When she was a teenager Natalie didn’t like to hang out with her friends. Instead she liked to read books. She was an excellent student which made her parents proud. Everybody knew she had a bright future ahead of her. After graduating from university, Natalie easily found a job in a large tech company. She did very well for herself at a very young age. She could afford a lifestyle that young people her age could only dream of.
By the age of 28 Natalie had her own condo and an expensive car. But she was a shy and introverted person. Her social life was pretty poor which greatly worried her parents. They tried to persuade her to have a little fun in her life, but she just dismissed them and asked them to back off. Anyway, one day Natalie’s Mom heard that her niece Kimberly was going with her friends to Las Vegas to celebrate her birthday. She called and asked her to invite Natalie as well. At first Natalie refused, but in the end she reconsidered.
Natalie, who never went to a casino before, really enjoyed herself. The atmosphere was electric. She played the slot machines for hours and even won quite a bit of money. Later on she played roulette. But lady luck didn’t shine on her. She lost all the money she won playing the slots, and more. Kimberley could barely pull her away from the casino as she kept saying “just another game”…..Natalie spent most of her stay in Las Vegas at the casino. She was sure she would win big time, which didn’t happen.
After returning from her trip, Natalie started going to casinos frequently and she lost most of the time. She met professional gamblers and felt very comfortable among them. Her parents barely saw her as she spent most of her time gambling with her new buddies. Natalie’s parents had no idea she was addicted to gambling. They were happy she finally had a social life. Natalie and her gambling friends didn’t just gamble in casinos. They also used to meet every so often at someone’s house and play until dawn the next morning.
Natalie, who used to be the first person at work, would be regularly late. She came to work tired and was unable to focus. Her employer, who valued her, was concerned by her behaviour. He called and asked to meet with her. In the meeting he told her that he noticed some changes in her lately. He asked if there was anything wrong. Natalie told him she had a sleeping problem. She also said everything would get back to normal as she was taking care of it. Her boss who was sensitive and considerate, suggested she could take a vacation if she needed to, but she declined his offer.
Natalie lost a lot of money due to her gambling addiction. She lost most of her savings. She sold her expensive car and bought something cheap and used instead. Her cousin Kimberly who was in touch with her since her birthday, told her she was addicted to gambling. She also told her she must get some help before it’s too late. Natalie was mad at her as Kimberly dared to hold a mirror up in front of her face. Of course, she denied having a problem, and she said she could stop whenever she wanted.
However, Natalie, met her future husband William at the roulette table in the casino. He was a nice guy who came to celebrate at his best friend bachelor party. Natalie could tell he wasn’t comfortable near the roulette table. But they had something in common. They both worked in the high tech industry. When Natalie was gambling, she was always focused on her bets and on the game itself. But not this time. William was a very good looking man and she found herself staring at him all evening.
At some point he came over and introduced himself. They started talking and after a while they decided to continue their conversation elsewhere. At the end of the evening, they exchanged phone numbers. They started dating and were in love. Natalie spent less time with her gambling friends. She never mentioned her gambling problem to William. Five months later, they were married and Natalie’s parents were thrilled. Natalie sold her condo, the only asset she had left, and the two of them bought a house together. A year later their oldest son was born.
Natalie didn’t completely stop gambling, but her passion for it definitely subsided. She was busy with the baby which didn’t leave her much time to think about gambling. But unfortunately, it didn’t last for too long. Shortly after her daughter was born, Natalie felt she needed some excitement in her life………..
People who constantly lie are unpleasant to be around. They lie out of habit and usually believe their own lies. Let’s face it, everyone lies from time to time. Sometimes it’s even necessary. But there is a big problem when one regularly lies…..A friend of mine told me about a guy she dated a long time ago. She said they worked as flight attendants for one of the airlines. They were friendly at first. He told her he had no family and his parents passed away from a serious illness when he was a child. He claimed he was raised by his grandparents who died when he was 18.
His life story touched her heart. She would invite him to spend time with her family on holidays and sometimes on weekends. They slowly became a couple. After approximately 6 months as a couple, my friend thought it would be more economical if they lived together, as they spent most of their time together at her place. She suggested that he move in with her, but he declined. He said he wasn’t ready to take that step yet and she decided to give him more time. One day he told her he got a job offer from another airline with a much higher salary. He also said that he would be working more shifts, therefore they would be seeing each other less. But he promised to make up for it when they were together.
