OVERCAST

LIFE

Janice Shen

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Words checked: 1872

Words in Oxford 3000: 93%

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CONTENTS

About the author------------P3 Prologue---------------------P4

Chapter I: Duress-----------P5

Chapter II: Nightmare-----P10

Chapter III: Liar-------------P19

Chapter IV: Anxiety--------P25

Chapter V: Period----------P31

Chapter VI: Memory-------P34

References-----------------P40

Synopsis--------------------P41

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About The Author

Janice Shen was born in

Kaohsiung, Taiwan in 1991. I am a 4th

year student majoring in English at

Wenzao Ursuline College of

Languages.

“Overcast Life” was an idea I got

from the news. Nowadays,

melancholia is a serious and strange

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disease, and causes a lot of problems.

Therefore, I wrote this story which can

represent this kind of things have

already caused a big problem in our

society.

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PROLOGUE

Adeline, a beautiful

woman, always daydreams

about a wonderful and

free-minded life. However, she

married a man who is

stubborn and violent. She

tried to make her life just like

a dream; however, misfortune

seemed to follow wherever

Adeline would go…

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Chapter I

Duress

As always, at four o’clock, the

alarm went off. Preparing

breakfast for the family was the

first thing which I had to do

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everyday. Actually, I was tired of

doing the same thing. However, I

could not do anything. I could not

resist. I could not refuse. I could

not be angry.

WHY?

Donald asked me to buy a

six-pack of beer for him again. It

was the second time today. I

thought he was drunk. He yelled at

me and said some words in a

wrathful tone. Then, when I

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opened the door, I saw an

elaborate card on the ground. I

opened it in confusion. It was an

invitation card for a college

reunion. I was so surprised and

excited to get it. Right then and

there I made a big decision. I was

going to attend this special

reunion. Actually, I am not really

sure why I wanted so much to go.

I just longed to escape from the

fetters of this unhappy marriage

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and life.

Suddenly, Donald ran in and

shouted at me. I quickly hid the

invitation. However, Donald

seemed to discover my reaction,

so he threatened me to hand over

the thing which I hid. At that time,

I was so frightened that I could not

say anything. I tried to persuade

and calm down myself, but how

could I tell this violent man?

Finally, I made an excuse and told

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him I wanted to visit my mom, and

persuaded him to let me do so.

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Chapter II Nightmare

The meaningful day was

coming. I was so nervous but

excited about the hard-won

freedom. I felt my lips twitch, and

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my attention wandered. I tried to

hold the steering wheel and tried

not to think too much. Finally, I

arrived at the restaurant where

the reunion was to be held.

I could not explain what I was

thinking about. I was not in the

mood to do anything else. “Adeline,

you can do it! Try your best and be

confident!” I looked into my rear

view mirror and told myself.

****

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When I opened the door, I felt a

strange atmosphere indeed. There

seemed to be something the

matter with those people - my

college classmates. To my surprise,

they were competing with each

other for beauty. At that time, I

was at a loss. I was fearful of that

situation, and I just wanted to

leave from here.

Suddenly, someone called out to

me. That was my best friend in

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college. I remembered that this

girl, Anna, who was born into poor

and single-parent family Also, she

had to take part-time jobs on

weekends when we were just

college students. Although I did

not want to take any notice of her

continuous yell, I turned my head

and tried to calm myself down.

“Hey, Adeline, where did you go?

Are you going to leave?” Anna

confusedly asked.

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“Umm… I just feel a little bit

nervous.”

“How embarrassing condition

was!” I murmured. The only thing

I could do was to make a random

excuse to smooth over the

awkwardness. However, she still

told me many of her personal

things which I did not have any

interest in.

“You know what? I am

married!” she said.

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“How is your husband?” I asked

indifferently.

“He is a kind and honest guy.

Although he is not a millionaire or

billionaire, he is really a

considerate man. He always does

so many sweet things, such as my

birthday presents and candlelight

dinners on Valentine's Day. I think

I am so fortunate to have met

him” Anna explained with a happy

tone.

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Suddenly, a woman ran

towards us and shouted.

“ADELINE! ANNA!〞

That was Olivia, an outstanding

girl. In college, she did not fail any

of her exams, and she always won

many prizes on behalf of our

school. Furthermore, Olivia

graduated from the English

Department as valedictorian. Now

I could feel that she must be a

very successful woman because of

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her imposing manner.

“Hey, dears, how are you

doing?” Olivia genially asked.

“Fine, I heard that you are

chairperson now, aren't you?”

Anna said.

“Uh huh... I inherited my dad's

business. By the way, our

company will hold a tea party next

week to celebrate our great profit

this year. You are both welcome to

join us!” she added.

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At that moment, I could not

understand why they both could

have a warm family and

well-developed life. Why was my

life so different? What should I do?

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Chapter III

Liar

“Please… Please stop talking

about that!”

****

If they asked me, what should I

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say? Should I say I could not stand

my terrible life?

I struggled to keep back the

tears. I did not want to tell them

my husband was a violent and

irascible person. I knew that they

may laugh at my life, my family,

and me even though they did not

distinctly behave.

“Adeline, how’s your life? I

guess you must have a happy

family and your husband is a

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talented man, right? ” Olivia

asked.

“Yes! Adeline, you must be a

blissful woman just like a princess,

aren’t you?” Anna had interjected

the same question again.

