– I don’t want a house of my own, I don’t want vacations in the South, just free me from my family…
Whenever people asked Emily how she was doing, she always responded with “Wonderful.” Even though she always had dark circles under her eyes… But that wasn’t the point. This year, her boots turned 20 years old. No, not what you might think – they were just very high-quality. And why take the bus when she could always walk…
Time passed, and it seemed like no one cared to interfere in Emily’s life anymore. But suddenly, the unbelievable news spread: Emily had left. She abandoned her husband, her children, and disappeared! No one knew what country she was in, all her phones were disconnected, her online contacts deleted…
Everyone started judging her.
– What was she missing? Maybe just bird’s milk! And now, she probably decided to move in with some wealthy guy. Her husband took care of her, and she? An ungrateful pig!
Yes, he built her a house, took her on vacations, but let’s look closer…
Yes, he built a house, but besides Emily and their children, he also moved in his relatives. And they didn’t come alone – they brought their dogs and cats! Meanwhile, they rented out their own homes for profit. And Emily? She felt like the administrator of a hotel. Oh no, not even an administrator—she was just a cleaner…
And that house wasn’t even hers. Her husband registered it in his mother’s name to ensure Emily wouldn’t get anything in case of a divorce. And of course, she was also the cook! She had to prepare meals for different groups: one kind for the children, another for the elderly, and something entirely different for her husband and his mother.
On top of that, she also had to cook special food for her sister-in-law’s dogs. One day, her mother-in-law announced that they should raise chickens and pigs. And guess who was expected to take care of them? Of course, Emily. But, thank God, her sister-in-law was a vegetarian. She didn’t let her mother bring in animals only to eat them later.
Emily worked at a vegetable market. After work, she walked home. She had to walk. Because her husband took her salary, and she wasn’t allowed to spend money. “Pensioners walk 15 km a day, what are 5 km after work?”
Emily’s children were a whole separate topic. They quickly learned to treat her just like the adults did. They didn’t even call her by name anymore, just shouted: “Hey, you!” She wasn’t allowed to go to school to pick them up or attend parent-teacher meetings because she was “not very intelligent and didn’t look good enough.”
Now, about those vacations in the South. Yes, she went. But in what role? As a caregiver for elderly relatives, as a nanny for other people’s children. Two weeks by the sea – and she never even got to swim once. Yes, that was a real vacation…
It’s been a year since Emily left her family. She will soon turn 40. Now she takes care of other people’s children, but at least she gets paid for it. She lives by the sea, waking up every morning to the cries of seagulls.
Recently, she bought her first dress. She hesitated for a long time, guilt gnawed at her, but then she remembered—she was alone now. She no longer needed to save money for her husband, her mother-in-law, her sister-in-law, and everyone else…
– I don’t remember when I started living as “just a woman in the house.” It happened gradually. But I clearly remember the day I became a woman again. Now, I live for myself. I don’t want a house or trips to the South. My rented apartment by the sea is enough. My life is slowly regaining its colors…