He kept his promise in the first month. Over time she saw him less and less and he could barely be reached. When she asked him for the reason, he came up with all kinds of excuses. Finally, their relationship disintegrated. My friend was deeply hurt as she didn’t understand why he behaved this way, after all she did for him. A few weeks later my friend received a phone call from a lady she never met before. The lady introduced herself and said that she recently discovered that my friend’s ex dated both of them at the same time. She also found out he was a serial liar.
Apparently, he wasn’t an orphan as he said. In fact, his parents who owned a real estate company were his new employers, and not another airline as he said. In addition, he has 3 siblings and his grandparents were still alive at that time. Anyway, this was a long and enlightening conversation. By the end of it, my friend learned that there were more women who were hurt by her ex and not just the two of them. The reason for his behaviour wasn’t clear but he was constantly lying. As for her, she was relieved he wasn’t part of her life anymore.
Professional liars do not care if they hurt others as long as it serves their purposes. Sometimes their lies are due to insecurity. They try to impress and influence others. I worked with someone who used to lie about almost everything including silly things. Later on, I discovered she wasn’t the only liar in her family. What really bothered me was what she did when she wanted a day off. Her mother who was a big drama queen would often call in the morning to let us know she would not be coming to work that day because she was sick. The mother would be crying hysterically as if somebody just died.
As it was a regular ritual, the lady that answered the phone did not want to deal with her. She would hand the phone to me. Several times when she was absent due to so-called illness, people I worked with told me they saw her hanging out in the mall with her friends. She didn’t care that someone else had to work overtime due to her absence, and she did it too many times.
Another thing that upset me about her behaviour was when she was asked to do something which was part of her job, she never argued. She always gave you the answer you wanted to hear. Later on, I used to ask her if she did what she was asked to do and she would say yes. However, afterwards we would accidentally find out she didn’t do it. Since she frequently lied, she didn’t remember what she said and to whom. Somehow she got away with her lies without paying a price.
I admit I am partly to blame as I didn’t want her to lose her job although there were many complaints about her. I couldn’t bear the thought of someone losing their livelihood because of me. In addition, I liked her as she had a good sense of humour, so I covered up for her. I can deal with all kinds of people, well…….at least most of them, but I can’t deal with compulsive liars. They have this in their DNA. I have no tools to cope with them. In fact, they frighten me and I try to keep my distance from them.
One of the scariest things is when your house is broken into. It is not just unwanted people invading your privacy and stealing your possessions, these thieves can be armed and dangerous. A few years ago we were broken into. I never thought it could happen to us as we lived modestly in a small apartment, on a main street. I honestly thought there was nothing in the apartment worth taking.
However, one day on my way to work I noticed I left my wedding and engagement rings at home. For a moment I debated whether to return home to take them or not. But since I was already late for work, I continued on my way. Later that afternoon, my husband called me and said somebody broke into our apartment. He asked me to come home as soon as possible.
When I arrived home I just couldn’t believe what I saw. All our belongings were thrown all over the floor. It was a nightmare. I immediately called the police and we were told not to touch anything before they arrived, as we could destroy evidence. I remember I couldn’t stop crying, while my husband was in shock and didn’t say much.
The first thing I noticed was the rings I left in the morning on the kitchen table were gone. When the police arrived I realized the burglars did not take the credit card and the chequebook which were in the bedroom drawer. The officer told us that burglars usually do not take credit cards or cheques as they are easy to trace. On the other hand, they take any valuables they can get their hands on that would be hard to trace back to your house, and money obviously.
Anyway, the officer asked us to make a list of all the items that were taken. Unfortunately, there was such a mess in our home that it took us a few days to put a list together. We couldn’t tell what was stolen at that time, except for my rings and some money. We started cleaning up when the police officer left. Only then did we find out how much stuff was stolen. On the other hand, we found all kinds of stuff we did not remember we had….. sadly, we didn’t have insurance so we couldn’t recoup what was stolen.
Even if we had insurance, I’m not so sure we would get anything as when I left home that day I did not lock the deadbolt lock, which was stupid on my part. Still, it is hard for me to understand how the burglars managed to break into our apartment in the middle of the day without anyone noticing. Back then I couldn’t stop wondering what would have happened if I went back to my apartment to take the rings?!……… I might have surprised the burglars in the middle of the act, and it would have ended differently…… They might have turned violent, like many stories I heard before.
In addition to losing our possessions, some which had sentimental value, the break-in was a very traumatic event for me. I couldn’t feel safe in my own home anymore. It goes without saying that we did not hear anything from the police. Actually, we were told the chance of getting our stuff back is almost zero. My rings were gone forever…….
