Short
Story: Determination in the face of adversity
By:
Sariah Joseph
“How
Dare you?” “How dare you lie on
my husband?” After all your Uncle and
I have done for you? Now you accuse him of
raping you? Is this what we get in return?
Aunt Clarey was so enraged that she sent every
dish in the dish drainer after Jaslene; Her
eyes red with fury. Crash! Crash! Clatter!
Clatt! clatt! The Glasses shattered as they
hit the floor. Aunt Clarey grabbed the broom
and began to run after Jaslene. With fear
of what Aunt Clarey might do to her next,
Jaslene ran away from her as quickly as possible
trying her best to escape the wrath of her
Aunt. Luckily for Jaslene, Aunt Clarey was
overweight and had to stop running after Jaslene
because she was hyperventilating. She took
a deep breath and yelled after Jaslene saying
“Pack your freaking things and get the
hell out of my house!” The belligerence
in her aunt’s voice made Jaslene know
that her threat was serious. “You dirty
Liar!” Aunt Clarey exclaimed. She had
always been bellicose and had threatened her
several times but this time her threat was
as serious as a stale bread. “Get out
now!” She shouted again. Or else I swear
I will kill you Jaslene! I will kiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiilllll
yooooooooou! Jaslene ran upstairs stumbling
on the floor so determined to make it upstairs.
She packed all her things and left immediately.
The piercing sun burnt Jaslene’s skin
as she walked aimlessly, with no one to turn
to for help. As she walked with tears dripping
down her cheeks like the Niagra falls, she
noticed a brown wooden structure afar off
in the bush. She rushed towards it; it was
a dilapidated house which for her was a ray
of light in a city of darkness. All the years
that Jaslene had worked tiredlessly with and
for her aunt helping her take care of her
5 children, doing all the chores, and also
the cooking, she never got a simple thank
you. Not only did her hard work go unnoticed
and without pay, she was also deprived of
the opportunity to attain a good education.
All
she was ever told is that she can never be
anyone great, and was stupid and that she
would never succeed in life. Jaslene would
watch the neighbors leave and soon after go
digging in their garbage cans for scraps of
food and old newspapers where she would tear
out coupons to buy some groceries. Jaslene
was always fascinated by books and on evenings
she would go to the Central Library just so
she could experience the joy of learning.
Sadly, there were times she would slip some
books under her sweater so she can read them
later. Although life was not presented to
Jaslene on a silver platter, she always kept
on encouraging herself to strive for excellence
and to never settle for anything less than
what she really deserves.
One day while reading in the library Jaslene
met a young man named John whom she knew,
who would change her life forever. He met
her and fell in love with her almost immediately.
She told him all about the abuse she had experienced
in the past so he helped her to create a new
beginning. John paid for her to write her
SAT examinations which then gave her the opportunity
to study at the University of Harvard graduating
with first class honors. A few years after
graduating, she became the first female noble
laureate and prime minister of Saint Lucia.
Jaslene never stopped believing in herself;
and despite of all what her Aunt Clarey had
said, she always motivated herself to ensure
that all her dreams became realities.
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Story
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