“Get out of my house, you liar!” Mandy's husband threw an unpacked suitcase down

the flowery pavement.

Bawling and pleading, with fingers shaking in fear and anxiety, she cried, “Please,

Jack, I didn't cheat on you.” Mandy was sprawled on the dark, hard pavement. She

could imagine all the neighbours listening to her husband embarrassing her again in

the neighbourhood. She had no tears left to cry.

Shame and nakedness were all she felt. Grunting hard, she was unaware that she had

an injury on her left knee, bleeding profusely. She called for an Uber to pick her up

and take her to her parents' place.

“Oh my God, Mandy! What happened to you?” Mrs. Stella shrieked loudly,

announcing the arrival of her daughter. The other women in the vicinity stopped what

they were doing to observe what was wrong with Mandy. The first thing they noticed

was her appearance; she looked dishevelled with her left knee unattended to.

Mandy hated her mother for her behaviour—always humiliating her daughter for the

mockery of outsiders. Home was a place where she could hide and cry, but no; her

parents enjoyed using her for entertainment.

“Could you at least attempt to check my knee before calling attention to the street that

I have just arrived home?” she whispered in annoyance.

Mrs. Stella walked back into the house to get an antiseptic. Knowing the kind of

mother she had, Mandy struggled to follow her inside to save herself from the

embarrassment of her mother asking what happened to her. Not wanting to disappoint,

they jammed at the door, with Mrs. Stella opening her mouth to ask, “Where is

your...?”

Mandy cut her off quickly, not about to give her a chance to embarrass her again. She

took the antiseptic from her mother's hands and dashed upstairs into her room. She

heaved a sigh of relief after locking her door.

Staring at her old bedroom, which was in disarray, the first thing that came into sight

was the specks of dust and cobwebs mixed with abandoned car parts. With the

frustration of her husband not believing her and how her parents didn't care for her

emotions, she burst into tears

The noise of her cries reached the next window, where a woman of exceptional beauty

gazed through to check who was crying so loudly. Coming closer to the window, she

stared at Mandy in her unkempt garment and dishevelled hair.

“Hey, are you okay?”

Mandy stopped crying immediately and looked up to see a beautiful woman staring at

her.

“You look familiar; I think I have seen this face before.”

Mandy felt the same. She kept staring until it clicked. “You are Vanessa!” she

screamed. Mandy was absolutely shocked. She couldn't help but take another look.

“You are so beautiful.”

Mandy stared with admiration. They used to be best friends until they broke apart, all

thanks to Mandy’s parents' religious stance. Mandy's mother had always believed that

a child from a non-religious home would negatively influence her daughter.

“Mandy, it's you! Oh my goodness, you live here?”

Mandy stood up to get closer to her on the balcony. “Yes, this is my parents' house.”

She looked down, feeling embarrassed about facing her. Her parents had said some

nasty things to Vanessa to break their friendship in high school.

Vanessa folded her arms seriously. “Why were you crying?”

“I'm tired of my parents. My husband locked me out of our home again.”

Vanessa nodded in agreement until she heard the last part of Mandy's message; she

stared at her in shock, her mouth wide open.

“What do you mean you got locked outside?”

She clenched her fists. “Did you marry Jack?”

Words failed to come out of Mandy's mouth, so she nodded, tears streaming down her

face.

Mandy braced herself for judgment and the statement, “I told you so.” She lowered

her head in shame until she inhaled the smell of jasmine, and the next thing she knew,

she was being hugged tightly—a hug she had been longing for from her parents ever

since the pain her husband had caused her.

Like a man in need of water in the desert, she held Vanessa tightly. This hug felt like

home to her. They stood together until Mandy heard her mother’s voice calling for her

to help out with dinner. “I have to go,” Mandy said, feeling awkward for a few

seconds. Like a little girl, she ran away. For the first time in a while, she felt

unburdened.

Five years later, Mandy is divorced and thriving, but her parents hated her for not

being willing to accept her husband despite the abuse she encountered in the marriage.

As people who prided themselves on exhibiting that their daughter was in an ideal

marriage to a pastor, it came as a huge shock when Mandy returned home with

divorce papers in her hands. They did everything to ensure she returned to that

marriage, but Mandy was as stubborn as a mule.

An older man sat across from the fake flowery plant in the room; he was Vanessa's

father. His face was scrunched up with annoyance.

“I will give you one last chance: get married again to Jack. No daughter of mine is

allowed to be a divorcee.”

Mandy, not taking her father seriously, ignored his words. He had said this so many

times before. Staring at her nonchalant behaviour, his anger reached new heights. He

pulled the remote from her hands and threw it hard on the floor. “I am talking to you!”

