A woman opened a handbag she bought from the flea market and saw a piece of paper inside it. “What is this?” she said and pulled it out. Little did she know that the message written on it would lead her to something unexpected.
“Look, Nick. This bag is as good as new!” Jane pointed towards a cart full of bags in the flea market.
Jane and Nick were visiting the flea market a week before their second wedding anniversary. During their last visit, they bought designer coats at a fraction of their original prices, and now, Jane had her eyes on a vintage handbag.
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“Yeah, it looks good. But you already have so many handbags in your closet,” Nick said.
“I don’t have anything like this. Just look at the quality of this one!” Jane slid her hand over the handbag.
Nick looked at his wife and shook his head. “We aren’t buying this, Jane,” he said.
Standing beside the cart of bags, Jane and Nick began to quarrel. The tall, muscular cart owner stared at Nick while his wife stood behind him.
A few moments later, Jane began tearing up. “Alright, alright! I’m sorry. I’ll buy you the bag. Please stop crying!” Nick pleaded.
“How much is this for?” Nick asked the shopkeeper.
The shopkeeper’s wife looked at Nick, but she didn’t say anything. Once the shopkeeper revealed the price, Nick slid his wallet out of his pocket and handed him the cash.
Her smile suddenly faded when she saw a piece of paper inside the bag.
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However, while standing near the cart, Nick sensed something unusual. He felt the shopkeeper’s wife wanted to say something, but she stood still and stared at him.
“Can I help you with something?” Nick asked the fragile woman.
“She can’t speak,” the shopkeeper replied sternly. “She is mute.”
“Oh, okay,” Nick smiled at the man.
Before leaving the cart, Nick noticed the shopkeeper’s wife move her lips to say something. However, Nick left the cart because Jane said she wanted to reach home as soon as possible.
After reaching home, Jane freshened up and sat on the bed to open her new possession. “This is so beautiful!” she said while unzipping the main pocket.
Her smile suddenly faded when she saw a piece of paper inside the bag. What’s this? she wondered while pulling it out. She unfolded the paper and read what was written on it.
“Help me! ASAP!” Jane read.
“Hey, Nick! See what I found here!” she called her husband from the other room.
“What is it, honey?” Nick asked worriedly.
Then, Jane handed the note to him and told him she found it inside the bag. Nick’s eyebrows furrowed, and his eyes widened after reading the text because he thought he knew who must have written it.
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“It’s the woman… she wanted to say something,” Nick told Jane.
“Which woman?” Jane asked.
“The shopkeeper’s wife,” Nick said. “Didn’t you notice she moved her lips to say something before we left?”
“But the man said she couldn’t speak, Nick,” Jane shrugged. “You’re overthinking.”
“No, Jane,” Nick shook his head. “I know this message is from her. She needs our help.”
Nick picked up the handbag and put the note inside it. “I’m going back to the flea market to help the woman. I’m sure she’s in trouble and needs us, Jane,” he said.
“Okay, honey,” Jane hugged her husband. “Be safe!”
Nick drove back to the flea market and searched for the shopkeeper. Unfortunately, the man and his wife weren’t there anymore. When he asked the other shopkeepers about the couple, he learned they had left for home.
Should I tell them about the note? Nick wondered. Instead of revealing what he found inside the handbag, Nick asked the other shopkeepers about the couple.
“Did you ever see them fight in the market?” Nick asked.
All the shopkeepers shook their heads, but Nick felt they were hiding something from him. He thought they were afraid of telling the truth.
“Can you give me their address? I found something precious inside this bag and want to return it to them,” Nick lied.
Out of all the salesmen, only one person came forward and told Nick where the man and his wife lived. “His name is Brad,” the shopkeeper told Nick.
“Thank you!” Nick smiled at the shopkeeper and drove to Brad’s home.
It was about to get dark when Nick left the flea market, and he had to drive for half an hour to reach Brad’s house. The shopkeeper and his wife lived in a trailer parked between bushes on the outskirts of town.
“Hey! Open the door!” Nick shouted.
Upon reaching the address, Nick parked his car near the trailer and switched off the headlights. He saw two moving silhouettes through the blinds covering the trailer’s window. “It seems like they are fighting,” he said.
When Nick stepped out of his car, he could hear the man shout at his wife. “She certainly needs my help,” Nick said and knocked on the trailer’s door.
Suddenly, Brad went quiet and walked towards the door to see who was there. Having visitors was unusual since he lived far away from the city. “Who is it?” Brad grumbled and opened the blinds to see outside the window.
“What are you doing here?” Brad’s eyebrows came together, and his eyes widened. He was angry to see Nick standing at his doorstep. “Go away!”
Before Nick could respond, Brad lowered the blinds and switched off all lights inside the trailer so Nick wouldn’t see anything.
“Hey! Open the door!” Nick shouted and knocked on the door, but Brad didn’t respond.
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What should I do now? Nick wondered. He was sure Brad’s wife had put the note in the handbag, but he couldn’t help her. He didn’t want to leave without talking to the lady.
“Miss, I’m here for you,” Nick shouted.
“Turn on your phone’s flashlight if you’re in trouble. I will help you!”
Nick wasn’t sure if this trick would work, but he stood outside the trailer in the dark and waited for the woman to respond. He stayed outside for about fifteen minutes, but neither Brad nor his wife did anything. There was pin-drop silence inside the trailer.
