SandScript 2023 [Digital Exclusive]

Behind Closed Doors
Raiden Lopez
The domestic married life
You see a happy wife ecstatic raising her son with a doting husband
Do you know what you don’t see?
The fear when the front door closes and the scent of alcohol is heavy on his breath
The urgency to put the little angel to bed so he isn’t conscious of what is happening two feet away
The silent screams buried in a pillow so he does not wake up
The abuse endured and taken, all to keep him safe
The threats that your entire world would be ripped from your arms, never to be seen again
The final action that was too close for comfort but was life altering
You don’t see the struggle every day to just survive
The energy it takes just to breathe let alone raise another human being
The bravery to walk away from imminent death by the hands of the one who said
“Til death do us part”
37