Sample Narrative Exemplar for My Name

Sample Narrative Exemplar for “My Name”

I wish someone had told me to be prepared. Given me some kind of warning to be on the look-out, or at least be ready to fight my way out of trouble before the opportunity slipped away. I mean, it’s not like I should not have expected this since Javier consistently badgered me over and over again about marrying him. But I would never have guessed that he would resort to kidnapping!

Marriage. I knew that one day I probably would want to settle down with the right man who would allow me to be his partner in a happily ever after relationship, but there was absolutely no way that I was ready to be anyone’s wife at such a young age! Yes, I know that girls all over our village were marrying at a young age. Some even married as young as 13! A girl at that age is still dreaming of the life she wants to have, not preparing to be a wife and most likely a mother to the children who would surely come, whether she was ready for them or not.

Marguerita, my very dearest friend, thought she had time to live out some of her dreams, but her parents and Manuel had different plans. Marguerita and Manuel had always been pledged to each other since they were young toddlers in our village and both sets of parents had decided early on to join their families for the economic benefits it could bring. “Your marriage to Manuel will help both our families to thrive,” Marguerita’s father had said on numerous occasions. “I know you have dreams of your own that you want to accomplish, but your marriage to Manuel was predestined and besides, you may still live your dreams as a wife and mother,” Marguerita’s mother had reminded her on her wedding day. But I knew better because Marguerita had confided her deepest secrets to me as we grew up together. She wanted to eventually travel outside of our village and see other places in the world that we both had learned about while secretly listening to stories from villagers who had traveled. Although she loved Manuel with all her heart, Marguerita felt pressured and trapped at the age of 16to become Manuel’s reluctant bride because in her heart she knew that she would be stuck forever in our village and she would never achieve her dream.

I swore on Marguerita’s wedding day, as I watched my best friend hide the pain that only I could see, that this would not be my fate as well. Even though Javier had already asked me to marry him, and I had refused to budge on my answer of “NO”, I wondered ifthat would be enough to dissuade him. Would he just accept the fact that I was not prepared to be his wife and perhaps move on with his life and find some other willing girl who would not put up a fight? Unfortunately, he would not take,“NO,” for an answer.

“Javier, let me out of this bag right now!” I screamed as my body absorbed the bumps from being drug across the unforgiving ground.

“Be quiet, Marguerita, I have told you before that you could have avoided this if you had just swallowed your stubborn pride,” Javier yelled.

I realized that antagonizing Javier was not going work, nor would my continued struggles using the strength of my body, which was always large for a girl. In fact, the folks in my village had referred to me as a “horse of a woman”, which was considered a compliment because they recognized my strength. But that physical strength was failing me now because no matter how hard I fought, I could not escape from that awful sack Javier had me in. As he continued to drag me through the village to what would become our home, or my prison as I would later refer to it, I promised myself that I would never let him break my spirit. That I would keep some small part of my true self separate and protected from this life I did not choose.

Once we arrived at the small house, I stared daggers at Javier as he released me from the sack. “I will never forgive you for this, Javier. You may have won this battle to make me your wife, but I will always be my own Esperanza. And you will never take that away from me!”