The break-in could have been prevented if I had locked the door with the security lock. It doesn’t mean they couldn’t get in anyway, but I made it easy for them. You would be surprised how many people don’t lock their doors at all or leave the windows open. There are also people who leave their keys under the welcome mat. So all the burglars have to do is to watch them for a while and plan the next move.
People make the same mistake over and over again, when they go on vacation they don’t cancel their newspaper delivery. They let their mail pile up, leave lights and TV’s turned on, sometimes at high volume, at night as well. This is a signal to thieves “you are welcome to visit………….there is no one home.”
When you buy a house you must also take the location into consideration. I am not just talking about your neighbors, you also need to pay attention to the physical surroundings. Meaning, living next to an area that has a lot of trees, or an area under development. In other words, places where thieves can easily hide. According to reports from the U.S. Department of Justice, most break-ins are committed by people that know the victim. It could be your neighbor or an acquaintance.
In our case, the police told us the burglary was probably committed by drug addicts looking for a quick score. The bottom line is that one has to protect himself and make it as difficult as possible for thieves to break-in. In addition, you need to have home insurance just in case.
Ryan stood up and shook Saleem’s hand. He asked him and his friend to joined them. Saleem’s friend said he has to go back to work but Jasmine’s brother gladly joined them. After the meal, Ryan thought the two siblings needed time alone together to catch up. He suggested his wife and her brother go to the hotel while he goes to visit some of his friends. When Saleem and Jasmine were alone, he told her he ran away from home when he was 17. A few months before he left, his father forced him to get engaged to one of his cousins who was 11 at the time.
Saleem, who was never attracted to women, said children always laughed at him as they thought he wasn’t masculine enough. His father bullied him and called him useless and weak. His mother, on the other hand, loved him very much, more than any of her other children. She protected him even though she was beaten by her husband for doing so. Saleem couldn’t tolerate her suffering anymore. He also refused to accept his father’s wishes to marry his cousin.
Therefore he decided to run away and went to the capital city. He worked at all kinds of temporary jobs to support himself. Sometimes he had to sleep on the streets and ate leftover food he found in the trash cans. Sometimes he had to sell his body for a meal. He lived this way for about a year. One day while he was working as a housekeeper in one of the hotels, he met a foreign businessman. They were in a relationship for a while and then Saleem told him his story.
The man wanted to help him and said he should apply for refugee status in one of the Western countries. He should claim his life was in danger due to being gay. The businessman encouraged him to do it in Canada. He gave him some money for a plane ticket and living expenses. A couple of months later he was in Canada and did exactly what he was told by the man. Shortly after that, he registered for ESL classes to complete his studies. Since his English was pretty good, he simultaneously volunteered to work with youth at risk.
Saleem was in law school when he met Jasmine. He told her that the guy she saw him with at the restaurant was his boyfriend, and they were living together for a few years now. He said that despite what he went through, he was very pleased with how his life turned out. However, there was one thing that gnawed at him, the fact that he had to leave their mother behind. She was probably worried sick about him. He knew he caused her so much sorrow by leaving so suddenly. He wished he could send her a message to let her know he was doing fine.
Jasmine looked at the tormented face of her younger brother when he was speaking about their mother and her heart went out to him. Although she did not have a warm spot for her mother in her heart, she wanted to help him if she could. Jasmine told Saleem about Saif’s sister Nayab who lived in their family village. She was visiting her sons in the United States and was supposed to visit her brother in Australia soon. Jasmine said she would try to send a message to their mother through Nayab. Her bother’s face changed at once. He looked relieved and smiled.
Anyway, Jasmine updated Saleem on what she went through until she arrived in Australia. Her brother told her that Daud came to their house several times looking for her. Daud even promised their father some money if he would tell him where she was. Before Saleem left, Jasmine took a few pictures of him in the hope that she could send them to their mother.
Nayab immediately agreed to take Saleem’s pictures to his mother. When she went to see her, one of her daughters said she was sick. She had heart problems and lost her will to live. Nayab entered the room where the mother was lying. She looked indifferent and didn’t even greet her. As soon as Nayab said she had news from Saleem, the mother’s eyes opened wide. Nayab told her she saw Saleem in the States when she visited her sons. She said he looked good and she brought pictures of him as proof. When the mother saw her son’s pictures she started to cry. She held Nayab’s hands and kissed them over and over again. Nayab updated her about her son without going into details that could endanger Jasmine or Saleem. In fact, she didn’t mention Jasmine at all, as requested.