“Sure! My husband works in a

big company, and he is a manager

now. Moreover, on weekends,

although he is so… so…so…busy,

he still finds time to take me to

travel. Do you know the luxury

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hotel, which stands on an artificial

island in Dubai and has a

seven-star rating? We went on a

vacation there last month. Dubai

is really a wonderful place. Oh!

Also, we are going to vacation in

Hawaii next month” I guiltily

answered and wondered why I

was telling such lies.

“Really? Wow… how fortunate

you are! I can’t believe you have

been to Dubai and spent time in

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that beautiful and hotel” Olivia

said with a strange tone.

I thought they might be

questioned whether what I was

saying was the truth or not.

Actually, they were! After I shared

this “fictitious” story of my life,

they all murmured something

which I could not quite catch.

What were they talking about? Did

they say something about me?

Had they already discovered my

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lies?

Suddenly, the glass which I was

holding fell on the floor and broke

to pieces. Everyone turned to me,

and whispered to each other.

When I went to the restroom,

another unfortunate event

happened. I stumbled on the

staircase but nobody came to help

me. At that moment, I was so

embarrassed and depressed.

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Chapter IV Anxiety

It was 10:00. That “ridiculous”

reunion had finally ended and

within my suffering. At Parker

street corner, an old woman

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distributed handbills. When I

passed her, she gave me one and

looked at me with a strange but

warm smile. I looked at the

handbill. It was a white paper with

some words and a simple picture.

Some way all the love that we had can be saved

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I did not really understand

what this handbill was about.

However, after I read that

sentence, I turned and tried to find

that old woman. There was

nobody at that corner, but several

pieces of paper remained on the

ground. It seemed to be telling me

something which I needed to know

and understand.

On my way home, I could not

stop thinking about the terrible

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situation which happened on the

reunion, the old woman as well as

those meaningful words. I could

not keep my mind on driving, and

I started to think about the things

which had happened today.

***

I remembered when I was a

seven-year-old girl I had said that

I wanted to be the happiest

woman in the world.

***

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Why has Olivia become a

successful career woman? Why

didn’t I receive a large inheritance

just like her? Why did Anna have a

sweet family just like in fairy tale

stories? Why did I have to stand

this kind of life? Why was I

married to this awful man? I

wanted everything to exchange. I

wanted all the things which Olivia

and Anna had.

At that time, I could not stop

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thinking about my ill-fated

destiny.

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Chapter V

Period

Perhaps, this was my destiny. I

could not be possessed of great

intelligence, a beautiful

appearance nor the admiration of

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all my friends.

Suddenly, a misfortune

happened. My car hit a traffic

island and stalled. I tried to start

my car again but it did not work. I

tired to move my body with all my

strength. However, I still was

stuck in that small car. My head

hurt, and I was bleeding. I hoped

that someone would come to help

pull me out from my car. I tried to

phone Donald, but nobody

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answered. I used my last strength

to shout to get the attention of

anyone around me. Before I lost

consciousness, I could hear many

people talking about me, but

nobody was helping me. At that

time, I felt so helpless and

disheartened. I hoped someone

could help me, Donald especially.

“Please, please help me!” That

was the last sentence which I cried

with hopelessness.

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Chapter VI

Memory

Today, I came back to my

house, and I saw an old serious

man sitting on the sofa. I knew

that he was my husband, Donald.

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Actually, I felt like slapping him

across his face because of his

treatment. It was what I hope,

wasn’t it? However, I also wanted

to give him a big hug at that

moment. I could feel his sadness

and pain.

Although I do not understand

what he is really thinking about or

how he is feeling, I feel so sorry for

him. I know that he may be

miserable without me because he

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can not do anything by himself. He

always depends on me.

When I saw him sitting alone in

that house where is full of our

memories, I hoped I could talk to

him, kiss him, and even comfort

him. However, I could not do

anything. I was just standing then

looking at him.

When I entered our room, I

opened the drawer of the bedside

table and saw many prescriptions

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inside. I discovered that Donald is

ill. He has gotten a disease which

would make him depressed and

can not control his temper all the

time. I felt so sorrowful. Why

didn’t he tell me? I always thought

that he was a violent and terrible

man and husband before. If I

knew this in advance, maybe we

could have had a happy life

together.

***

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After a few minutes, I saw my

mom, dad and all of my relatives

and friends including Anna and

Olivia. They all cried. They cried

out for me and said something

about my past life. At that time,

tears started trickling down my

cheeks. I have never understood

why there were so many people

around me, and they also seemed

to be accompanied me. Why could

I only see the bad side but not the

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bright side of my life? I am so

regretful that I always thought I

am the most miserable person in

the world. Why did I leave them in

this world? If I paid more attention

and didn’t hang in grief then, I

would not get the car accident. I

should be with them forever,

shouldn’t I?

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References

http://116583654.blog.163.com/album/#m=2&aid=191056147&p

id=5636559536

http://www.flickr.com/photos/miss_bling/page7/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ello

angie/page2/

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Synopsis

Adeline, a beautiful

woman, always daydreams

about a wonderful and

free-minded life. However, she

married a man who is

stubborn and violent. She

tried to make her life just like

a dream; however, misfortune

seemed to follow wherever

Adeline would go…

Written by Janice Shen of E4A

Composition 1

Instructor: Mr. Kenneth M. Smith

Wenzao Ursuline College of Languages

Kaohsiung, Taiwan

June 2010

“Some Way All the Love

That We Had Can Be Saved”