful, useful for daily life and building.”

John unsure what to do had eventually thanked his father and left. His family was not known for their generosity, not even towards their own, and any manner of goodwill was generally met with trepidation and uncertainty. As for the land itself, he wasn’t sure what to do with it. He was a teenager and while he knew how to plant and care for a basic vegetable garden, he had no idea how to construct a dwelling of any type, safe or otherwise, for himself or anyone else to live in. Still, the surprising gesture from a wholly gruff and often merciless man was welcome, if not completely baffling. At the moment though none of that mattered, he had more important concerns, he had to find a place to stay, a place to sleep for at least the night. Hopefully, he thought, he will be able to stay at Rose, but even as he finished the thought, he knew that the possibility was nonexistent; his new in-laws had no love for him, or his family, and both families had long since been at odds with each other. Looking up he could see Rose walking towards him with a large bag at her side.

“So, we are on our own,” he asked?

“Yes,” was all that she said.

Married, disavowed from their families and unexpectedly homeless, the newlyweds sat together trying to put forth a plan. Their rushed marriage served only to quell their families concerns about having a baby out of wedlock, but the perceived damage to each family perceived religious and community image remained entirely unforgiven. They were now alone, forced to grow up almost overnight with the responsibilities of adulthood weighing heavily on their teenage minds.

That night they had beaten down doors seeking temporary shelter but their friends, almost all teenagers and dependent upon their own families for support had been unable to help. With each rejection, they had become even more dejected as the direness of their situation sank in. Reluctantly, they had turned to cousins, aunts and uncles, but their own family while able to help, were unwilling to do so for fear that they may suffer the same consequences and be similarly excommunicated from the family. Clearly, they were on their own.

With the midnight hour almost at hand, nowhere to go, and exhausted, John suddenly remembered that he had a lone uncle with his own home in the hills. An Uncle long since isolated from the family and likely unaware of all that had transpired. His Uncle’s isolation though was regularly associated with unpleasant rumors and he himself had only seen him a few times in his life.

He shared his thoughts with Rose.

“Are you serious? You’re talking about your crazy Uncle in the woods. The one that people talk about?”

“What other option do we have? We need to find shelter for the night. And it’s a long walk there so if we’re going, we need to get started.”

Rose not wanting to go had eventually acquiesced. John was right, they had no other options, and it was no safer staying outside. They were both tired and hungry. All she could do was hope for the best, for an end to this horrible day. Well at least they had each other, at least they were doing that right.

Setting out, they made the long walk almost all in silence before finally arriving at the cabin, and knocking on the door. Matt not expecting visitors, especially at the late hour answered the unexpected knock with a loaded shotgun pointed directly at them. Seeing the weapon, they instinctively raised their hands and backed away from the door as John tried to explain to his Uncle how they had come to be on his doorstep.

Matt, unfamiliar with his nephew and suspicious of the late-night arrival listened for the unexpected, for any perceived threats or deception. He rarely had visitors, certainly none that were unexpected, and definitely none that were family. His nephew and his new wife were desperate, that was clear, but they had yet to provide a logical explanation for their arrival and somewhat dangerous trek in the dark to his...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 22.10.2020
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Literatur ► Krimi / Thriller / Horror
• Themenwelt: Literatur ► Romane / Erzählungen
• ISBN-10: 1-0983-3687-9 / 1098336879
• ISBN-13: 978-1-0983-3687-5 / 9781098336875