Life as A Lesson

Chapter 11: Forgiveness

"The only way to be free from pain is to forgive".
What's wrong with you Janet? "You look sad"Paul said.
"Donald trump won the election" she replied.
"Really?Wow I didn't listen the news" Paul said.
"I know you like him. I know that you're happy" she replied as she removed her dress.
"Well, I am. But I don't like it that you have a long face" he replied.
"I'm also tired. My shoulder is aching" she said as she sat on the chair.
"I'm gonna help you my dear. Sit and relax while I help you" he said as she sat down while he massaged her shoulders.
"He promised that the forgotten American men and women would no longer be forgotten. I hope he does what he says he would do" Janet said.
"I trust Donald trump Jane" Paul ended.

Amanda walked on the road leisurely. She felt tired of life. She had committed a lot of mistakes and this was her karma. To be without a family, to be without love. 
She couldn't blame paul. It was all her fault. She was the one who left him alone. She knew he hated her a lot. He once loved her but due to her actions, he hated her with his life. She was a phase he wanted to forget.
"Oh my" she said as she sat down on a chair feeling tired.
She stunk of sweat. She didn't have money to get a detergent to wash her cloth neither did she have money to get soap. She had only three dresses and two of them was very dirty. The saliva in her mouth was dried. She drank water from a tap thirty minutes ago and it would take another thirty minutes to get to another place where she would see a tap.
She didn't know where she was going to. She just decided to walk to see if she could get any food.
The last time she ate was yesterday morning and she stole the meal kept for a dog beside her house. She and the dog were sworn enemy. Whenever he saw her, he barked at her.
She decided to sit down because her body was aching.
Instead of five fingers in both hands, she had only three each. Her middle finger, ring finger and tall finger had been cut off by Zeus on that day. Also, her two of her toes were missing on each finger.
Her left eye which was sewn shot by him had been surgically opened although, she couldn't see with it. He had truly left her with an hedious face. Her right part of her face was scarred. Some of the flesh used to cover the tearing was cut by the surgeons from her lap to cover her face.
She was physically, emotional, psychologicallyand mentally scarred. Every night, she dreamt of the way Anastasia died. How blood rushed everywhere. Most times when she sleeps, she urinates on herself. She had been broken by Taylor and wood that day.
Even after 18 years, she was still very scared and scarred. People avoided her like a plague. Most people didn't know that she was the famous actress 18 years ago. She was surprised Gareth remembered her the day she went to his house.
She was in coma for 2 whole years and all her money was used for her treatment. Her cars and houses were sold to treat her. If she had listened to her mum, if she had listened to her son's plea, she would have been happy today. She preferred money over relations. She chose to have money than to be a mother. Now, she was paying for it. Life to her, is a lesson. 
Writers, journalist, reporters mocked her. She had to leave Texas to New York and live a quiet life in her mother's house. Yes, the house she was staying at was her mum's. She had inherited what she thought she would never inherit; Plastics, wood, buckets. She was thankful that she could use those things. All the men she had slept with in her life didn't want to have anything to do with her after she became worthless. She was afraid of wood, scissors. Whenever she saw them, she got scared.
One day while she was searching for something, a scissors fell on her from the top and she almost died. She had a panic attack and she felt all the pain she felt 18 years ago.
She never believed that she would be free.
She changed her name from Chelsea to Amanda because she didn't want to be noticed. She was the talk of the country for 4 years. 2 years while she was in a coma and 2 years after she came out of coma.
She thought she would die (18 years ago)
(Flash back)
"Say your last prayer Chelsea" Zeus(Taylor) said.
"God please help me."She said as wood(Josef) raised the wood to hit her head as he did to Anastasia.
"Freeze." a ma said as Taylor and Wood dropped their weapons.
"You are under arrest" the cop  said as they handcuffed them
"1 is dead, the other is alive" another  police said as the paramedics rushed her out with a stretcher.
(Present)
Anastasia parts were buried. They couldn't open her casket for people to see.
Amanda knew that she was the one who truly deserved to die. She was the one who abandoned her family. Her son who loved her a lot.
She never wanted to have him. She had wanted to abort him but her mother didn't allow. She also wanted to put him up for adoption but her mother didn't allow it.
She grew to love her son but after 5 years, she felt he was a burden to her. She had watched a movie in which a girl abandoned her son and made it in life. She had wanted to be that girl. She wanted to make it in life. Her initial plan was to make money and go back home to her mother and son but she got blinded. She felt that if she went back to them, she wouldn't be famous or be among the list of the top 10 beautiful actress in America. She felt hurt while her son was begging her to stay but she couldn't say yes. She was blinded by the love of money. Now she had no one. Everyone was against her. Her son , Gareth had another mother. A woman who truly loved him and she was truly alone. She normally saw Gareth on the TV. It was because of that that she knew he had a new name- Paul. Her son had made it in life just as her mother had said. He had made it in life just like how he promised her numerous times.
"Oh my" she said as she saw a plate of rice I'm a plate kept by a man for his cocks and hens.
She waited for him to go inside before she went.

