“Every time I hear about an abusive situation I will keep saying this… Stop agreeing that the abuse is a joke when it hurts so bad.”

“His Second Joke”

Margaret had poor eye sight, but she did not mind going to the beach to sit or walk along the shore, although the massive expanse of water scares her. She never went into the sea. Her husband always asked her to go in, but she told him no. It got to the point where he told her that she doesn’t trust him. 

“I do trust you,” she said.

“Then come into the water, with me. I promised that I would only take you up to your knees and I would hold your hands.”

“Are you sure you won’t let me go?”

“I promise.”

She was trembling when they got near the water, so she held his hand firmly. “Close your eyes and listen to the sound of the waves. Are you hearing how gently they are rolling?”

“Yes.”

“Don’t be afraid. I am going to walk backwards so I will be facing you at all times.”

“Okay.”

She walked shakily into the sea and he did stop when the water got to her knees. They stood for a moment then he splashed a little water with one hand. She felt a bit comfortable, so she joined him in a water fight. They were both laughing happily. Suddenly, she did not hear his voice so she called his name. He did not answer and she started to panic. The lenses of her glasses were blurry, so she moved her hands around hoping to touch him. As she was doing this she was going into the deep part of the sea. The water was now around her waist and she put out her hands hoping to grab onto him, this caused her to go under. Her mouth filled with water and some went down her throat. She surfaced gasping as she tried to catch her breath. Her legs were slipping and as she started to go down again, her husband grabbed her. She was coughing excessively and when she caught her breath, she said, “Why did you leave me!?”

“I was right here.”

“No you were not!”

“Yes. I went under the water to hide from you.”

“You promised me that you won’t leave me! Why did you?”

“It was a joke.”….