Gritting his teeth in anger, he said, “Since you are not willing to comply, then you are

disowned as of today.”

For the first time, Mandy felt threatened and scared. She stared at her father in fear;

her mind went blank. Seeing the shock on his daughter's face made him feel good.

“Leave my house; you are a disgrace!”

He stormed out of the sitting room in anger. Mandy leaned back against the sofa in

exhaustion; there was no strength left in her body. Suddenly, she stood up

aggressively. “No! You cannot disown me; I refuse to be disowned.”

“How could you disown me over a man who doesn't have my best interests at heart?

You are aware that he is cheating and abusing me, and you want me to go back to that

hell you call a marriage?”

“Or is it because you are also cheating on Mom?” she bit back.

Her father came downstairs and hit her left cheek so hard that she found herself on the

floor. When it dawned on her the reality of what her father had just done, she lay there

with blood spilling from her broken lips.

“Fine, I will leave. I have also made the decision to disown you.”

She stood up to get her things. “What did you say?” her father asked. “Where did you

get the audacity to spill that rubbish from your mouth?”

“You, of course! You gave me the audacity!” she screamed at the top of her voice.

Wanting to hit her again, Mandy's father heard a knock at the front door. His attention

was pulled away from his daughter. He went to open the door and came face-to-face

with a very beautiful woman.

He gaped at her lecherously. “Who are you here for?” His voice sounded hoarse. He

was certain that it was not him because he had never come across such a beautiful

woman in a while.

“Good day! Does Mandy still live here?”

Immediately hearing the name come out of the woman's mouth, the smile was wiped

off his face.

“Oh, then you must be at the wrong house; there is no one named Mandy here.”

Mandy came downstairs with her luggage, hearing her father say there was no Mandy

in the house. She rushed to see who was at the door, and there it was—Vanessa. She

had lost contact with her after that night. Just when she was beginning to think they

might never get the chance to see each other again, Vanessa appeared at her doorstep

like an angel.

“Vanessa!” she screamed in joy, pushing her father out of the way to hug her tightly.

“I missed you! You are my angel.”

Trying to calm Mandy, who was agitated, Vanessa could hardly breathe. “Can you

release me for a second?”

“Oh, I'm so sorry!” Mandy said, tucking a stray hair behind her ear. Like a child, she

felt shy. All of a sudden, Vanessa noticed the mark of a slap on Mandy's face.

“Who did this?” she asked, already knowing the answer as she stared at the man who

was itching to slap Mandy again. Vanessa positioned herself between them. Mandy

felt safe; no one had defended her from her parents the way Vanessa always had.

Vanessa grabbed the luggage still close to the door and pulled Mandy from the house.

They both held each other in comfort.

“Why are you here?” Mandy asked. “How did you know I was in trouble again? You

always see me at my worst and most embarrassing moments. Why do I feel like you

are a superwoman?”

Vanessa gazed at Mandy with intense emotion. If only she had come earlier.

“I lost contact with you because I was robbed in another country. To get started again,

I decided to sell my parents' house and happened to hear the argument between you

and your father.”

“How do you feel?”

“Oh my God, you got robbed! Where?” Mandy dropped her luggage to check

Vanessa’s body for any injuries. “Are you okay now?”

Mandy's face was filled with tears; she believed she would never see Vanessa again

because her mother had hidden her phone to take control of her. “I am so happy you

are here.”

“Let's leave this place.”

They both arrived at an upscale hotel in the city. The first thought that came to

Mandy’s mind was that Vanessa was wealthy. She had checked them both into a hotel

that Mandy could never have afforded.

As they walked into their suite, Vanessa asked, “Tell me, how have you been with

your parents and your husband?”

“I am divorced, Vanessa.” Shame enveloped Mandy this time. There was no way

Vanessa would accept her decision, just as her parents and those around her did. They

all felt she was making a mistake by divorcing her husband.

“Very good! I wonder where you got the courage from, but I am proud of your

decision.”

Mandy hugged Vanessa again, just like the first night she hugged her when she was

chased out of her ex-husband's house. She whispered, “Thanks for not judging me.”

Joy is a creative writer, who creates engaging narratives and thought-provoking fiction. She has contributed to literary magazines and blogs, sharing her perspective on various topics.

Author's Notes: I wrote Mandy's story to illustrate the theme of community. At first glance, one would think a family is supposed to be the backbone to provide that community for children they claim to love, but instead, Mandy finds community in a friend her parent tried to destroy their friendship. Her family, a core community unit, failed to provide that support and even went far to inflict harm. The reappearance and unwavering support of Vanessa demonstrate the power of friendship in providing that community to uplift and empower friends around us.