Survivor--a True Story Behind my Fiction

I am a survivor. I only recently revealed this story. Talking about it and writing about it has been somewhat cathartic. However, when I think about my experience, I still get this indescribable ill sensation in my stomach, especially when I realize what could've been.

I am a survivor of trauma. About forty-eight to fifty years ago, when I was very young--a child, I was approached by a man at a church my family and I attended at the time. The man, who is deceased now, was from a city about 50 miles away--Bluefield, WV. The man told me his name and, after all these years, I can still remember his name, his face, and his voice. During his interaction with me, he suggested I write letters to him and said to me, "I would marry ya, but ya too young."

Yes, too young--I was too young and innocent to realize I had been targeted (picked out from among my sisters who were also present ) by a sexual predator. There was no physical contact, that I can recall. I don't recall interacting with the man at any time after that day, and I don't remember telling my parents about the incident. It was many years before I could understand and talk about what had happened to me or accept that I had been unknowingly traumatized. And I can't explain why I never spoke about it until recently. At times, I revisit the Why me? But that question will never be answered. It seems to be an unresolved issue that I was unable to confront or address all those years ago. However, I don't call myself a victim. I just know I could've been. But God...

She is a survivor.