Left But Not Broken

Jena* is in her early 40s. She got married in her early 20s and had a son and a daughter, both of whom are almost grown up now.

Jena is one formidable woman, smart, organized and tough. She wants everything her way. Her schedule is usually fixed and anything that hinders her goals must be taken care of. She is a local ‘iron lady’ and she exercises her ultimate, unquestionable and unchallenged power over her husband and two children. Her ‘subjects’ have no choice except to do what she wants. The fact that she’s the one earning more money renders her husband speechless especially when she started ranting about how a person should live, frugal, industrious and firm. And these ranting never stop, regardless of who’s within earshot, so her husband always finds himself embarrassed and pitied by any one around.

For Jena, her plans and her decisions are flawless. So, when she forced her husband to work abroad, he endured the difficulties and loneliness just so he could comply with her plans for the entire family. Her children have no choice either. There is only one school for them, the school of her choice.

About 2 years ago, when her husband came home from a finished contract abroad, she got him ready to apply for another contract, regardless whether he still wants to stay and enjoy the time with his family. She got all his papers ready and gave him enough money for medical checkup. He never came back..

His reason, I learned and long expected, was that.. He'd had enough.

Jena was left but not broken. With her two children to raise, her will power is still as strong as ever. How long until her children have enough, I have no idea. But hopefully, they won’t come to that..

*not real name