A Terrifying Incident

I got knocked out last night at 10pm. Usually its the husband forcing me to go to bed at that time, but for some reason I was EXHAUSTED. It must be all the effort I have spent lately being a Fashion Buyer, my new job (for the business Ange & I are starting). I spent literally the whole day scouring the streets sourcing products and also buying lace & ribbon for my invitations.... UGH.

Ever tried navigating the massive fabric markets in Seoul without a compass, Korean dictionary, or any patience? I win that challenge!

Anyway, I digress.

I was in my dreamy happy place when at 12:30am I hear these blood-curdling screams coming from outside. And I mean the "I just stared Freddy in the face"-type screams. Not just one "Arghhhhhhhhhh!!!!!" but CONTINUOUSLY like 10 or 20 times, without as much as a one second break in between each scream.

Naturally, I was horrified. At first I thought someone was getting raped downstairs, but then as I listened it sounded more like the cries of a woman scorned and it seemed.... to be coming from somewhere in our building. I realised then that it was a domestic (this used to happen to our neighbours in Taiwan as well - I could hear the husband bashing the wife at night sometimes) and was anyway I was sad but decided to go back to sleep.

NO LUCK! The screams started again, interspersed with occasional moaning, banging and incontrollable sobbing. And it was LOUD, I mean deafening.

Mortifying. I almost started crying myself.

The husband was sleeping peacefully next to me completely oblivious to any of it going on, and I thought to myself - do men just not pick it up? Have they tuned themselves to just block out all the pain and misery we women go through, just so they can go to sleep? Did this woman's husband have any idea what she was going through, or did he just think she was being a freak...?

I couldn't take it anymore. I tapped my peaceful Frog and made him listen to what was going on. He frowned, like he was genuinely concerned for the woman, pulled me towards him and held me really tight, and went straight back to sleep.

AGONY! How could I possibly sleep when something like this was going on right next to me? The woman was going to kill herself, I swear it. I could hear it in her voice. I huddle against the Frog clutching my toy piggy (its had the flu lately) really hard, praying for it to stop. Then I hear sirens. Thank God, someone called the cops! She'll be saved, at least for tonight. The screams go on for another minute or so, and then they stop. Law enforcement prevails, I guess.

1:10am. The whole thing went on for 40minutes. And I couldn't sleep for another hour.

It's so sad. Why does this sort of thing happen? I mean, I can empathise because I was in an abusive relationship myself. I dont think a woman is crazy if she's crying and screaming like that - I understand her. I just feel sad. Why cant people just get along? Work out a good fighting style and stick to it...? My husband and I have a great fighting style. We fight, and then when it gets to a certain point, he backs down and apologises and tells me he loves me. Or he walks out of the room and I keep doing what I'm doing until he comes back and says that he's sorry and he loves me. The whole thing is over in 5mins.

Are we all so preoccupied with ourselves & our own stubborness that we cant even work it out with our spouses...?

This comes at a time when one of my friends - the first of my friends - is getting a divorce. I really hope she can think about it more before really going ahead with it.

Marriage is sacred. A deal is a deal. Stick with it.