A True Story (Part 7 )
After a year, they had a boy. One day, Zhou looked anxious and started shouting at Lan for some trifles. Lan tried to explain it, Zhou didn’t listen to her, even pushed her down on the ground and began to kick her. Lan cried and ran out of her house to the next door where an Zhou’s elderly neighbour lived there. That day she finally woke up from her dream as she heard a secret about Zhou from that old lady, which made her feel shocked and horrified: Zhou was a schizophrenia patient! When he was in a normal mental state, acted normally. Sometimes he could not identify his behavior, acted like another person. And he also had lied about his real age. He was more than thirty years old, and nine years older than her.
“Most of wives suffered a lot from beating and scolding by their husbands in the old days. When my husband was alive, I has been beaten by him all the time for no reason. This is our destiney.” The old lady continued :“After all, it’s not his fault. He is a patient and a poor guy that has gone through a lot since his parents died. No matter how much you think about it, you are where you are. Try to think about your lovely child……”The kind lady sent her back that evening. Zhou held a bowl of dumplings in his hands, and kneeling before her to ask for forgiveness. Lan felt extremely flattered and touched.
Since then, Zhou’s temper continued very uncertain. Lan endured everything till one day when her child was seven years old. She couldn’t bear any more, she made a decision that left her home forever. As she went out of the gate, her son was playing with some boys there. He saw his mom, running and jumping happily towards her,“Mom, where are you going? Are you going to buy some meat for me? Because I want to eat it.”Lan couldn’t help her tears as she thought that how could she leave this lovely boy, and what if he would meet a bad stepmother? She couldn’t think further and then changed her mind immediately that she would stay no matter how hard the life would be. Decades later, they are both getting older and older. Now Lan is still there taking care of Zhou as he is much older than her and also has emphysema. Is that really her destiny? Is that her sisters or all the women’s destiny in that era? Who knows?
（To be continued）
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Corrections · 4
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I am sorry to hear what you went through. And yes, that is a better way to divorce someone when need it to avoid children experiencing something so bad. My Aunt Lan could have done like that. However, divorce was something to be ashamed of by most of people at that time. And also it was difficult for Lan to marry another guy with a child. Meanwhile, Chinese people were not so open-minded in the old days. They felt ashamed if they married someone who divorced. In addtion, Lan was not as brave as your mom. I admire your mom for her bravery.
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I do not understand something. Maybe it is region mentalitet or region rules. We have many divorce of couples in my country(Ukraine, post USSR). It is not best resolve the problem. But it still solution. I grew up with my mother after divorce my parents like in this story.My father beat my mother. My father was not schizophrenia patient but he drunk much. I was six when they divorced but I still remember how they fought (if it could be called "fight" - mother weight 55 kg or 23lb and father 105 kg or 57lb ). I don't think that it could be better solution if I and my sister grow up with looking at this. What could I bring in my new family with experience like this?
But maybe I am wrong. But my mother breath free after divorce.
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Absolutely! But surely that only happened on some of women. Not all.
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Your aunts really had sorrowful fates!!! I know many of these women myself. They don't lead an easy life unfortunately.
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