Week 6 Storytelling:

Mina was a wonderful wife; Franklin, however was rather undeserving. He was constantly complaining about her and questioning her loyalty and trust, though she had given him no reason to. One bright, sunny day, a beautiful woman arrived on their doorstep. She had long, blonde, curly hair and the greenest eyes Mina had ever seen.

“How can I help you?” Mina asked.

“I’m here to see Franklin,” the beautiful woman replied.

Despite her immediate jealousy, Mina stepped aside and let her in. She went to get Franklin and told him that there was someone here to see him. Franklin walked in to the foyer, immediately recognized the woman, then left with her in a hurry. Mina was devastated, but she refused to let it show, even after Franklin didn’t show up back at home for a week.

When he returned, Mina tried to find out more about what he did and where he went, but she was afraid of prying too hard.

“Did you have a good time?” Mina asked as Franklin was searching through the fridge.

“Sure did, are we out of orange juice?” Franklin replied.

And that was that; not a word more was exchanged about his week away. Over the course of the next couple of weeks, Mina was approached by many men. She turned them all away without a second thought; she loved Franklin and knew that he wouldn’t like it if she gave any of the guys any serious consideration.

Their relationship seemed to be fine; they weren’t fighting, they still went on their weekly dates, everything seemed to be going great, or so Mina thought. There was a knock at the door one day and she answered without a second thought. Standing there in front of her was a beautiful woman with dark brown hair to her mid-back and dark, piercing eyes. Immediately, Mina got a knot in her stomach. She knew immediately what this woman was here for, but she questioned if she should just send her off or play dumb and shut the door. She knew Franklin wouldn’t appreciate that. So instead, she simply decided to let it happen again.

“Hi there, what can I do for you?” Mina asked the woman.

“Hi, I’m here for Franklin,” the woman replied.

Mina stepped aside and ushered the woman in, even if a bit reluctantly.

“I’ll go get him,” Mina said.

She retrieved Franklin and walked with him to the foyer. Again, he recognized her immediately and without another word, he was off. Mina was so upset she could hardly eat or sleep for the next two weeks until he returned. The drill was the same as last time; they exchanged few words over the topic and skirted around it until their relationship was normal again. Until one day, another beautiful woman showed up. This woman had long, vibrant red hair. She ushered her in without a word and grabbed Franklin from their room. Without another word, he was off.

This time though, Mina had had enough. She packed up all of her things and was off within two days of Franklin leaving. She left behind their home and her phone, knowing Franklin would try and contact her. Just like that, she started a new life without Franklin and never once looked back.

Author's Note: I read the Japanese Mythology stories and found Yamato's wife's devotion particularly interesting. She was willing to throw down her life for his despite all of his infidelities, and I wanted to emulate this. However, I didn't think that she deserved to be subjected to it anymore than necessary so I wanted the wife of my story to finally gain the strength to leave her husband. 

Bibliography: The Romance of Old Japan, E.W. and F. Champney, http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/06/myth-folklore-unit-japanese-mythology.html . 

Caption: A Japanese Empress. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Portrait_of_an_empress,_possibly_Xiaoxianchun,_wife_of_Emperor_Qianlong.jpg .