“I move most of the stuff to the basement from time to time. And I just leave others here for easy access. No one needs the room anyway. “The chair?” he reminded her. “Oh yes.” She stepped in. He followed. Despite housing so many ancient things, the room looked fairly modern. The wall painting seemed new, and the room was sparkling clean. Rhys imagines Eliana on the floor, scrubbing hard whenever she is upset. “Here.” She said, calling his attention to the wheel chair beside her. Of all the things in the room, the wheel chair would be the youngest. He grabbed the chair and began wheeling it until he was out of the door. Once he was outside, he stopped and waited for Sophie’s aunt to lock the storage room and join him. Adrian was as light as a feather. It had taken Rhys no strain to lift the man from the bed and transfer him to the chair, which Sophie’s aunt was now wheeling away. He did not see why she needed him. She could leave Adrian if she wanted. A new-born child would we
They sat facing each other. Some had forced smiles on their faces, some had fake smiles, and there were people like Sophie, Rhys, and Raul whose smiles were a mirror of their hearts. They sat on a long bench around a table packed with various assortments of food. Rhys was amazed by the festival and how they celebrated it. Each family brought with them coolers of foods and drinks, and they each laid out one delicacy on the table. And there were more tables than Rhys’ eyes could count. He had been able to count fifteen before he was distracted by a girl who hung from his arm. She appeared to be drunk, but he could not push her away. Sophie gave him the pity look and then returned her attention to Raul, who was explaining something to her animatedly. Music blasted in the background. Just sounds from locally made instruments and the occasional hooting of what Rhys believed to be a madman. Raul called it spirit music, and the hooting man was the most spiritual person they had in town
I’m sorry, man,” he said. “For coming on at you like that before, I just... don’t know. Sophie is going through a lot. You know, you’re her friend.” Raul nodded. “I am. I have been for the past twelve years or so, and one thing I know about Sophie is that you cannot make her confide in you. She prefers to go through her problems on her own, and if you want to be there for her, then you have to respect that and allow her to come to you when she wants to. At her own terms.” The noise from the festival celebration filtered into their ears. Whispering sweet tales of the pleasures they were missing. Raul was tempted to run away from here and into the crowd. He felt his body sway with the rhythm of the spirit music. He nudged Rhys with his elbow and grinned. “Lighten up, man!” He stood up and began dancing. “Its Ne’tib. We are here to celebrate life and love. Dance!” he exclaimed with a twirl of his waist. “Be happy!” Rhys laughed. Raul reminded him of a cartoon character he used to se
Death was something most humans feared. The things that came after, the uncertainty of what was beyond. Anxiety plagued them in their belief that nothing came after this existence. Yet he held onto none of those fears. He did not get the fact that once he was gone from this world, he was gone forever. All he wanted was to be gone. It did not matter what came after. He was tired of the suffering, of the shame, and of the guilt, which slowly and painfully obliterated him. He had begged for death to come faster. To end all these with one single blow to his heart. If he were stronger and his limbs were not so weak that they no longer needed his calls, he would have prayed to death until they arrived at his door. But Eliana was faster. Ahead. It was because he was here, bedridden like this. If not, what was she to him other than an annoying fly that he could easily swat away? She could not have been faster, nor would she have had the thoughts of punishing him or putting those thoughts i
The festival had been a blast. After Sophie joined them, they danced and twirled till their eyes saw double, and they lost control of their bodies. Then they joined the rest of the villagers and continued the celebration till dawn. Rhys was the first to wake up from where they had crashed into the rock. He could not remember what time they had come back here. Memories of the night were foggy and broken, but he remembered the shouting as their bodies rocked each other, the eating, and the clapping. He stumbled to the sea and retched, discharging half of the food he had eaten yesterday into the water. If food would intoxicate someone, then that was what must have happened. Or perhaps it was the drinks. His head throbbed painfully, and he held it in his hands as though that would help him get rid of the headache. He looked around; Raul and Sophie were still asleep; she placed her head on his shoulder; and the clearing in which the festival had taken place was strewn with half-fini
Eliana threw back her head and laughed. There was something about Rhys that reminded her greatly of her youth. when she was young and not so uptight. It made her feel like she could be young and free again. She could throw all caution into the wind and just live, not minding the consequences. Tears had begun to appear in her eyes from all the laughter, and she cleaned them off with a finger. “What did I do?” She echoed his question. “It’s funny. I’m sorry, but it is really funny. For you to think that an old woman like me can do anything.” She smirked and corked her head to the side. “What did you think I did, Rhys?” Rhys stared at the woman long and hard. And she laughed again. He frowned. “Are you drunk? Did you take those pills again?” She narrowed her eyes. “What pills? How do you know about the pills?” He rolled his eyes and got up from his seat. “You took the pills. Get up; I’m taking you to bed.” “No,” she shrieked. “I am going nowhere.” “We have a guest in the ho
Rhys reclined on his foot. He watched the scene unfold with a mixture of guilt to and admiration. He heard her voice as it flew through the air. It was loud and clear. It showed him the ones she ran from, the ones she wanted to forget, and the ones she loved. It was the story that she struggled to tell him, and he understood her perfectly. She wanted the works to be seen, yet they were all ignored. As she sang, something shifted within him. With each verse, her voice grew stronger and more resolute, as if finding its footing on uncertain ground. It soared and dipped, rising like a dove from the pieces of her despair. Then there was a moment of pure clarity. The moment when he realised that her voice was her instrument—the melody and harmony of her soul. This was all she needed. Sophie was not mute; she was not disabled; each note confirmed that. She was strong and powerful, and her voice was the deadliest weapon she had. He smiled as he thought of Eliana. If she ever saw this, sh
Rhys tapped his feet as they waited for the therapist. They had driven a long distance to be here, and Sophie was anxious to go back home before her aunt noticed their absence. The receptionist, whom they had booked their appointment with and had received them as they came, returned with two bottles of chilled water. “Here please.” She smiled nervously, handing them one bottle each. “Vivienne would be here shortly. She doesn’t usually keep her clients waiting, but something came up last minute.” “No, it’s fine,” Rhys began saying, but stopped as Sophie punched his thighs. “Uhh, if there is a way you can let her know we are here and in quite a hurry,” he said instead. The woman took a step back. Rhys had the time to take a good look at her now—he hadn’t before. She looked like she was in her early or mid-thirties, chubby with a chinless face and fat legs that hid inside a pair of flat soles. “Well,” she began. “Ms. Vivienne is aware that you are here, and you do know that your