DOMINICA ARE
An entry in the Crocodile Prize
PNG Government Award for Short Stories
WITH a hopeless gesture, she threw everything on the ground and cried. She was desperate for life to go back to normal. The way it was before.
“I cannot bear it any more. If only I could die just now,” she muttered to herself.
They had a very simple and normal village life. Such good days they had, each better than the one before. Of course they had problems like all humans do, but they had their ways of solving them peacefully.
Simon was a great husband and father. He was a solid family man. He was their protector and they looked up to him.
Veronica and Simon were childhood friends. They grew up together and eventually married. They went through the normal customary practice of bride price and lived a normal happy village life with their three young sons.
They owned land, coffee gardens, livestock and had a happy home. There was fair sharing of responsibility. Veronica was involved in decision making and controlled the family finances. Their sons went to school and were cared for well. She was content with what she had.
The ordeal began when Simon was elected the ward Councillor. Veronica was elated when Simon asked if he could contest for the Ward Councillor seat.
She was proud of him and as usual was very supportive. She always thought of her husband as a vibrant and active man. Things didn’t run smoothly, though. People told her of how men change from good to bad when they acquire power. There were a few criticisms.
“I hope your husband will be the same person he is if he wins the councillor’s seat,” one said.
“Did you see what happened to Rosa, her husband left her for another woman when he became a councillor,” another chirped.
“He listens to you, you should never let him contest,” added another.
Veronica thought otherwise. She had never considered the possibility that any bad thing could happen.
“I’ll do whatever it takes to ensure my husband gets into power,” she said defiantly.
There was unanimous support from the community. People encouraged Simon to contest. He was a powerful man with good leadership qualities and was very vocal about community issues.
In his first year of office, Simon did a great job. He performed his duties well and tended to the community’s needs with the utmost care.
“See, Simon is a good man,” Veronica boastfully told her critics. “He will never do anything bad to tarnish his reputation.”
In the years that ensued, things changed dramatically. Simon started behaving oddly. He was away from the village a lot, saying he had work to do elsewhere.
Sometimes he’d be gone for days. He started to get drunk and Veronica often saw him with a lot of money. He became violent and selfish.
The children also noticed the change in their father and were affected by it. Veronica tried her best to keep things in order but life became very stressful.
There was no peace at home. To add salt to the wound, Simon married two more wives. Life was now in tatters. Simon’s undivided attention was on the other women and their needs.
Land and coffee gardens was apportioned between the three women, resulting in jealousy and violence. Veronica’s responsibility was now limited to taking care of the children and the house. She and her sons were neglected by Simon. She was no longer involved in decision making. It was pointless trying to get him to talk about things.
“You’re just a woman! Shut up!’’ he’d scream and walk off.
What had caused him to change so much, she thought? Maybe the critics had been right after all.
Simon was still a great leader and people spoke highly of him. They couldn’t care less about what was happening with his family. How she hated the sight of him beaming with pride when people call out “Council!’
She was used to the two of them handling just about anything life tossed at them. Now she was alone. She felt like she was in prison.
Despite the humiliation and the I-told-you-so looks she got from the critics, Veronica tried to be strong and face the challenges. She sometimes wondered how long it could go on and this scared her. In their 15 years of marriage she had never experienced this. Let alone violence.
“We’ve got to leave him Mama,” her sons urged.
“I know, but where and with what,” she replied hopelessly.
She sought support and encouragement from her family but they had their own problems. No one offered useful solutions. She became eaten by anger, frustration and overwhelming self pity. At times Simon would tell her to leave but there is no way she would abandon the children.
One afternoon, as she was on her way home from the garden, pondering over things and crying, the eldest son Jonah came, running breathlessly.
“Mama! Mama! Hurry! Aunty Lucy just came,” he said, gasping for air.
Lucy’s reason for coming eased Veronica’s pain. Lucy listened to her plight and took Veronica and her sons to the city. She had recently bought a piece of land on the outskirts and wanted Veronica to help make gardens, raise livestock and sell at the market.
They left for the city a few days later.
Simon was not much bothered as he had two other wives and other responsibilities to take care of.
Sure enough, in the city things started to get better. Veronica moved on with her life. She felt freed from a great burden. Her sons continued their schooling in the city while she helped Lucy with gardening and selling.
She was happy to earn her own income and tended to her children’s needs and watch them grow up.
In time, Veronica heard news from the village that Simon had lost the councillor’s seat.
He was left with nothing. No one bothered about him. And he came running to Veronica, with nowhere else to go. He said he regretted everything he had done.
Veronica had mixed feelings about this. She felt sorry and angry at the same time. It was a sad sight when he begged her for money, food, clothes for his other children and a bus fare back to the village. Another burden for her.
At first Veronica was reluctant to support him. He deserved his downfall .She wanted him to suffer as she had so he could have a taste of his own medicine.
But, filled with empathy, she supported him. Veronica felt good to be in control of things.