Sweat

    This story is about how a woman who is domestically abused by her husband gets her justice by the hands of her husband in a roundabout way of what comes around goes around.

    Delia is a hardworking woman who is verbally, physically, and mentally tormented by her husband, Sykes. Sykes despises his wife and everyday makes sure that she is aware of his hatred for her. He cares so little for his wife that he parades his mistress lovingly around town for all to see.

The local people of the town have little respect for Sykes and they even walk away when he comes near. This does not bother him, it actually makes his feel more powerful and thinks that he runs the town.

    One day in an attempt to make his wife leave, he catches a rattlesnake to scare his wife away from their home. He places it near the door, hoping that she will not enter and when she expresses her feelings of fear to him he replies by saying that the snake is not leaving and that he has more respect for the snake than her.

    She bravely walks past the snake everyday and one day she even stops to stare and examine the snake, as if her fear is subsiding. Then one day after a fight with Sykes she returns home to do her washing and in her hamper she finds the snake. Sykes had placed it there so that the hungry snake would kill her.

    Delia was able to escape and hours later when she returned to their house she saw her husband drunkenly enter the house and pausing. She knew that he was wishing that she was dead. Sykes had not executed his plan efficiently, because when he entered the house he did not have a match to to light the lamp and while he was fumbling around he woke up the snake and was bitten by it.

    Delia stood and watched as her abusive husband died slowly calling out her name for help while looking at all the things in the house that were hers that he despised. Now he needed her, but it was too late she was not going to help him. This was her revenge.