However, Jasmine and Saleem kept in touch. They visited each other at least once a year. Over the years, Jasmine gave birth to three more children which made Saif and Sofia very happy. They felt like they were grandparents. In addition to being a dedicated social worker, Jasmine was active in women’s rights organizations. She helped many women and children who suffered from abuse and violence.
Jasmine reached all the goals she set for herself. Yet she never let herself forget where she came from and how miserable her life was before she came to Australia. Despite all that she went through, Jasmine was very lucky. She met quite a few good people who were willing to help her out of kindness. Unfortunately, there are so many women and children out there who are abused every day without anyone to give them a helping hand.
Saif applied for passports for Jasmine and Camilla. In the meantime, Jasmine did not leave Noreen’s house. The day Jasmine got the passports she was delighted. When she saw the plane tickets she couldn’t stop crying, it was one step away from freedom. A few days before the flight, they moved to one of Saif’s sister’s houses until the long-awaited day. The night before the flight, Jasmine couldn’t sleep, she was afraid something would go wrong at the last minute. But it all went according to schedule.
Saif and Sofia accompanied Jasmine and Camilla to Australia. Jasmine was so excited she could barely eat anything. The excitement was immense when they arrived in Australia and Ashley welcomed them at the airport. In her first few days in Australia, Jasmine was sure she was dreaming. She couldn’t believe how lucky she was. Suddenly she and Camilla were surrounded by many people who cared about them and gave them so much love. Jasmine could go out without fearing for her life and fearing Camilla would be taken away from her.
Shortly after they arrived in Australia, Sofia claimed for protection from the Department of Home Affairs on behalf of Jasmine and Camilla. The fresh scars all over Jasmine’s body served as evidence that she was in danger. In the beginning, Jasmine and her daughter lived with Ashley and Paul. Later on, they moved in with Saif and Sofia as they had a bigger house. Jasmine registered for school and put Camilla in daycare. Since Sofia’s family lived nearby, whenever Jasmine needed a babysitter, there was always someone available to help.
Sofia has a very warm and loving family. They adopted Jasmine and Camilla as one of their own. Jasmine kept in touch with Rashid and his family in London, as well as his sister Noreen. They even visited each other over the years. Jasmine never forgot what they did for her. She learned later on that Rashid stopped buying merchandise from Daud since the incident with Amina and Ali.
Over the years Jasmine received information about her family through Saif’s sister who lived in the same village as her family. The news has been mainly bad. She heard that one of her sisters was murdered by her husband. As well, her brother Saleem, who was two years younger than her, disappeared. The news upset her very much. Saleem was the only one who was happy to see her when she visited her family. They went to school together every morning and she used to help him with his homework. While Jasmine was forced to stop attending school, Saleem was allowed to continue studying as he pleased due to being a boy. Saleem was an introverted boy who was very attached to his mother. Now she wondered where he was or if he was still alive.
Jasmine did very well at school. She was a quick learner and picked up a lot of material in a short period of time. She studied social work at university. Jasmine had one goal, to help people like her. She met Ryan at university. He was part Australian and part Canadian and was studying physiotherapy.
She kept her distance from him at first, as in general, she was afraid of men. But after a long courtship, he captured her heart. Jasmine fell in love with him after she saw how well he treated her daughter. They got married in a small ceremony surrounded by family and close friends. Camilla, who was 12 at the time, was overjoyed as she was finally going to have a real family.
Ryan decided to take his bride to Canada for their honeymoon. It was the first time that Jasmine traveled out of Australia and the first time she left Camilla behind. They had a great time in Canada. Jasmine had the opportunity to meet Ryan’s extended family and some of his friends in Toronto. One day Ryan wanted to surprise Jasmine and he took her to a restaurant that served food from her native country.
The restaurant was crowded and they had to wait to be seated. While they were looking at the menu, Jasmine felt someone was staring at her. At first, she thought it was her imagination as she is a suspicious person by nature. But when Jasmine looked up she couldn’t believe who she saw. Here was her little brother Saleem. He was sitting with another man, who looked older than him, a few tables away from them. Tears came to her eyes and they looked at each other for a moment.
Saleem walked over to his sister and hugged her as he never did before. They didn’t let go of each other. Ryan and the rest of the diners at the restaurant looked at them with curiosity. Jasmine whispered to Ryan that this was her missing brother…………………….
Jasmine was shaking with fear and started crying. She looked at her daughter who was playing with the toys the nurse brought her. Jasmine knew she would never let anybody take her baby away from her, even if it cost her her life. She also knew it was only a matter of time before Ali and his mother show up at the hospital as it was the closest one to their village.
