Life was not easy after I got married with a man who killed off my dream, but let me tell the story from the start.
Bogota was the city where I was born and raised. I was well-off , because my father was the owner of a cotton field. He had many slaves working there. I had read philosophy and was dreaming of a missionary.
One night, my mother came to my room to have a serious talk with me.
"I don't allow you to become a missionary," she said . In fact, she asked me to marry a stranger.
"But, Mother, it's not the time for me to marry!"
At the end, I could not refuse my mother's order. She was always strict with me. In the morning, when I was with my father overseeing the field, I saw a man in a black coat and white tie riding a horse, approaching us.
"Papa, can I go to inside? I want to take a break for awhile."
"Sure, mi corazón," he answers, continuing to supervise the slave.
The horse-rider approached my father. Soon after, my father invited him inside.
"Teresa, your man is coming," my mom told me. "I want you to welcome him."
I didn't want to meet Mr. Frankenstein, although he looked like a noble and had a good manners. He told me that he owned a tobacco field, and promised that we would get settle down comfortably. I could not believe that a stranger would become my future husband, but I had no choice.
The bells tolled, and the church was filled with beautiful flowers. I stood in a magnificent white wedding dress, while the priest blessed us. Mr. Frankenstein and I exchanged vows and rings. It was the start of my new life. I forced my myself to love my husband with all my heart.
I never received a penny from him, even though he had a lot of money. He demanded me to prepare delicious meal and have it ready as soon as he returned from his tobacco field in the evening. Everyday I served food, cleaned the house, and washed his clothes, but he was never satisfied. I felt like living in a prison. One day, he forced me to work among the other slaves.
I tried to escape, but my husband like a wolf who kept its prey close. One night, when he was sleeping soundly after a binge, I went out from the house. I ran under the moonlight to Uncle Terry's house and told him of my predicaments over a cup of tea. He was shocked and disappointed. The following morning, he took me back to my parent's plantation. My parents were upset, and took me back him.
One day, Mr. Frankenstein came to our house and asked me to return. I was not afraid of him anymore, so I told him that I would like to focus on my old dream.
"Teresa, I promise, I will treat you better ."
"No, I make my own choice now, and it's not you," I sad. With that, I sent him away.
Uncle Terry who's a Catholic priest, invited me to join him in mission trip in Africa. This time, my mother allowed me to go. I was overjoyed. There, I taught at a local school named Star Academy, which had illiterate children.
I decided myself for this school for almost two years. Finally, our mission was up, and my uncle told me to pack. However, I did not want to leave this village. I decided to stay on and teach at Star Academy. It felt good to make another massive choice of my own.
I also raised fun to build a bigger and more modern school building, so that the village children could learn well. I was happy because I could achieve my dream of becoming a missionary, and it helped me to forget my past. I believed that we were born into this world with the right of dreaming, but sometimes we needed it to pass rocky paths first before achieving it.
