We interrupt the regularly scheduled Microscopic Monday for a far more important broadcast approved by The Captain of The U.S.S. Minnowprize. This is an important message for all people of all genders and races.
Last night ended much like many of our nights here. We had a scotch and soda, some cigarettes, and Craig treated us to a meal of crab and smoked flathead. (We are still formatting the computer because I, Stitchy, am a picture hoarder.)
We wandered upstairs to retire for the evening, so full of yummy food that we didn't even set up the 3D printer to do our nightly print.
A couple hours later, at exactly 3AM in the morning, I heard some horrendous sounds in the normally silent hotel. At first, all I heard was banging on a door very near to ours. And then I heard yelling. And then... I heard a scream. I shook 
And that was when we got a frantic knock on our door and the raspy voice of a woman begging for help. Sammo lept out of bed instantly and threw open the door and told her to "Get the hell inside". As she squeezed in through the door, I could see a very large, angry looking man behind her, moving rather swiftly towards her (and our room).
I've never been so happy to hear the loud slam of a metal door in my life.
When I turned on the lights, that was when the real shock of what we had just heard hit me full blast. Sammo refused to look because he knew it was bad and he would probably have to take after the guy who did it.
I, however, looked right at her as she burst into tears and paced our floor like a shaking puppy. Her eyebrow was split open and there was blood all over her face. And her arms. And her shirt. I could even distinguish bloody handprints much larger than her own on her, as well.
At that moment I felt something inside me just crush amongst the panic and the fear and all the worry that was washing in. She was wringing her hands and telling us that he had hit her. That he had all of her money, her ID, her keys, everything. We wanted to call the police but she said that there is no point, she already has an AVO and they probably won't do anything. She just wanted us to call the hotel emergency number.
Sammo peered out of the back window and saw that he was outside pacing the carpark. She panicked and ran from the room, bolting into hers and jammed coat hangers under the door so he couldn't force the door open (or it would at least slow him down). We called the emergency number and the manager was at our door in minutes and then went across the hall to check on her.
That was when both of us, riddled with anxiety and "fight or flight", put on our boots and stepped out front to have a cigarette. We wanted to smoke to calm us down, but we also wanted eyes on this guy and to guard the front door that doesn't always lock fully while the manager was trying to figure out what to do. He watched one side, I watched the other, and that was when we spotted him walked around the side of the building. We watched him circle the parking lot before disappearing onto the sidewalk and into the night.
The manager went above his purview and called the police (or was able to convince her to let him). I gave a brief statement before they disappeared into the room to speak to her. Hopefully to convince her to never take this kind of shit again.
Once we knew she was in safe hands, we both went back to our room, anxiety vomited for a while, and laid in bed for hours, unable to sleep. Thinking about that poor woman and looking back at times we had seen her before and how it should have been so evident that something was wrong then.
Hindsight is always 20/20, as they say.
Our sleep was fitful, sweaty, and we jumped at every sound. Especially when we heard a bit more of a ruckus while we had just begun to finally drift back off, but it sounded like it was way downstairs.
Turns out, that was the sound of the bastard getting arrested. He was brazen enough to not only return to the hotel but demand to be let back in and begin screaming through the front door at the manager and his girlfriend.
We ran into the staff on hand when we left our room this morning, weary and in search of coffee. They were cleaning the room the couple had occupied and we were informed that it was literally covered in blood and had to be deep cleaned. It looked like a massacre had occurred inside that tiny room.
Right as I finished that sentence she just knocked on our door.
I opened the door and she immediately burst into tears and apologized for putting us in such a bad spot. She still had blood caked to her in places and had just gotten back from the hospital to have her wounds tended to. It looks like she got a couple stitches for the effort.
We reassured her that she didn't put us in a bad spot, but she was in one and needed to leave that situation immediately.
And that is the purpose of this entire post.
There are some very important words that people in situations like this need to hear, and if it is you, I hope you take it to heart:
If someone is hurting you, it isn't because they love you. It is because they love hurting you.
Men can be abused, too, don't take it "like a man".
You are worth more than what you're being given. And yes, someone out there WILL treat you properly.
No, you didn't deserve it. And no, you didn't ask for it.
They will not change. Don't hold on to that hope.
They aren't only damaging your body, they are damaging your spirit.
It isn't love, it's abuse.
Abuse takes many forms, and it doesn't have to be caused by a hand.
Please love yourself enough to leave.
If you need help, please seek it.
Talk to someone, they will understand.
Take care of yourself. <3
Australia
Women's Domestic Violence Helpline (24/7, Free)
1800 007 339
https://www.dcp.wa.gov.au/CrisisAndEmergency/Pages/Women%27s-Domestic-Violence-Helpline.aspx
Men's Domestic Violence Helpline (24/7, Free)
1800 000 599
https://www.dcp.wa.gov.au/CrisisAndEmergency/Pages/Men%27s-Domestic-Violence-Helpline.aspx
America:
The National Domestic Violence Hotline (200+ languages, 24/7, Canada/Mexico/US)
1-800-799-7233 (SAFE)
www.ndvh.org
A list of international domestic violence services can be found here:
hotpeachpages
Micoscopic Monday will be moved to Tuesday (tomorrow) in lieu of this important message that needed to be broadcast immediately. We hope that it helps someone, somewhere, realize that what is happening to them isn't okay. If you suspect abuse of a loved one, please speak to them, they may be too afraid to say something until it gets bad enough.