Despite the pain she was suffering from, she picked up her daughter and headed towards the door. Suddenly the nurse entered the room and saw Jasmine was very upset. She asked her what she was doing out of bed and why she was so upset. Jasmine explained to her that her husband and his mother came to take Camilla as she feared. The nurse ordered her back to bed immediately and took the baby from her. She put Camilla back in her crib and told Jasmine not to worry as everything was under control. She would lock the door and would come back and open it once the danger passed. Jasmine had no choice but to trust her.
After the nurse left she softly cried and prayed to God. She asked him to keep Camilla and her safe and always together. The nurse came back after a while. Then Jasmine learned that Rashid registered her under another name so she wouldn’t be easily found. As well, the hospital staff was ordered by the chief administrator not to let anybody in her room.
However, after Rashid left Jasmine in the hospital, he was worried as he didn’t know what to do to help her. He did not have much time as they were supposed to return to London shortly. He was certain she should not go back to her husband’s family. Also, Jennifer and his daughters pressured him to find a solution. In addition, they thought they should go to the police and report the attempted murder of Jasmine and assault on the baby.
Anyhow, Rashid did not want to cause problems for his cousin. But he couldn’t ignore the behavior of Daud’s wife and son. Rashid always respected women, especially his wife. He learned that from his father who treated his mother and his sisters with sensitivity and respect. He also encouraged all his children to get a good education, particularly his daughters. But unfortunately over the years, Rashid saw a lot of violence against women in his extended family. He was very much aware of the violation of women’s rights in his homeland.
When he and his family came to visit Jasmine the day after, he learned that Ali and Amina came to the hospital to look for her. Rashid knew a solution had to be found that day before it was too late. He said to his wife that letting Amina and Ali take Jasmine back is like giving her a death sentence. He couldn’t live with that. Jennifer suggested he speak with his sister Noreen who lived in the capital and ask her if she was able to take in Jasmine and the baby.
Noreen was a widow who lived by herself not too far from her two children. She was a social worker and was active in the field of women’s rights. Although Rashid wasn’t eager to involve any of his family, he had no choice. Besides, he thought his sister would appreciate the company and would be happy to help. Furthermore, Noreen had nothing to do with Daud or his family, and there was little chance anybody would look for Jasmine there.
Even though Jasmine was badly injured and needed to stay in the hospital for a while, Rashid didn’t want to gamble with her life and took her and Camilla to his sister’s home that evening. A few days later Rashid and his family went back to London. Noreen was a very kind and pleasant person who took good care of Jasmine and Camilla. Jasmine felt comfortable telling her what she went through. She told her about Ashley, Saif, and Sofia. Jasmine said they were like family to her and she would like to update them about what was happening with her.
Noreen promised she would help her get in touch with her friends, and so it was. Several days later Saif and Sofia showed up at Noreen’s house. You can’t imagine how happy Jasmine was. Later on, she got a letter from Ashley, who told her she was waiting for them. Saif and Sofia told Jasmine they were expecting her visit the day after her brother got married. When she didn’t show up, they went to her family to see if she was there. Jasmine’s family said they hadn’t seen her for a couple of months.
Saif and Sofia were worried and went to Ali’s house to ask about her. They were told by Amina that she ran away and stole Camilla, but they would find her……… Saif and Sofia thought it would be too dangerous for Jasmine to stay in the country, which Noreen agreed with…………………….
At that time Daud’s cousin Rashid unexpectedly came to visit. Rashid wasn’t only Daud’s cousins, but one of his important clients as well. He has lived in London for many years. He is married to Jennifer, a British woman who is a dentist. The couple has four children, two boys, and two girls. Rashid had a few gift stores in London and bought some of his products from his cousin. He used to refer lots of customers to him as well. Rashid usually came to visit twice a year when he would place his orders. He would usually come alone, and always when Daud was around. But this time he came with his wife and their two daughters.
They came to visit Rashid’s mother who just had surgery. Rashid is a very nice and polite person, he always brought presents for everyone when he came to visit. Anyway, Rashid and his family parked their car and headed towards Daud’s house. When they came closer they heard loud screams coming from the house. They knew something serious happened. They knocked on the door but no one opened it and the screams got louder. Rashid pushed on the latch and the door opened. They came inside and couldn’t believe their eyes.
