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.
Rhys honked the car, propelling her out of the memories she had conjured and into reality once more. They were already quite close to the market, but the traffic did not let them move. Sophie pulled out her notepad and wrote on it. “We could just find a place to park and walk to the market. We are already close enough to it.” Rhys nodded and looked behind him at the other cars that went on. How long have they been here, and there are already so many cars behind them? “It looks like we are locked in.” Rhys said, nodding towards the back. “I can’t reverse us without bumping into them.” “And we can’t leave the car here.” Sophie wrote. “I guess Brioche would have to wait.” “Your aunt might get upset.” She shrugged. “We can’t get around the traffic, and we can’t abandon the car here. I knew this much was going to happen.” She looked up to make sure that Rhys was following her hand, and when she was sure he was up to date with her, she wiped it. "Besides, she already prepared enoug
“I’m so happy to see you both again!” Raul beamed. “It's just so bad that whenever you go into that mansion, you barely notice the world outside.” Sophie laughed. “It's not like that.” She signed. “We’ve all been busy.” Raul raised his chin. “With what, mm? You would just leave your friend like that. Not one word from you both,“ he said, turning to glare at Rhys. “I am more upset with you, man. I thought we bonded that day.” He said it, feigning a hurt expression. “We just had so much to do.” Rhys chuckled. “And I know it’s definitely not related to the festival, because the festival is today, and I haven’t laid eyes on you both for weeks.” He picked out some fruits from the table, wrapped them in a paper bag, and handed them to a waiting customer. There was a crowd in his shop, and Sophie wondered how he could attend to them all and still find time to talk to them like this. “I saw your aunt out here the other day.” He said this to Sophie. “She did not look so good. I suppos
“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
Sophie sat in the bridal suite. The full-length mirror reflected an image she barely recognised—an elegant, poised woman clad in a stunning lace wedding gown that hugged her curves and flared out into a beautiful train. The dress, meticulously crafted, seemed to shimmer with each breath she took, and the delicate veil added an ethereal quality to her appearance. Her hands trembled slightly as she adjusted her veil, but a reassuring smile from Vivienne steadied her nerves.Vivienne placed a comforting hand on Sophie’s shoulder, her eyes brimming with pride. “You look absolutely radiant. Today is your day, and you deserve every moment of happiness.”Sophie turned to face her, tears threatening to spill. “I can’t believe this is actually happening. Sometimes, it feels like a dream.”Eliana could not hide the pride she felt or the joy; her eyes were misty with emotion. “You’ve come such a long way, sweetheart. Your strength and resilience have brought you here, and we couldn’t be prouder
Rhys and Sophie stepped out of the building, a sense of accomplishment in the air. Sophie had faced her past head-on, and Rhys couldn’t help but feel proud of her. “You see, it wasn’t that hard, and you handled it quite well,” he said, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze.Sophie glanced back at the building, her heart still racing. “Hey Rhys, would you mind waiting a minute? I need to see my mom before she leaves.”Rhys nodded, his eyes softening. “Of course. Take your time.”Sophie spotted Veronica walking out and hurried towards her, with Rhys following at a slower pace. The sight of her mother, the woman she had yearned to meet since she was a little girl, brought a flood of emotions. Veronica turned at the sound of Sophie’s voice, surprise and hope mingling in her eyes. “Sophie...” she exclaimed softly. For years, it had always been “Mrs. Veronica.” The simple word “mom” now seemed to hold a world of promise.Sophie took a deep breath. “I just wanted to say that I don’t hate you.
Five years later “Come on, Sophie, we’re going to be late.” Rhys called.“Be out there in a minute.” Sophie answered from inside.“Yeah, that’s what you always say." Rhys muttered under his breath; a light shuffle behind him caught his attention.“Sophie,” but he couldn’t get himself to finish the sentence; he wasn’t sure what he wanted to say or what the right words to use should be. You look beautiful, or you look stunning. No, those were not the right words to use.“Rhys, are you alright?” Sophie asked with concern written all over her face.“Yeah, sure, I’m fine,” Rhys stammered. “I just got something in my eyes.”“Let’s get going already; we are going to be late.” Sophie said that and moved away.Rhys sighed and followed her. Adrian died five years ago, and they had moved on. She moved on so smoothly that he wondered if maybe it wasn’t too fast. Still, he did not want to talk to her about it for fear that he was going to upset the balance that she had already found inside her.