Paul had decided finally. He had decided to free himself from the pain. He had decided to forgive his real mother. She had come to see him 2 years after her numerous surgery but he turned her back. He wanted to be free because even if he was a man of affluence and  a multi billionaire, he was still in pain. 
I would have to let you go. I would have to let go of all you have done so that I can be free just as mummy and Adelaine had said. I would forgive you"he said as he entered his car and drove off.

Janet was glad that her husband had finally decided to do the right thing. She was angry the first time Amanda came to beg. She decided to forgive Amanda(Chelsea) of all what she did to her husband Paul. As a journalist, she had known all what Amanda had been through.
She knew of the way she was tortured by those lunatics. She knew that Amanda was scarred physically, mentally, psychological. She heard from a gossip site that Amanda was still scarred after 18 years. She knew that Amanda had bladder issues due to all what she faced that day. Amanda had to watch her best friend brutally killed. It was so heartwrenching to watch a loved one shot to death when you can do nothing. But Anastasia death was worse. She was beaten to death by wood. So, Janet actually empathised with Amanda. The poor woman needed her son's forgiveness. She had really paid for abandoning him.
God help them, Janet prayed as she laid down to sleep.

Amanda bent down as she made to eat the food kept for the chicken. But the chickens were having none of it. They attacked her furiously pecking her scars as she screamed in pain attracting the owner of the poultry.
"What? you thief. You came here to steal my chicken?" the poultry farmer asked angrily.
"No I swear. I didn't come to steal your chicken. I only came to eat" she begged as tears fell off her eyes.
"I would deal with you" he said as he raised a wood stick to hit her.
Amanda screamed in fear as she saw him raise the stick. The stick wasn't as big as the stick which was used to beat Anastasia but it was still a wood. 
"No! Don't kill m"e she screamed as she closed her eyes expecting to be hit but didn't feel any pain.
"Why do you want to hit her?" Adelaide asked as she held the stick.
"What? Little girl get off my way" he said angrily.
"She won't go anywhere. Why did you want to hit her? Don't you know that you can injure her with that wood? Can't you see how scarred she is?" Adelaine asked angrily.
"Wow, today is so great. First of all a woman tried to steal my chicken and now I'm getting lectured by some twins that are not even up to 12 years old" he said angrily.
"When a grown up acts like a child, he would be treated as such. She wasn't going to steal your chicken. By the way she is sorry" Adelaide said.
"Whatever! Get her out of my farm" he said angrily as he left them.
"Are you hurt madam?" Adelaine asked while Amanda sat down quietly staring at them still shaking from fear.
"She is hurt Adelaine. Can't you see? She is having a panic attack. Let's call our father to come and help us take her to the hospital" Adelaide said as she brought out her phone and called her father.
"He said he is coming" Adelaide said.
"It seems she is hungry" Adelaide said as she observed Amanda holding her stomach and weeping silently.
"Yes I think she was trying to eat the food meant for the hen when he came and scolded her" Adelaine said.
"I have some snacks in my back pack. Let's give it to her" Adelaide said as Adelaine nodded.
"Take eat it" Adelaide said as she gave it to Amanda who collected it and ate it swiftly.
"Thanks a lot. God bless you" Amanda said as she smiled.
"You're welcome Ma" Adelaide replied.
"She is so wounded. Some of her fingers and toes are missing. Look at her face. She is in so much pain" Adelaine whispered to her twin sister.
"Daddy!" Adelaine ran as she sighted her father.
"My baby!"Paul said as he raised her up and kissed her.
"Dad?" Adelaide said as she ran to hug him also.
"Where is the woman who needs help?" Paul asked.
"Here she is" Adelaide pointed to Amanda.
"Gareth?" Amanda said as she stared at him in shock.
"Mother" Paul replied as tears streamed off his eyes.
"What?" Adelaide and Adelaine said in shock as they looked at themselves.
"I'm sorry Gareth. Please forgive me"  Amanda said as tears fell off her eyes.
Paul didn't say anything but went to her and embraced her.
"It's ok mother" he said softly to her.
"Let's go" Paul said as he raised her up while Adelaide and Adelaine opened the car for him to enter
Author's note
So this is it. This is the second to the last chapter.
Amanda changed her name from Chelsea because she obviously didn't want people to compare her looks 18 years ago and her hideous look now.
Zues really did a bad job🙁😢😢😢