Her

The heel of her boots hit the bitumen pavement as she ran straight to the graveyard where she needed to see her beloved mother.

Her heart is beating frantically and her face is buzzing pink. Cold air cuts through her delicate skin and there is turmoil inside her, troubling her whole being.

She pants for the air, reaching the entrance. A stoned woman that stands on the side of the path gives her support as she puts her palm there, her eyes searching for the people clothed in black; funeral attire.

She finds none and that leaves her restless. She goes inside, urgent steps hitting the soil and trampling the grass under her black boots. Her muffler isn't in its right place anymore, hanging by her shoulder but she has no attention to pay for anything.

Before her eyes, the fog doesn't let her see afar. There are huge trees around her, roots dangling from above as most of them are banyan. There is no sound of birds on the trees but ravens have their dwellings on the branches.

She passes many graves and buried personalities. Flowers had grown around the hard stones and mud had covered some nameplates. It is like nobody comes to the place anymore after they have buried their loved ones.

At a little distance, a group of people dressed in black clothes meet her eyes. She hurriedly goes to them, pushing people aside as they stand in the way.

Her heart pounds inside her chest as her gaze lands upon a casket and she strides to it. She has lost any record of words and her hands tremble out of anticipation.

She grabs an arm, pushing away the man who held the casket to put it inside the pit that they had dug.

"Ma..." Her throat contracts and her knees give up. She falls before the casket, eyes flooding with tears as they don't hold back anymore. She palms her mouth, crying bitterly and regretting over her fate and mistakes.

The fact that her mother is no more and she wasn't even informed about it until it was the day of her funeral is killing her soul. A deep impact it has on her. Her soul has fainted inside the shell and her heart shriveled. It hurts so bad like bleeding unstoppably and Evalena owns no strength to fight this agony but it attacks her constantly. This is the biggest regret of her life.

It was only her brother who let her know about this all. He only said a few words when she answered his call, "Mama is no more." Like he has been holding his anger because Evalena never answered the calls from home. The reason behind his resentment was that Evalena was called urgently to meet Gabriella—her mother, because she was on her deathbed but Evalena was careless enough to ignore them. Gabriella's illness was sucking her soul out of her system and the doctors answered that she won't be able to make it up. But Evalena, blinded by her stubbornness and grievances that she held with her parents, never even realized the true state of her mother.

The father and the son, both were disappointed with Evalena but Dean, being a responsible man and a brother, let her know in a few words. Now it depended on Evalena if she would come to her mother's funeral or remain disappointed even with a dead person.

Evalena, shaken by the news, had to catch an urgent flight and come straight to the graveyard because nobody was waiting for her in their house.

This usually happens when you break the hearts of your loved ones.

All the while Gabriella longed to see Evalena but she never even let her hear her voice. Gabriella loved her immensely and the teen had no idea of it. How cruel anger, disappointment, and unforgiveness are, ask Evalena, who could not even see her mother for the last time because of them.

Finally, Gabriella dies with a wish unfulfilled, and Abel, her husband, holds their daughter accused of the death of his wife. He believed that maybe Evalena's presence could save Gabriella by giving her a reason to live, because more than her husband, Gabriella loved her kids. But one of the same kids forgot her efforts and sat upset till her death.

Evalena regrets so much, crying at the grave of her mother. She begs to see her mother. She wishes the days to come back so she can correct her mistakes.

Dean wipes away his tears and goes to his sister. He crouches beside her, putting a hand on her shoulder, and says, "Lena, let them bury her."

"Dean, I'm sorry! Please, I want to—want to see her!" She cries, turning to him, expecting mercy.

His heart melts, seeing the face of his sister that is stained with tears now. Her eyes are red, holding regret and pain. But before he can make a request, Abel, their father interrupts him, asking the men to continue the task. He still is upset with his daughter and Evalena can see it.

"What—no! Please," she hastily grabs Dean's arm to get his attention. "Brother, please, I wanna see her," she begs, knowing very well that her father won't listen to her but her brother surely.

"And who are you to make a request?" Abel interrupts, standing beside Dean and glaring down at his daughter.

She swallows, tears streaming down her cheeks. She knows he is upset with her but she knows no way to correct her mistakes. What's been done, is done, after all. But the regret kills her. Only if she would have listened to them and come back to meet her mother.

"You're no one here. I don't know you. Get out of my sight before I make you!" He roars in front of everyone, not caring even a bit of what others would think of them, or her.