Amina and Ali were cruelly hitting Jasmine while she was holding Camilla. They were behaving like two wild animals. There was blood all over the floor. Amina tried to take the baby away from Jasmine by force. The baby was shrieking after she tore her from her mother’s arms and dropped her in the stroller. It was a shocking sight, especially for Jennifer and the girls. Amina and Ali were too busy beating Jasmine to notice Rashid and his family had entered their house until he yelled at them to stop immediately.
He took the stick from Amina’s hand with a look of disgust on his face. Amina and Ali were speechless. The family was all yelling at them. The girls started crying and ran to calm Camilla while Jennifer went to Jasmine. Jennifer glanced at Camilla for a moment and from the baby’s crying, she knew something was seriously wrong with her. Then she realized her arm was swollen.
Jasmine was on the floor bleeding and writhing in pain. She had a look of horror on her face and was unable to speak for a few minutes. When she finally spoke she begged them to help Camilla. Jennifer told Rashid they must take them to the hospital right away. The girls, who were shocked by what they saw, spoke to their father in the local language and said they must report this incident to the police. To justify their action Amina said, Jasmine was flirting with some tourists and was embarrassing the family. She was afraid they would involve the police and added that they just tried to teach her a lesson. But Amina’s biggest concern was what Daud’s reaction would be.
When they went to the car, Jasmine asked if they could get the bags she packed earlier, which contained clothes and toiletries. When Rashid went to get the bags, he heard Amina tell her son to go with them to the hospital and bring Camilla back where she belonged. Ali refused to do it as he was afraid he’d be arrested. On the way to the hospital, Jasmine said she was 6 months pregnant which made Jennifer and her family even more furious.
When they arrived at the hospital, Rashid asked to speak to a senior doctor. He was escorted by one of the receptionists to a side room. Shortly after that, he came out with two nurses. One led Jasmine accompanied by Jennifer, to the gynecology department. The second nurse took Camilla, who was accompanied by Rashid and his girls, to the pediatric ward. In the beginning, Jasmine refused to be separated from her daughter. But Rashid promised they would bring the baby back after she was examined and treated, if necessary.
Unfortunately, Jasmine lost her baby and had some broken ribs which the doctor said would heal over time. Camilla had a broken arm and had a cast put on. Jasmine was transferred to a private room after her procedure. Camilla was brought to her mother’s room wearing a cast. Before Rashid and his family left the hospital, Jasmine expressed her concern that Ali would come and take the baby, because according to their culture, children belong to the father. In addition, he would do it just to defend the honour of his family. She added that she is certain Ali doesn’t care about Camilla, as he has barely looked at her since she was born. Rashid assured her that he took care of it, and she shouldn’t worry.
She woke up the next morning with mixed feelings. On the one hand, she felt Rashid and his family wanted to help her. On the other hand, Rashid was Daud’s cousin and she didn’t know if she could trust him. Anyway, after Jasmine fed Camilla, she glanced out the window and she froze. Ali and Amina were heading to the hospital……..
From the day Camilla was born, Jasmine was worried about her future, especially because she was a girl. She used to take her wherever she went. Jasmine would not leave her alone for a moment, and certainly not with any of the family. A couple of days after Jasmine gave birth, one of her sisters-in-law gave birth to a baby boy. It was her third boy which made the family very proud. They celebrated for three days. But no one was paying attention to the baby’s mother, who was suffering from postpartum depression.
A short time after the sister-in-law gave birth, she tried to commit suicide and was hospitalized for a while. After her release from the hospital, she was not allowed to return to the family house. Her boys were taken away from her by her husband and Jasmine never saw her again. Since Jasmine just gave birth and was nursing her daughter, Amina ordered her to feed the baby boy as well, which she gladly did.
Amina changed her attitude towards her for the first time. Jasmine suddenly saw her softer side, which she had never been exposed to before. Amina made sure Jasmine ate well and rested enough. She even stopped abusing her. But Amina couldn’t fool Jasmine, who never trusted her. Jasmine knew that Amina hated her. She also knew that the moment she found another solution for the baby boy, Amina would go back to her old ways again, and so it was.
At the same time, Ashley tried to use her connections in Jasmine’s country in order to get her out of there. She knew she would need help from Saif and Sofia. Therefore, she decided to travel there. While she was getting ready, she got a message from home that her son Jason was involved in an accident. She changed her plans and flew to Australia. Jason was in very bad condition when Ashley arrived. He was unconscious for a while but slowly improved over time.
