Eliana’s eyes turned dark, and he immediately saw that he had made a mistake. She shook her head as though to dispel the thoughts that had begun to rise within her and faced him again. “Veronica, as I said, is like the rest of us. I have done many bad things myself, things I am not proud of. There are worse things than abandoning a child, and I’m sure that if I were in her shoes, I would have done far worse than that.” Eliana continued. “Veronica did not care about pleasing people, but she did care about pleasing me. After all, I was her little sister, and I may have given her no choice. I may have pushed her away.” He has read it now. Perhaps he heard it. The things she would not say. Things she could not bring herself to talk about. Not with him. Not yet. But he did not fully grasp it. It was hard washing a stain off a once white cloth; it never came off completely. “When she got pregnant with Sophie, I...” Her voice cracked, and her face slipped. This was the first time she
All the things we did not think of My feet were dry against the smooth sand, and it stuck between my toes. I wiggled them out and returned to the forest road. Aunt was sleeping inside, and darkness had fully enveloped the forest. It has been four hours since I saw Uncle in the forest, and since then, nothing has happened. I had sneaked out again—past my aunt’s ‘nit-tight’ security—and now I was at the mouth of the forest, staring at the blackness that covered it. Bypassing my aunt’s security had been quite easy. I knew my aunt well and thought she was sad now; she still followed the routine she had created and slept before the clock ticked eleven. I had waited patiently, and once I saw that sleep had finally succeeded in drawing her into its embrace and her head had stopped its occasional nodding, I stood up and ran into her room. I collected blankets and pillows and made her as comfortable as possible. If she was comfortable, she would not wake up, and if she did not wake up,
After crying for what seemed like hours, I sat upright and looked around. Whoever dragged me through the tunnel was gone or well hidden in the darkness. I could not see past where I sat. I stood to my feet then and cast a glance around the room or wherever it was I was. I saw nothing but pitch black. My head throbbed, and my stomach tumbled. I was going to throw up. I was scared, and I was going to throw up. There was nothing I could lay my eyes on, which gave me any idea of where I was. The floor was mere dust and stones, and the walls were too smooth and too hard. Unlike anything I had touched before. I traced the wall around, but I had not found anything that felt like a door. What was this place? Was this how I died? I sank to the floor, put my head between my legs, and began to cry. Auntie had tried to warn me, but I had not listened. What would she do if she woke up to find that I was missing? She would know that I had defiled her, and she would be very upset. I looked u
Sophie just spoke. It was one word, but it was everything to him and to her. Her voice had been low, tired, patchy, and the last thing he expected. It was one word more than what he expected—more than what anyone expected. Eliana looked at Sophie as she slept soundly on the bed, and then up at Rhys. Her forehead creased. “Did you say she woke up just now?” she asked again, just to be sure. Youths these days liked to play ‘pranks’ although Rhys did not appear to her to be someone who liked to have a good laugh at the detriment of others. Still, what he said was just ridiculous. “And she spoke?” As she said it out loud now, it sounded even more ridiculous. Sophie could not speak. She has not said anything for the past twelve years. “Yes.” Rhys answered. “But...“ he trailed off. He looked unsure as his eyes strayed back to her face. Eliana was sure he was mistaken. “But what? Rhys?” She pressed. He shook his head. “She is asleep now. She said ‘help’ and her head just rolled ba
Rhys gazed at her, and in his head he saw her mouth move and that one word filter out. “Did you see any dreams while you slept? Sophie shook her head. “I don’t really remember.” She wrote. “It is quite foggy, but I think I was in a forest and I saw a woman. I can’t really remember. Why do you ask?” Rhys stood on the bed and faced her so she could see him fully. He had returned the notebook back into his pockets, but he left his hand buried there. “Because you spoke, Sophie.” He enunciated. “Although it was just one word, you woke up screaming and struggling with nothing, and when I rush to you, you just say, ‘Help’.” He ran his fingers through his uncombed hair and turned around. “I swear . I am not making this up. Your aunt thinks I’m nuts, probably, and you. He turned around to face her again as her soft hand grabbed him. She stood on the bed and planted a small kiss on his lips. “I believe you.” She wrote. “But unfortunately, I don’t remember. I do remember waking up the fi
Rhys retired to his room, but he did not sleep. He couldn’t. All the years he had been with Sophie—from friends to employee and boss, to colleagues, to partners, and to whatever the situation it was that they were now—this was the first time they argued. He sighed deeply and kept his ears open to listen for anything that told him she had returned to her room. He hoped she would. She could not go wandering into the forest again at this hour. Although that place brought a sudden calmness to his soul and body, it also eked him out sometimes. This room, this house, and this mansion felt like prison, but he felt safer in the confines of prison. He pulled out the book—Sophie's—from his pocket. He would listen for her while he read. At most, reading would keep the sleep away while he waited, and he would learn something new. Probably. He flipped the pages of the book until he was at the last page, where he stopped and began reading: The doctors have finally broken the news to us. I mig
Sophie settled into bed. Rhys was not here when she arrived a few minutes ago. There was no one here. Was that why everything looked so bare? So unrecognizable? She knew the moment her hand went up against Rhys that she had made a big mistake. Everything in her screamed at her to walk to his room and apologized for what she did, and she was going to, just because her legs were refusing to listen. Her heart hammered against the walls of her chest, and the walk that she had fled to had not helped in calming her heartbeat. Not even a little. They had never argued. This was a first. She thought now that most of their first together happened here. It was here that they first recognised the tendrils of love—or was it lust—that had wrapped themselves around them. It was here that they shared their first kiss and gave into hunger that began to gnaw at them; it was here that she had that passionate, raw sex that was the highlight of all her dreams, and now it was here that they first foug
The long-awaited Ne’tib finally arrived. Sophie glanced at her reflection in the mirror and dabbed on the makeup she had applied to her face. She looked from this side to that side and then sighed. “You look beautiful.” Rhys said it from behind her. “A lot of men would dot on you today. And a lot of girls would wish they were you.” Sophie rolled her eyes. “I’m serious. But even if all the other girls became you, I would only choose you.“ He stepped closer and wrapped his arm around her. Sophie threw her head back and sighed again. They had evolved, she and Rhys, in the past five days after their fight. It seemed as though they were closer. More peace. She fished around in her bag, brought out a wet wipe, and began wiping the makeup off. Rhys stared at her in astonishment. “I seriously don’t understand your women. You spent so much time and so many hours on that face, and you will just wipe it all off without even showing it off? Then why did you put it on?” Sophie grunted.