Love in its Beastly Forms

                                                         

 

Carol was eighteen, smart, pretty and homely. She always dreamed of marrying Mr. Right and had already added to her wish list a wedding dress which was glistening white and laced with white satin roses. At college though she received male attention, most of them wanted to bed her and leave. After graduating and finding a job at the bank, she never gave up looking for Mr. Right until one day, at a party she came across Karl Lima who was debonair, well mannered and had all the qualities Carol wanted in Mr. Right. They hit off instantly, exchanged numbers and kept in touch. Saturdays was special for the two as they would spend the whole day with each other, go to the movies, have candle lit dinners and go to their favorite church which was on top of a cliff that overlooked the bay. Carol always prayed that she marry Karl soon and they have a successful marriage like her parents. They decided to take it to the next level after he proposed to her at the same Church. The proposal was like a sign from above and she never thought twice to say “yes.”



      Carol’s parents detested Karl, but on her insistence gave in. As for Karl, his parents were thrilled to have found a golden goose for their beloved, jobless son. Yes, Karl was jobless and Carol was going to be the bread winner if they’d marry. Eventually, they married on Boxing Day and Carol had to report to work the very next day. Indeed a dampener, but she decided not to let it ruin their sweet moments. After coming back from work tired, Karl asked her to fix dinner and was quite cold to her warm hug. Carol dismissed it as her mistake for going too overboard with work. As they retired to bed, she expected him to cuddle and make love to her, but he turned off the lights and never touched her.



    The next day, when she returned from work, Karl was standing at the entrance and accused her of having an affair at work. Carol was bewildered and before she could say a word, Karl slapped her, slaps to blows and blows to punches. This became a routine at the Lima’s house; furthermore, Carol had to fund her husband’s lavish lifestyle, and his gadget obsession to overcome his so called “depression” of being jobless. One day the physical abuse got out of hand that Carol had to be admitted in the hospital. She decided to leave her husband but melted away like warm butter after seeing his caring side at the hospital and his promise never to raise his hand on her. His parents too supported his decision and took it upon themselves to mend their boy. Carol decided to give her marriage another shot and she got back to work after a week. It was tough lying to everyone about how she fell down and hurt herself while gardening, hence the bruises. Her colleagues bought the story but not her boss, Mr. Divans and he knew something was wrong with Carol.



    The Carol whom he knew was outspoken, vibrant and wore a smile on her face, but now he had this haggard, bruised woman standing in front of him, faking a smile. Mr. Divans decided to take Carol out for lunch with a motive to cheer her up and also find out what was wrong with her. At the restaurant, Carol was fidgety, picking at food and glancing at her watch after every two minutes. Her strange behavior when the door opened and a diner walked past them made Mr. Divans more curious. After lunch, Mr. Divans decided to drop her home but Carol insisted she go alone. As she reached home worried and frightened, Karl stood with a black leather belt ready to whip the freshly bruised parts of her body. This time the reason behind his violence was her five minute late arrival. Carol kept apologizing for coming home late as the leather belt sliced through her pale white skin. 



    The door bell rang and there was silence, Karl pushed Carol into the bedroom, locked it from outside and opened the front door as if nothing happened. It was Mr. Divans who dropped by to give Carol the file she left in a hurry at the restaurant. Karl voraciously devoured all the details about their meeting, which Mr. Divans found odd. After he left, Karl dragged Carol by her hair, threw her on the floor, kicked her in the stomach and poured hot molten wax on her face. Carol was scared and cried desperately for help but in vain. All night, she kept ice bags on her face to rid the burning sensation, listening to the expletives and false accusations of having sexual affairs with other men. The torture started getting worse as Karl’s joblessness and feeling of helplessness took a toll on him resulting in Carol getting hurt.

   

    Every day was a new deal for Carol sometimes, she would be cut in the thighs with blades, have her head banged against the wall or be electrocuted till she forcibly accepted that she was having an affair at work. This phony confession would result in another dose of violence. Carol’s make up ran dry trying to cover up her bruises; her face could no more support the tales she spun and she was indeed running out of excuses.



    One summer morning as Carol was powdering her nose, Mr. Divans held her small purse mirror a little higher so that she could get a better look at her whole face and asked if she could see herself. Astonished, Carol replied, “yes”, to which Mr. Divans said,” Unfortunately, I don’t see you, Carol.” His words pierced through her heart as she realized all the turmoil she had been through. The constant abuse, lack of physical intimacy and self respect, her efforts that were never appreciated and her constant sacrifices to make her ungrateful husband happy flashed across her mind. She cursed herself for not dumping this beast earlier, better late than never, she walked right to the nearest police station and the rest is history. Carol sensed happiness and freedom to see her abuser behind bars and this time nothing could melt her away.