Although he was badly injured, Jason was lucky as his friend who was in the car with him was killed. Jason took it very hard when he heard the news. Then Ashley decided her place was by her son. Besides, her job was emotionally difficult for her. She was sick and tired of seeing poverty and misery without being able to change a thing. On the other hand, she was committed to bringing Jasmine and her daughter to live with her. Ashley informed Saif and Sofia what happened to her son and made it clear she still wanted Jasmine out of the country as soon as possible.
In the meantime, Jasmine was already in her second pregnancy. She did not think she would ever be able to escape from this horrible family and was almost reconciled with her bitter destiny. Jasmine was very sad when she heard about Jason’s accident. She didn’t want to be a burden on Ashley, so she stopped writing her letters for a while.
However, when Daud traveled on business he always took three of his sons with him and left two to take care of things at home. When he took Ali with him, Jasmine would breathe a sigh of relief. On one of his trips, Daud left Ali and his younger brother to watch over the business. Not many people would come shopping this time of year, especially tourists.
A few days after Daud and his sons left, a group of tourists came on an organized tour. They were a group of retired people from England. Ali called Jasmine to serve them. Jasmine was at home packing a bag for her visit to her family later that day. It wasn’t her regular visit as her brother was getting married. Jasmine was excited to see her sisters who she hadn’t seen for a long time, although the sisters weren’t close. Anyway, when Ali called her, she put Camilla in her stroller and went to the showroom.
The tourists were very nice people. They noticed Camilla in the stroller and played with her. The baby laughed out loud and clearly enjoyed the attention. Jasmine had a few moments of comfort as she never saw her baby so happy. When she entered the house, Amina and Ali were waiting for her at the entrance. Ali started to kick her while Amina hit her with a stick all over her body. They accused her of flirting with the English tourists, which she denied. Jasmine was holding Camilla who was weeping hysterically. She begged them to stop, at least for Camilla’s sake. But she saw nothing but hate in their eyes, and her begging just motivated them to hit her even harder…………………
After she learned she was pregnant, Jasmine felt trapped. She thought she would never leave her husband’s house. Her mother-in-law hated her more than the others because she was Daud’s favorite daughter-in-law. Unfortunately, Daud often traveled outside the village to meet suppliers or to sell merchandise. Amina would use her husband’s frequent trips as opportunities to abuse Jasmine even more.
Amina would try to convince her son that Jasmine was not good enough for him, and he should get rid of her. When Jasmine heard that, she was happy. She wished he would return her to her parents (as this is common in a divorce in their culture). Although she knew she wasn’t welcome there, it gave her some hope after all. But Ali, who was afraid of his father’s reaction, did not do what Amina was insisting on.
Over time, Jasmine developed a warm relationship with Saif and Sofia. They treated her as though she was part of their family. Saif and Sofia were educated people. They lived in Australia for many years. Saif worked as an Engineer and Sofia worked as a Human Rights Attorney. They had a comfortable life in Australia. At some point, they decided to come back to their home country. Saif wanted to live in the village where he grew up, and where he had a few siblings. Sofia agreed as she liked his family. The main reason they returned to his home village was to help build a school.
They adored children and wanted to give them the opportunity to break out of the cycle of poverty. Many people in the village were ungrateful and prejudiced. They did not appreciate the efforts the couple made to give their children hope for a better life. In fact, they acted like they were doing Saif and Sofia a favor by sending their kids to the school. In addition, they used to say nasty things about the couple such as “they have no children because they were cursed”. They also spread rumors that Saif and Sofia’s intention was to kidnap their children and sell them abroad.
However, the couple used to look forward to Jasmine’s visits and occasionally went to visit her in her village, particularly after learning about her pregnancy. They also gave her some money in case she needed it.
When Jasmine was six months pregnant, some tourists came to look at the carpets. When she approached them, she recognized their accent which was Australian. As she got closer to them she heard a familiar voice. Her heart started beating fast, she knew this was Ashley’s voice. Tears were running down her cheeks. Fortunately for her, no one from the family was around.
Ashley didn’t come alone, she was accompanied by her boyfriend Paul and by two of her friends, who were a couple. Jasmine ran to her and hugged her. She didn’t let go of her until she heard Amina and Daud coming. Ashley thought it would be better if Jasmine’s in-laws didn’t know about their relationship. So as not to arouse their suspicions, while they were looking at the carpets on display, Jasmine gave them some information. Ashley quietly told her they were going to visit Saif and Sofia in the next few days. Ashley knew that Jasmine supposed to visit her family on those days, then they could see each other and catch up.