Is everything okay? Why isn’t Brad saying or doing anything? Nick wondered. He was already tired but didn’t want to leave without seeing the woman.
He stood outside the trailer for another ten minutes, but no one responded. Am I overthinking? What if that note was from somebody else? Nick wondered. After waiting a few more minutes, Nick turned around to leave when he saw a bright light.
“Yes!” Nick exclaimed and rushed towards the trailer’s door. Before he could knock, he heard Brad scream at his wife and felt something fall on the ground. “Open the door, Brad! Open the door right now!” Nick yelled.
When Brad didn’t respond and continued shouting at his wife, Nick kicked the door and pushed it hard. Ultimately, he broke inside. Brad stared at him and screamed, “How dare you enter my house without my permission! Get out!”
Nick saw Brad’s wife standing behind him and realized what was happening. Brad’s wife was a victim of domestic violence, and she needed someone to help her.
“Why are you looking at my wife? What do you want?” Brad grumbled and took a few steps toward Nick.
“I just came here because…”
“Because you wanted to look at my wife? How do you know her?”
“It’s nothing like that, Brad,” Nick said. “Don’t get me wrong.”
Then, Brad turned toward his wife and stared at her. “Do you know him?”
“I’ll run away before they come here,” he said before storming out the door.
Scared, she shook her head, fearing her husband would lose his temper again. Then, Brad turned towards Nick and pointed towards the door.
“GET OUT!” Brad shouted.
“I’m not leaving until you let your wife leave,” Nick replied sternly. He folded his arms on his chest to show Brad he wasn’t afraid of him.
“Oh, really?” Brad let out an evil laugh. “You want me to let my wife go with you, huh?”
“She doesn’t want to live with you!” Nick shouted.
“So now you’re going to tell me what my wife wants?” Brad gave Nick an angry look and walked towards him.
Just when Brad was about to attack Nick, he heard sirens of police cars approaching his trailer. “Did you call the cops?” Brad growled. “You will pay for this!”
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Brad went inside his room and grabbed a bag. “I’ll run away before they come here,” he said before storming out the door.
Two police cars arrived before Brad could leave and immediately caught him. After taking him inside the police van, the police officers thanked Nick for calling them.
“I found this note inside the handbag my wife bought from Brad’s cart,” Nick told them.
A few police officers went inside the trailer and assured Brad’s wife she was safe. “Please come with us to the police station. You need to file a complaint against your husband,” they told her.
Nick accompanied the woman to the police station, where she filed a complaint against Brad. Over there, Nick learned that her name was Anna.
Once the complaint was filed, Anna left the police station and planned to go home. “Hey, Anna! Why don’t you come to my place? I want you to meet my wife, Jane,” Nick said.
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Nick brought Anna home and called his wife. “Jane! See who’s here to meet you!” he said and asked Anna to sit in the living room.
Once Jane arrived, he introduced her to Anna. “This is Anna. Remember we met her earlier this morning at the flea market? She left that note for us,” Nick explained.
Jane hugged Anna and felt sad when the mute woman cried hysterically with her head on Jane’s shoulder. “Hey, hey. It’s okay, Anna,” Jane rubbed her back, trying to calm her down.
When she was young, she married a rich man who loved and cared for her.
“We’re here for you, Anna,” Nick said. “That man won’t hurt you again. The police will teach him a lesson.”
When Anna stopped crying, she moved her lips to say something but couldn’t speak. “Should I bring you a pen and a piece of paper?” Nick asked.
When Anna nodded, he quickly fetched a pen and gave it to her with a piece of paper. Then, Anna wrote her story down for Jane and Nick.
She told them she wasn’t mute by birth. When she was young, she married a rich man who loved and cared for her. Unfortunately, he died five years later.
Then, Anna met Brad and fell in love with him. At first, he seemed like a good man. She thought she would live happily with him, but the truth about his personality unfolded before her a few weeks after they tied the knot.
“He spent all my money in a casino and forced me to sell all my branded clothes, shoes, and bags,” Jane read. “He often lost his temper and had a drinking problem. I always felt scared living with him.”
One day, Brad lost all his money at the casino and came home angry. When he fought with Anna, she became too stressed and lost her speaking ability.
“Since that day, I haven’t spoken a word,” Jane read. “Brad always told people that I was dumb by birth. He made my life miserable.”
After learning about Anna’s heartbreaking story, Nick and Jane decided to help her. They paid for her treatment and allowed her to live with them until she could find a job.
Meanwhile, Nick apologized to Jane for yelling at her and promised her he would never raise his voice again. “I love you, Jane,” he held her hand.
“I’m sorry for quarreling with you.”
A few weeks later, Anna landed a job and found a safe place to stay. She moved out of Jane and Nick’s house but promised to keep in touch with them.
Six months later, Anna and Jane set up a support group for women who faced domestic violence. They raised funds for such women and helped them live in a safe space, away from the men who made their lives miserable.
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What can we learn from this story?
- Raise your voice against domestic violence. Keeping quiet about domestic violence is equivalent to supporting the oppressor. People should speak against it like Nick and Jane.
- Always help others. Nick and Jane could have ignored the message on the paper inside the handbag, but they didn’t. They located Brad and rescued his wife.
This piece is inspired by stories from the everyday lives of our readers and written by a professional writer. Any resemblance to actual names or locations is purely coincidental. All images are for illustration purposes only.
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