Jaycee Dugard, 11, when she was kidnapped...

How do you start your life once again after an 18-year horrendous captivity?

This is the question that comes to mind whenever I come across news articles about Jaycee Lee Dugard, that young girl of 11 abducted by a sex offender as she walked to her school bus stop in South Lake Tahoe, Calif. She lived in a cluster of sheds and tents for the past 18 years, held captive by Phillip Garrido, her abductor, along with his wife, Nancy.

Her home for the past 18 years.

Jaycee is now 29, with two daughters both fathered by Phillip. Experts are saying that she might have developed Stockholm Syndrome already, having lived that long with her captor. How does she start a normal life now that for almost two decades, “normal life” for her meant a life with Phillip and Nancy with the kids? It would take a long time, lots of therapy sessions before she can start living what’s supposed to be her life had she not been abducted.

I pity her, her kids, and her real family. I could not begin to imagine the pain that they all went through. The pain that Jaycee and her kids are going through now that the truth is being revealed.

I am praying that things will get better for Jaycee and her daughters. And that the Garrido couple will stay in jail forever!

I love the rain. I want the feeling of it on my face.

I love it when it rains at night. Going to bed becomes sooo tempting! That’s why I put on my earphones and play alternative music when the rain is pouring down hard. If I want to finish anything, I have to do that. Otherwise, it’s bed time already!

Cocooned.

A has been cocooned all her life. Even when she got married, she was pampered, never lifted a finger except when she had to breastfeed her child. She never worked because her family came from old money and her husband was just as rich. She was living a perfect life until she learned an ugly truth… her husband was dealing with illegal activities! When he was arrested, every thing he owned was frozen, to be given back to the people he duped. Naturally, she was devastated. Her parents are getting on their years and their riches were either used to finance their medications and several trips to the hospital or was wasted in a networking scheme.

She was faced with the hard facts of life. She needed work to support her child. She could not depend on anybody else now. So she did. She slowly learned all on her own. And A is now standing tall, having overcome her “incapacity”. She is now a legitimate businesswoman. She owns a pastry shop and has a local pharmacy to her name. I forgot to mention that she’s a licensed pharmacist and a pastry fan! She used the things that she knew by heart and love the most.

She’s come out of the sheltered life she lived and has emerged triumphant.

What do you see yourself when you look in the mirror? Do you see a happy person, satisfied with the way her life is going? Or do you see a person who’s bitter about life and raring to end it?

Personally, I see someone who’s somewhat satisfied with the way her life is at the moment. There’s room for improvement. I can do things to make my life more colorful, happier.

How about you?

I felt the whisper of a kiss on my head before I opened my eyes. A smile was on my lips. I was feeling blissful and content. We were together. That’s all that matters…

And then reality hit me like a blow! He was not with me anymore. He’s gone. To another woman’s arms.

All the good emotions vanished with the man I’ve promised myself to.

Sleep is better. It’s bliss.

Sometimes, people forget that she has sensitive feelings like ordinary women her age. She panics when faced with a crisis. You won’t see it, she’s hiding behind a gruff exterior. But deep inside, the panic is full blown. She always thinks of the finances. But she has a life, too. She does not complain, she knows her responsibilities to her family. Still, there are days when the burden she carries seems to be overwhelming. There are days it threatens to drown her.

She will never wish to be free from her obligations. She just wants to be spared from time to time. And to be treated like a person, not a savings account.