The group bought a few expensive carpets and asked for them to be sent overseas. Daud was pleased, and as usual, Amina wasn’t happy. When Jasmine came to Saif and Sofia, Ashley realized she had bruises all over her body. Although she knew that beating women is an integral part of their culture, she couldn’t stop her tears. Sadly, she became aware of too many cases of violence against women over the years. Each time she felt angry and helpless as she couldn’t prevent this barbaric practice.
But when she saw the bruises on Jasmine’s body, it was unbearable for her. Ashley saw the young girl she loved so much whose dreams had been stolen. In addition, she was pregnant against her wishes and was mercilessly abused. She knew Jasmine was regularly raped by her husband like many other young girls in her country.
Jasmine didn’t have to say anything to convince Ashley to help her. Her appearance spoke for itself. On the other hand, Ashely was aware of how difficult it would be to get her out of her environment, especially since she was pregnant. Anyway, Ashely promised Jasmine she would do whatever it takes to get her out of this nightmare. She said it would take time as she didn’t want to do anything reckless that would endanger her. A few months after, Jasmine gave birth to Camilla……..
Amina, who the girls of the house called “the witch,” controlled her sons’ lives. The sons, who had no backbones, did not dare defy her. The poor girls suffered from abuse and violence on a daily basis, not only from their husbands but from his family as well, especially from their mother-in-law. However, Jasmine never stopped writing Ashley, even though she could not send the letters to her. She would write about the abuse she went through in her husband’s house. Writing helped her maintain her sanity.
Despite her difficulty writing in English and the countless grammar mistakes she made, the letters were written only in English. She kept them in a hiding place as though they were treasures. Although most of her husband’s family couldn’t read or write, and certainly not in English, she couldn’t take the risk the letters would be found. She knew if anybody found them, the results could be devastating for her. Jasmine tried to be optimistic and sometimes even allowed herself to dream of a better future. Somehow she knew Ashley would come for her one day.
One day Jasmine woke up to the sound of crying coming from Sarah’s room. The crying grew louder and was heartbreaking to hear. She knew something terrible was happening. Her instinct was to run to Sarah’s room and comfort her, but her husband didn’t let her leave their room. When she was finally allowed to leave her room, she heard the horrible news. Sarah died after she gave birth to twin boys. The twins were rushed to the hospital as they were born prematurely. But unfortunately, they didn’t survive for long.
The atmosphere in the house was very difficult after the tragedy. In addition, Amina prohibited the girls from talking about Sarah’s death or even mentioning her name, as though she never existed. Anyway, every few months the sisters-in-law were allowed to visit their families, as long as they pleased Amina. She would prevent them from going even if they accidentally broke a plate. Amina frequently tried to stop Jasmine from visiting her family but her father-in-law overruled his wife. Jasmine was Daud’s favorite daughter-in-law as she was smart and could read and write. Also, she was the only one in the family who could communicate pretty well in English. She was polite and a good salesperson which was great for their business. Nevertheless, Amina detested her.
Jasmine was in a bad state of mind after Sarah’s death. She lost her appetite and could hardly function. She was supposed to visit her parents for the first time since she got married. Amina decided to punish her because of her strong reaction to Sarah’s death. She told her she could not see her family. When Daud found out, he vetoed his wife’s decision and sent the girl on her way. Jasmine took the letters she wrote Ashley with her, hoping she could send them to her. When Jasmine arrived at her parents’ house, her father wasn’t happy to see her. He was sure she was responsible for him losing the monthly allowance Ashley used to send. But after what Jasmine went through in her in-law’s house, she couldn’t care less what he thought or did.
Her goal was to go to Ashley’s good friends in the village, Saif and Sofia, give them the letters, and ask them to send them to Ashley as soon as possible. This is exactly what she did. She didn’t just update Ashley in the letters about her life after she left her parents’ house, she also asked for her help. Jasmine was desperate and begged Ashley to help her leave her husband’s house before it was too late.
Saif and Sofia were very special people. They were childless and dedicated most of their time to helping others. They were very happy to see Jasmine when she came to visit. They noticed she was covered in bruises and had lost a lot of weight. They felt sorry for her as there was nothing they could do to help her.
Jasmine felt a huge sense of relief after she gave the letters to Saif and Sofia. They promised they would deliver them to Ashley right away. A few days later, Jasmine went back to her husband’s house. Shortly afterward, she started feeling dizzy and weak. Her mother-in-law called her lazy, one of her favorite insults. It reminded her how she treated Sarah and she was overwhelmed with fear. Then reality slapped her across the face. Her worst fear had come true. She went to see the doctor in the village and found out she was pregnant………………..
With Experience Comes Wisdom 