Is there laughter or easiness in everyday life within these towns?
Adrian had an affair with a colleague from the campus named Jo, whom he later married after divorcing Army. “I remember picking up the phone, it was Jo I felt a rush of anger and slammed the phone down. I was only 7 or 8. Always being more mature than my age I was as aware as my mother of this affair, which led to their divorce, this was the turning point of mine, when my life went down the path of pain and sorrowfulness.” According to Gladys it also became clear who Adrian chose. From the time Adrian, Army and herself where playing Frisbee and Gladys tripped over, it resulted in her cutting her chin and having to go to the hospital. “Adrian dropped us off at the Hospital and then went off to see Jo”, Gladys said to me with tears running down her cheeks. She said that an uncontrollable shock went through her mind and body like an electrical current flowing through her nervous system, tears dropped from her big brown eyes, her head was thumping like it was being smashed to a wall, heart was pounding hard like it would burst and her hands were shaking uncontrollably.
Adrian left the mother and child with no home, car or money just their clothes. “When I look back at this it seems inexcusable to walk out on a mother who is pregnant and with a child! Who in their right mind could do such a thing? Does this person have no feelings?”
Gladys then had to go to the Philippines to live with her grandparents and a few months later Army gave birth to Gladys’ baby sister Blossom. She was the symbol for Army and Gladys of their present life and future, a new beginning. Adrian was in denial about being the father of blossom and protested endlessly that she was not his child however, during the divorce proceedings in court; it was proven that he was indeed the father. They also gave my mother full custody of Blossom and Gladys. Adrian didn’t want custody nor did he request any visitation rights.
In the Philippines Gladys at the age of 8, whilst her mother stayed behind in England trying desperately to get her life back together and working all the hours she could to get enough money together to afford a house so she could once again bring her girls back had. Meanwhile Gladys and Blossom were to live in poverty, shanty towns. Living in living condition unbearable to imagine, a house made of scrap metal, no food or drink, scavenging for any possessions or food they could find. They had to endure torturous treatment and constant beatings from her grandmother and uncles. They would beat her with thick pieces of wood and belt buckles, anything that would leave a scar both to the mind and body. “Saying goodbye and seeing my mother leave the airport was heart breaking for me, I felt so alone, so afraid. I wondered if I would ever see my mother again. Hearing her voice on the phone brought tears, of both joy and pain. I clung to every word that came from her lips” she continues.
Years passed by and she returns to England with her mother and new father named Andrew whom loved her dearly and is still playing the father role he promised even to this day… Secondary school was a tough start to a new life for Gladys. In her first year she was bullied constantly. No matter where she goes it seems she is tormented. It didn’t take long though before things started to change. She became one of THE most popular girl you could think of and was looked up to by girls in the school. She was a member of two groups, one known as the DOLLS and the other group known as BEB (Brown Eyed Beauties). The DOLLS group consisted of five girls, Naomi the Queen Beauty Doll, Gladys the Princess Beauty Doll, Stephanie the Flirtatious Doll, Lisa the Sweet Doll and Jade the Gentle Doll. The BEB group was made up of Gladys, Tina, Serena and Rebecca. The DOLLS were the fashion icons, the most wanted girls, the over ruling girls who were likened to the cast of the movie ‘’Mean Girls’’ but without the mean side. The BEB was the down to earth group, the ones who let their hair down, enjoyed life and were constantly hyper. Gladys had two different groups with different worlds.
The Dolls: From the left Stephanie, Lisa, Gladys, Naomi and Jade.
The B.E.B's: From the left Tina, Gladys, Serena and Rebecca.
However, she also had two other worlds at home, the religious world full of commitment to the church and almighty God and also the world of the past, of the things she went through leaving her heart scarred, unhealed and full of holes. Yet she still survives and she finds strength in her faith, her friends and her family that surrounds her.
Now she is in college studying law and pulling through life as best she can. “My past was very painful and it still haunts me. But, I know that my song,’ “just around the river bend’’ was a sign that in time my path would change and the pain of everyday life would become less. It was a new beginning and all the terrible things that had happened to me made me a stronger person, helped to develop my personality and give me my inner strength. If you went through what I did or similar I hope you also found the strength that I found. If you didn’t you will soon. The past may bring you to a low ebb as it has me, but what matters most is how you get up each time and strive to move onward and upward with a resounding resilience.
