Chapter 7: A story untold

"Hi Mommy", Freda hugged her mother as she got off the platform. Mrs. Gee looked as radiant as ever. She lovingly gazed at her daughter, her heart aching as she saw how tired and sad Freda had become.

"Lets go for some tea honey. You look really tired."

At the coffee house, both mother and daughter looked into their cups, stirring furiously, not saying a word.

Finally Freda broke the ice.

"Mom, Toby proposed."

"Really? Well its about time now isn't it? You've been engaged long enough already. I wonder what took him so long to ask."

"I won't actually say he was asking me, I would rather think of it as a directive/order from his parents. He asked me to read a pre-nuptial agreement a few days back told me to sign it since he won't be negotiating the terms with me anymore."

"So did you sign it honey?"

"No Mom. I am not sure if I actually want to marry him. I mean, I wasted 5 years for daddy. I am not sure if I actually want to do it anymore."

"Sighs. I would have thought that the both of you would have fallen in love with each other already after 5 years."

"There is no love Mommy. You know that. We did it out of family obligation. I mean, come on. We may be staying under one roof but we have separate rooms. We lead our own separate lives. This is how we have been living for the past 5 years. You don't know because you never visited us. All these years… you and daddy have never visited us. Don't you even care?"

"Honey, I am really sorry. I didn't know that it would be so difficult for you. Honestly."

"No Mom, you didn't want to know. I gave up everything for this family. My life, my dreams, my hopes. To be engaged to a guy who does not even care whether I am dead or alive. Why?"

Her mother looked very shaken at this point. Her lips quivered.

"Freda, you are not the only one who had to give up everything for this family. It runs in the family ok? So before you start feeling sorry for yourself why don't you think about what I had to do for this family?"

And tears welled up in her eyes.

Freda was a bit taken aback. She did not expect her mother to react this way. So she toned down her voice.

"I'm sorry Mom. But if you want me to understand your situation, you have to let me know. I can't keep on making guesswork you know."

And Mrs. Gee sighed.

"I was dating my high school sweetheart for a year, and we were planning on getting married. Your grandfather was a very prominent person in town, monopolizing the transport system as well as the textile industry. Your father was the most eligible bachelor in town and there were girls queuing up just to catch a glimpse of him. It was amazing.

For some strange reason, your father took a liking to me and being the spoilt brat he was, he asked his father, your grandfather for help.

"So what did granddad do?"

"He did what he does best, honey. Extortion. He threatened to shut down my father's business if I did not agree to marry his son. To make things worse… he insisted that my sweetheart be relocated to another town or he would get rid of his family once and for all.

With his financial power and influence in the community, there really wasn't much choice for us. Of course, being young and gutsy, I did try to retaliate. So I ran away from home."

Freda listened in disbelief. At this day and age… such things actually happened…

Mrs Gee cleared her throat and continued.

"Anyway, my sweetheart and myself ran away for about a year. We were hunted high and low, my parents were threatened with death threats every other day. Amidst all the running and escape, I fell pregnant.

A baby boy was born to us and we hid in the stables of a kind couple. It was very difficult as I did was not nourished enough to give the baby breastmilk..the poor baby was crying his lungs out.

My sweetheart had also become quite weak with all the running. We were both tired and had a baby to feed… we just could not take it anymore."

And then she started to cry.

"I would always remember the day when you father's men discovered us in the stables. The baby, who would have been your brother now if he was alive, was snatched cruelly from my arms. I was very weak and could not do anything as he was snatched away. They dragged my sweetheart and shot him to his death outside."

"Where's the baby now mom?"

"I don't know. For so many years I tried to track him down, asking around anybody who would know about his whereabouts. I am really certain that he is alive, and he must be here somewhere. I can feel it."

"I am so sorry mommy. I never knew… How could you marry daddy?"

"I had no choice. I was at my wit's end. My lover was killed in front of my eyes, my parents suffered psychological harm as a result of the threats, and there was only one thing I could do to stop all this madness. So I surrendered and I married him."

"Don't you hate him for doing this to you?"

"Yes I do. But after you were born, the hatred subsided. You reminded me so much of myself, a kind and gentle girl who would do anything to please her parents. You know… there was a reason why I chose to send you away when you were 16. I wanted you to get away from it all. I didn't want you to go through what I had gone through."

"Mom, if it is bound to happen, nothing can stop it."

By this time, both mother and daughter were sobbing uncontrollably. Both were sufferers of  ill fate. Both had lost their true love. Only in Mrs Gee's case, she had lost her son as well.

Or had she? Only the heavenly stars above could tell.

It was an afternoon of confessions and stories untold. Tears were shed, mistakes forgiven, severed ties rebuilt. It was time for Freda to make a decision.

"I know what I should do now, Mom."

"Yes… this is your life. We should not be telling you what to do. Your daddy has made us suffered enough. I am old. But you are still young, my dear. You must do something for yourself."