Battles in the shadows

REVELATIONS

Calls poured in daily from the Watchman making terrible threats against Latoya and her husband and even to Laura herself. Lauretta could not concentrate at work as her life seem to be spiraling out of control. She was even more frustrated by the numerous and endless questions by her colleagues about how her honeymoon went. It was a nightmare, okay! She wanted to scream at all their faces but she maintained her composure and behaved well.

Two weeks passed and the calls didn't stop. The police could not trace the source and so could not stop the watchman from calling even at odd hours of the night. At exactly two weeks after their return and at midnight, Laura's phone began to ring out Lauren Daigle's "Peace be still." As usual, there was no caller ID as it was a private number. She got up but Brandon was not asleep and heard the ring.

Without a second thought Laura picked the call and put it on speaker,

"Hello."

"Hello baby, how are you? How was your day?"  Laura recognized the voice immediately as that of her tormentor.

"Excuse me? What happened to the threats about death and torture for hiding the truth huh? Are you suffering from amnesia?" She replied angrily.

"My love..."

"Listen to me whoever you are, I forbid you to call my number! I forbid you to come into my life to destroy my happiness! I forbid you to send me back to that lonely place of pain! Don't call me again! Let this be the last time!"

"You are not even happy in your marriage my child. Look at the two of you... You look like death at that airport arrival terminal. My heart bled for you because your innocence was taken by those who should have protected you and you are saying I should not fight for you? That I should not get revenge on your behalf?"

"I am doing fine on my own." Laura mumbled angrily.

"I will send all the photos to you in the morning. My darling, I know you will enjoy them." The line went dead.

Brandon sighed deeply and took his wife's hands as she began to sob.

"Brandon, why can't I have a happy ending? Why is my past continuously haunting me like a ruthless criminal? Is it a crime to be an orphan; to be abandoned at a dump site? What have I done to deserve all this?"

Brandon lifted her chin so she could look at him.

"The first step to freedom from all this is to tell me the rest of the truth. You told me so much about what you've done including trying to get revenge on Grandma Robertson. Please tell me what else is there."

"Brand, you will leave me like everyone else. I thought I was okay because I went for counseling and gave my life to Jesus. I thought God had made me whole and I wouldn't have to let out the dirtiest part of my history." The tears poured out like rainfall and she kept wiping them off with the hem of the blanket that covered her.

"You are whole through the blood of Jesus! But confession is important and you know that. I can't promise I won't be shocked but I pray that whatever it is, we will walk through it together."

"You promise?" She asked weakly.

"I promise." She stopped weeping and slowly lay down to sleep. For the first time since they got married, she rested her head on his chest ... the closest she has gotten close to her her husband and slept peacefully.

The next day...

Laura happily prepared breakfast of toasted bread, omelette, Vienna and Brandon's favourite fruits (Red Grapes, Blueberries and Mango) along with coffee and apple juice. It was a Saturday and a day she planned to reveal all to hr husband. She had woken up really early, cleaned the house, took her bath and then began to prepare breakfast. Brandon walked into the kitchen and sat down with a bright smile on his face. His beloved wife didn't scream out in the night to beat him or act crazy. He was even more happy because his mother in law was recovering well from the shock she experienced weeks back. The assailant had pulled the trigger of an empty gun and punched her in the face and then ran off into the bush. He or she was never caught till date.