It was her wedding day. Feelings of abysmal hopelessness ran

through her veins. Rachel knew...she knew on this very day...on this day

that was supposed to be the crowning moment of a young girl's life;

Rachel knew that only hardship and unhappiness lay ahead. What

merciless twist of destiny had plunged all her hopes and dreams into

utter despair. It was as if the cursed journey had begun. And she could

do absolutely nothing to stop it.

       Amazingly, her parents, her relatives, and a few guests participated

in this cruel farce with full bravura. How could their expressions feign

such accomodating acceptance. These spectators at her misfortune

knew the real circumstances of her wedding. "It was the right thing to

do!" she had heard. "It was the right thing to do" had been encrypted into

her upbringing, her psyche...into her very genes. Rachel's generous

heart was brimming; not with love, but with duty, conscious, and an

unyielding capacity for self-sacrifice.