Life, Death, Rebirth: Chapter 2

     The man sat slouched on the couch, starring across the room at the massive high definition liquid crystal display television set. Playing on the screen is the third period of a hockey match. As each second ticked off the clock, the man only slouched further in the couch and lost more interest in what was slowly turning into a hopeless affair for his team. Fifteen beers in, it was no longer hockey that was on his mind.
     His fifteenth tipped back and forth on his belly as he pushed it between his hands, the suds swishing silently. The man is slouching so much that with each pass, the television is momentarily blocked from view by the beer bottle. The bottle manages to achieve balance on his belly just seconds before the crowd roars; the opposing team has scored again. The beer bottle falls to the side spilling the remaining contents onto the stained couch. The brute’s belly jiggles as he climbs to his feet, an excruciatingly difficult task fifteen beers in. After such a loss, his temper has reached new heights; there is now, without question, only one thing left on his mind.

      The man’s wife of seven years waits silently in the bedroom down the hallway. Win, lose or tie, she knows what she’s in for. She kneels at the side of the bed, her back facing the door, praying to God to watch over her, to have mercy on her.
     She felt guilty and thoroughly believed that it was her actions that somehow caused her husband’s behaviour. That somehow she had done something severely wrong to cause him to act this way. After each brutal but meticulous beating, she lay on the floor weeping while attempting to find the source of his anger. Over time, she began to clean the entire house daily and greet him every day after work with a loving embrace and hot meal. She made sure that they never ate the same meal twice in a week and continued to add new more exotic meals to her ever expanding repertoire. Despite all of her efforts, with each passing day he grew less responsive and indulged more in televised sports and, consequentially, drunkenly assaulting her.

     Grunts echo down the hallway and a jolt of panic runs down the woman’s spine. She has clenched her eyes, fighting back tears, and asks God to give her the power to be strong, that she will survive this test of faith and promising to herself that the next day she will do better to be even more loving and caring towards her husband.
     The arrhythmic steps grow closer and suddenly halt with a loud thud. The wife spins around and opens the bedroom door just a crack to peer out into the hallway. The man had passed out and fallen face first to the floor.
     The woman wipes away her tears and takes a moment to thank God for his mercy before heading out into the hallway to drag her husband to the bedroom and safely into bed.