I remember my niece, a victim to domestic violence.
Facts of life forced her to live a half life rather than full, quality wise as well as the duration of her stay on earth.
As she was born, she opened her eyes witnessing violence that took place as fierce fights between her mother and father, the father being my brother next to my eldest one.
She was badly frightened when any such episode took place in the family and the fright was clearly visible in her eyes.
Slowly and gradually this fright became the underlined part of her eye expressions for good.
Not only the eye expressions but also her total personality turned to be a scared soul.
So much so that when later in life at age 25 her father arranged for a very rich (the real reason for my brother's selection!) boy to marry her off, she couldn't speak a single word though she badly despised him inside.
Within one month after the marriage, she was back home. The boy was impotent, and the more he went desperate in the bed the more he turned violent both in bed and in life. Another stint of domestic violence in her life!
She got a divorce and started studying law. Within 3 years she had started practicing under a famous lawyer in the town.
Her father again started persuading her to marry. This time the boy was an Indian living in America.
She again couldn't speak a word owing to the kind of personality that the facts of life had turned her to be.
The nearer the date of her next marriage came, the more she started getting nervous within herself. By now she had started hating the very institution of marriage as such, which she didn't want to go again for.
One fateful night as she came back from a family celebration late, she consumed an entire tin of Baygon Spray, an insecticide; and cut her life half.
A half life that she lived!
