THE PERFECT HUSBAND

In Rivercity, twelve-year-old Adrian hid underneath the table, trembling as his mother screamed with each blow she received. Adrian covered his ears, counting, but the sound of her crying made him cry, too.

Meanwhile, Helena looked up at , tears streaming down her face as she lay on the floor. She spat out a tooth along with a mouthful of blood.

“David, please… I'm beggingyou. I am sorry.”

David kicked her stomach, then staggered back breathlessly, struggling to keep his balance.

“You’re starting to disrespect me, Helena! You think you can cheat on me with little boys, and I wouldn’t find out? Huh? You think I wouldn’t know?”

Helena began crawling toward the kitchen. Every part of her body ached, but she had to get out. He was drunk, as usual, but she had never seen him this angry.

She slowly got up, ignoring the blood rolling down her inner thigh to the floor, and reached for the pot on the stove filled with water she had heated for his bath.

David followed her into the kitchen, now holding his leather belt. Helena turned, gripping the pot tightly, and splashed the boiling water onto him.

David dropped the belt, screaming as the water peeled the skin from one side of his face down to his neck and chest.

Helena limped past him, grunting in pain. Adrian crawled out from underneath the dining table and looked at his mother, tears streaming down his face.

“Mommy…”

She walked to the door, and Adrian followed while his father continued screaming uncontrollably. Outside, Helena glanced at the darkness, then down at the blood on her legs. She looked back at Adrian.

“I am going. You are old enough to understand. I can no longer stay. Your father will kill me. I had a baby inside me, and now that baby is dead. He killed it because he is a monster. I can not take you with me. I have nothing to give you.”

Adrian ’s lower lip quivered as he cried, looking at her.

“Mommy, I want to come with you.”

“I can not take you. He will come after you and hurt me again. I'm leaving. Be a good boy, and he won’t hurt you, too.”

Helena began walking into the darkness. Reba ran after her, barefoot and sobbing.

“Mama!”

Helena turned limping and pushed him back hard. He fell onto the ground.

“Stay! Do you want me to die?! Huh, Adr6? Is that it? You want me to die? You are just like your father! Stay with him.”

Adrian got up, sobbing. “I am coming with you!”

“You are not going anywhere!”

Adrian reached for the hem of her dress and held it tightly. Angrily, Helena smacked him across the face. Reba held tightly to her dress crying.

“Let go of me!”

“I am coming with you, Mama.”

Helena looked at him and broke down crying. She hugged her son tightly and then cupped his face.

“Okay… hurry inside the house. Get my black bag from underneath the bed. Put our clothes inside and bring it out. I will wait here. Run, be fast. We have to go. Will you do that?”

Adrian nodded and sprinted into the house. His little heart pounded as he passed the kitchen where his father was lying on the floor, grunting in pain. He ran straight to his mother’s bedroom and pulled out the black bag from under the bed. His heart raced even more as his mother’s words echoed in his head.

He opened the old chest of drawers they had gotten from his grandmother and grabbed handfuls of his mother’s perfectly folded clothes, throwing them into the bag. He grabbed more, then took a few pairs of her shoes—only her favorites.

Adrian pulled out the last drawer with his clothes and took what he could. He stuffed them into the bag before closing it. There was still ample space inside, but he didn’t want to delay his mother.

He dragged the bag with all his little strength. His father walked out of the kitchen, hissing in pain. His eyes fell on Adrian, struggling with the bag.

“Where are you going?”

Adrian ’s heart skipped. He quickly let go of the heavy bag and bolted out so fast that his father couldn’t stop him.

He ran into the darkness outside, but his mother was gone.

“Mama! Mama!”

He looked around, then ran out the gate. “Mama! Mama!”

David walked out of the house. “Adrian!”

Adrian ran down the long ,empty road, panting. “Mama! Mama!”

His voice shook. He looked around, but all he could see was darkness.

“Mama!”

He turned, crying, then ran in the opposite direction, desperately searching for her. “Mama!”

Adrian jumped, stepping on a broken piece of glass. He pulled it out and kept running despite his bleeding foot.

All their neighbors had their doors shut, as usual. Adrian had never understood why no one ever helped them. No matter how much his mother cried, no one ever came to their rescue.

With his mind focused only on finding his mother, he ran faster, screaming.

“Mama!”

His breath hitched a while later, and he slowed down, unable to breathe. The air around him grew thick. He bent over, and slowly, his body weakened. Adrian knelt down, then collapsed onto the cold ground as his heart pounded wildly. He closed his eyes, and everything around him faded.

The following morning, Helena's mother stared at her daughter, who stood on the veranda covered in blood. Her face was swollen, her eyes nearly shut.

“Helena! How did you get here?”

Helena swallowed. “I walked… I ran away. He was going to kill me, Mother.”

Her mother looked around, then stepped outside and closed the door behind her.

“You can not come back here! What will people say to your father and I? That I have a failure of a daughter? Where is Adrian?”

“Mother I had to leave… He was going to kill me.”

“No, Helena. When they said marriage is hard, this is what they meant. You are not dead, are you? And what did you do to provoke such?”

“I didn’t do anything. He got angry because I sold bread to a man. He accused me of cheating and started beating me. He beats me every day. I can't go back.”

“You are a married woman, Helena. You can’t come to my house. You need to go back to your husband and son. Perhaps stop selling bread to men. Are there no female customers you can sell to? You provoke him and then think you can come running here. No, Helena. Go back! Marriage is not easy. As a woman, you need to fight for your marriage. Go home and pray. Your younger sister is at her marital home. Who are you to come back?”

“Mother —”

Her mother turned away, walked back inside, and slammed the door in Helena ’s face.