chapter 3

The house was strangely silent when I got back. It felt a little weird. I tip toed to the kitchen. I thought that’s where she would most likely be. I saw her sitting on a wooden chair beside the kitchen counter. She was hugging her knees, rocking back and forth, a mug of hot chocolate in her hands. She was staring into space, cupping her mug of chocolate tightly as if it was a lifeline. She looks up and saw me standing in the hallway. A single tear escape, she lets it drop.
I put my briefcase down. Striding towards her, my eyes never left hers. If I was worried before, I was frightened now. She looks so fragile, as if a single stroke of wind could shattered her. I gather her in my embrace. She clutches me tightly as if never wanting to let go. She sobs into my chest. I let her cry, stroking her hair, shushing her, trying to calm her down.
Oh God..Oh God..What I wouldn’t give to ease her pain? The hurt was so raw in her eyes that once again I feel helplessly helpless.
“What happened?” I asked after her tears subsided. She shook her head, like a puppy trying to get rid of water.
“I saw him again” she said attempting a weak smile. At first it didn’t register. What was she talking about? I was bewildered. What could possibly happen that would leave her in this state? But then I look down at the woman in my arms, her tiny frame shock with misery, her eyes full of pain and then, understanding downed.
I held her closer, hugging her tightly trying to give her some small comfort that I could, hoping beyond hope that I could take her pain away. But I couldn’t. Deep down I always knew that her wound runs too deep to ever be cured. But she was brave. She shut that part of her life and gets on with her life. For the first few years there’s this haunted look in her eyes; the ghost of her past, the remnant of a shattered dreams. But she ploughs on. Slowly but surely her eyes sparkles again, smiles return to her face. Like a desert in an aftermath of rain-she lives again.
“He’s married now” she said looking straight into my eyes. Her voice was oddly calm. Her beautiful face composed.
“I am sorry. I shouldn’t break down like this” she continues. I just look at her, trying to hide my anger. If only I could get my hands on that wretched man. I squeeze her hand, urging her on.
“I don’t know Arianna was his wife. I went there to her house because she calls in sick today. I was worried that she has been looking pale and drawn for quite sometime.” She sighs. “Arianna introduces us. I was so surprised my mind went blank.”
Her voice grows stronger and the tremor in them were now gone. I was inwardly thankful. She’s going to be okay, she had to be okay. I pray silently.
“So, what now?” I look at her. Fear gripped at my chest. I couldn’t loose her, I just couldn’t. She cringed, shocked at my question. But understanding downed in her wet eyes. She takes my hand into hers and kissed them tenderly, the way only she could.
“He told me he went looking for me. When he said he was sorry, all ‘what should have been’ passes through my eyes. But it was just that- a dream that would never materialized. I wouldn’t, couldn’t “.
At this point she looks up at me, willing me to look at her, to trust her. Deep down, I know I do. This amazing woman in my arms, tears clinging to her lashes like dew, her nose wet and running, her lips swollen and red, her vulnerable body clinging trustingly to me. But her gaze was steady and sure now, speaking words of assurance from its bottomless depth.