“Adrian is dead.” Those three words sent a chill down Sophie’s spine, but they were not what made her pause or caused foreign emotions to creep up her chest, clawing at her heart. It was the look of freedom in her aunt’s eyes. The music in her voice as she announced the death of her husband. The bounce in her step as she approached them, arms wide, and a smile on her teary face. It was the fact that Eliana was happy about this and did not hide it that surprised Sophie. Her aunt’s body collided with hers, and Sophie sank into her embrace. The tears fell from her eyes, but just like her aunt, they were not tears of sorrow or mourning but tears of joy and celebration. For the first time in years, they both felt free, and they wanted the whole world to know. “I am sorry.” Eliana said it over and over again, pulling Sophie deeper into herself. If she could jump and touch the sky, she would. She felt as though she was on top of the world, as though a weight had been lifted off her sh
The meadow was still there when they arrived. Eerily quiet—the only thing that could be heard was the chirping of crickets and the lullabies of the birds. Every other thing stayed still; even the leaves seemed to join in the gloominess that had fallen over Sophie and Rhys. Gently, he set her on the stone beside the water and lowered himself beside her, his hand clasping her small ones. She was far away from here; he could see that. Her mind was elsewhere, perhaps relieving the traumas of the past. She bit her lips every now and then, and a throaty gasp emerged from her pursed mouth. Although her eyes were misty, she did not shed a single tear. He could not tell how long they sat there in the forest, him watching the water while she tried to make sense of her life. But after some time, he began to hear the song again. It was the same bird song that he had heard that night. It filled the night, enveloping all of his senses and shrouding him in a world where only he and her existed.
They had reached a point of no return. The truth had been bared for all to see, and the worst had been found out. Sophie thought of the photo of her mother, which she had always carried around, and the part that was torn off. The father, whom she had always wanted to meet, turned out to be the same man who molested her. She was ashamed, embarrassed, and repulsed by everything. There were no words to describe the things she felt—the thoughts that clouded her head, numbing her entire body and rooting her to the spot. Veronica herself could not believe what she heard. The fact that the first words she heard her daughter speak had to be something so atrocious, so vile. Words like that had no place in the world; they were to be sent to the deepest parts of hell, where every other bad thing was sent. Her eyes turned to her sister, Eliana. Judging her, questioning her—she would face Adrian later, maybe kill him—for now, she needed to understand if her sister did not see the monster they
“I struggled under his grip, all to no avail. When I realised he had already overpowered me, I pleaded with him with all the remaining strength in me, but he was far too consumed. All my pleas fell on deaf ears, and he defiled me brutally, traumatising me ever since.” There was a moment of unsure emotions in that instant. The wall clock chimed the hours of three in the morning, but none of them felt sleepy; this was a time of resolution, a time to settle matters, and no one wanted to be left out of it; this was way beyond one person’s issue now. “He had his way with me, his eyes widening as he reached orgasm. Even after that, he was not done; he went in again and again, turning a deaf ear to my pleas. When he was satisfied, he stood up, adjusting his trousers, while Eliana walked in; the door had been unlocked. “She saw him and instantly ran to where I was crumpled, my body covered in a pool of my own blood. I was crying uncontrollably, regretting why I had come home for the break,
He took a deep breath, his breathing ragged like stones dragging on the jagged side of rocky mountains. He rolled his eyes in his socket, not focusing his gaze on anyone in particular before speaking out. “This isn’t enough punishment for my sins; I’m just hoping that hell wouldn’t be hotter if you just found a way in your heart to let it go.” Sophie and Rhys wondered if it was still the abuse she reported to Veronica that spurred this palpable tension in the air, or had he done something worse than he did to her? Sophie tried to take her mind off it, daring not to even think in that direction. Veronica faced Eliana and said, “Now that we are all here and the eyes are complete, I was regaling Sophie with stories of our childhood, and I was just arriving at the point where Adrian came in. Since you’re here and you’re always accusing me of feeding Sophie false stories, if I say something off-the-point, correct me here and now. And then,” she said, facing Adrian with mocked anger on he
“Despite the football guy being the handsome guy and the nerdy guy being a little below average kind of guy, Eliana was still jealous of our relationship. Her boyfriend was like a guy that was specially carved by God; his features were extraordinary, and his skill set was amazing; he was everything a woman ever wanted. “My guy, Drey, was just the perfect type for me. He was not too nerdy or too naughty; he was just standing somewhere in between, but when talking about looks, he wasn’t really the one, but where he lacks in looks, he makes up for it in brilliance. “Drey, my guy, and Fontaine, Eliana’s guy, were both friends from middle school; they lived in the same neighbourhood and were like impossible twins; but when Eliana’s jealousy started to manifest, she instigated Fontaine to pick fights against Drey. “Fontaine, being gullible, readily believed anything she spewed out of her mouth and acted on it, including picking a fight with his best friend. When I learned what happened,