Narrative Essay: Mental Torture

Mental Torture
Name:
Institution:
MENTAL TORTURE
People may witness or encounter challenges that leave them changed completely. The hardness of experiences may also make individuals harden towards life, keeping on referring to the particular incidents that resulted to their alteration. Many people have gone through such ordeals, which leaves them caged in a cocoon of thoughts where only they can free themselves. These kinds of experiences have been reflected in Maya Angelou’s story, ‘I Know Why Caged Birds Sing’, and Virginia Woolf’s ‘A Room of One’s Own’. We clearly see how both of them were either misunderstood or wronged, thus changing their perspective of life completely, where they tried to let go through literature. Personally, I witnessed unimaginable evil that happened to my friend, leaving me dumbfounded, confused and mentally tortured for a long time.
My closest friend, Jenny was also a colleague at work and was married to a wealthy man who offered her all that she desired. Every time we talked about her lifestyle I realized how envious I was though we joked about it and we would laugh it off. The husband loved her very much and he worked for government intelligence. At times he travelled for many days on the line of duty and once he returned would be granted some days off. My friend and I were so excited many times when he returned with numerous bags of shopping from wherever state or town he had gone. I was mainly happy because I was always certain that she would share with me and more so because we were close meaning that her happiness was mine. One day out of the blues we met in the morning at our work place and I noticed that she was different. She looked so pale and as if she did not have enough sleep the previous night. This sight caught me off guard since I was not used to seeing her like that. Jenny was the jovial type and her current mood only meant she was either unwell or stressed out about something. After saying greetings we agreed to meet in the evening that day, as she had something she wanted to discuss with me. At this point I knew one of my guesses was right, she was under stress which was difficult to figure out the cause. Our usual place of meeting, a coffee shop was not conducive that day and thus she took me to a nearby park where we used to visit over the weekends when her husband was away. It was quiet and serene that one could almost hear the wind pass through the ears. Regardless of the refreshing environment, she was still in the same mood, if not worse. No sooner had we sat on a bench, than she started sobbing, slowly and then hysterically. I was completely helpless not knowing how to consol as she had not said anything yet. “He is a beast my friend”, she said. “How could I have been so blind for so many years?” I put my hand on her shoulder to consol her in order to gather what she was talking about. After she was calm, she narrated the whole story that made my ears almost itchy.
Her beloved husband was threatening her after she discovered his heinous secret. He had never worked for any government and neither was he in any Intelligence Unit. He was one of the most dangerous gangsters in the country who led three groups of criminals. Moreover, he was a drug peddler and conducted the some of the greatest illegal business. Many robberies conducted in town were also owed to him, as well as a number if murder cases. All these he narrated to his Jenny after she overheard his conversation on the phone about a robbery plot that was to take place in town. He did not know that she was around to overhear and to her astonishment, the husband turned wild after realizing that she was standing at the doorway of their masters’ suit. The ever-sweet husband turned soar with fiery eyes that predicted hell breaking loose. He cursed and hit walls, asking the wife why she had to be around just when the deal was ‘ripe’. Pointing his finger at her, he warned that snooping around was a children’s behavior and therefore adults should always face the consequences of the same. At this time, the wife was like a reed, trembling with disbelief and begged her husband to spare her life if he loved her as he claimed. The husband promised to spare her life as long as she kept what she had heard as a...