Well, she is a careless child in their eyes already. What more judgment can she earn?

She trembles in fear, lowering her gaze to the soil that is wet due to the mist under her feet, and now her tears. They fall upon the pressed grass and her heart clenches inside. She has lost her mother; the woman who loved her the most after God Himself.

All that happened in the past starts to come before the darkness before her eyes and she is a crying mess beside Adam on her knees, begging for forgiveness to the Lord for her mischiefs and naive decisions.

She wishes she could change everything but time is under the control of God only.

Adam watches her silently, caressing her back. He listened to everything she was mumbling in her prayer. It happened all of a sudden while they were praying and he did not wish to hold her back from crying her heart out. In his eyes, maybe she was torturing herself with these miserable memories.

"I've made a huge mistake! Oh, why did I do that? Why did I?" She clutches her chest as a great agony makes it hurt so badly. Her limbs tremble and her chin wobbles. "I was careless! Naive and stupid! Oh, why did I do that?"

The fear of losing loved ones has always scared her afterward. Her father abandoned her. Her brother was kept away from her on her father's watch. She had no one after that who could love her immensely.

Tragedies in life should take us closer to God to seek comfort but mostly they, holding grievances, do not go to God to seek comfort but accuse Him of the mistakes they have made. They accuse Him for the pain they have invited into their lives because even though He is the creator, a mighty God, He is also an easy target to accuse Him for every bad thing that's been happening in the lives of humans.

Even then He listens to us.

Evalena was one of them. Always. She had borne a lot of pain in her life but this all made her turn her back to God. She never wanted to go to Him and seek comfort but always remembered Him when it was a wish to make.

How selfish, right?

We all treat the Lord this way and always cry.

Now, when she has another person in her life so close to her, she is afraid to lose him, too, because of her mistakes. Also, mistakes just happen in ignorance. What's done in a sense is not a mistake in the end. But to Evalena, her mistakes are a huge monster in her life, like the Charybdis of deep waters.

Facing Nicole scared her somewhere in her heart. God gave her courage but like a typical human, she was easily troubled by even a single change in her life which was not pleasant.

God said that troubles would come but have faith and stand firm, He will save you. Storms would surround you but you would have godly peace within you that will help you stand still and watch Him doing miracles in your life.

But we get afraid of a guest of wind!

After what happened in the hospital, she was greatly distressed, thinking that Adam, too, might leave her along with Barak.

But while they were praying, she felt this touch to spill out her deepest fear before the Lord and she said everything while begging and weeping.

Adam listened to her but never interrupted. He heard her crying, sitting beside her but never attempted to stop her because he knew she needed to let go of the troubling ache in her chest. It was like a thorn that needed to be taken out and finally, the heaviness on her chest was lifted.

In the midst of heavy silence, he hears her inhaling and exhaling deeply. She sits, without speaking a word, and then finally, lifts her gaze to him.

"How are you feeling now?" He asks her softly, bringing his palms to wipe her tears.

Evalena does not answer. She looks into his eyes, finding concern that speaks so soundly that it cannot escape her watery eyes. She could catch the hint openly that now Adam was letting her read him quite easily or else once she prayed in her heart to be able to read his eyes.

She mumbles, "I'm fine." Her voice was low and weary.

He hums, caressing the area under her eyes tenderly. Her eyes fall shut at his warm touch and all of a sudden, he pulls her in his arms, hugging her. She was taken aback but let her limbs be comfortable in his muscular arms. His body feels hot and his heart is beating softly inside his chest. She hears the beats, closing her eyes.

"Don't be afraid, okay?" He says, kissing the crown of her head. "Just know that I won't leave you. And if you doubt me, then trust the Lord Almighty; He won't let me go away from you."

How solemnly he has spoken, she knows the depth of it. But the choice of his words made her smile. Still keeping him close to herself, she looks up at him. Her chin rests on his chest and she says, "Then may the Lord bind you to me till we're breathing. May I be a good wife and be with you like a crown on your head."

Adam smiles, unable to contain it. The curve of his lips is peaceful. Their noses almost touch because of the proximity. He tilts his head and cups her cheek, keeping one arm around her small waist.

"Surely it's in your favor because this is the will of the Lord Almighty. You are to me a crown on my head, inlaid with rubies. May I be a good husband to you, too, fulfilling the commandment of my Lord and never be weary of it."

"You are, my husband, a good man. The man Apostle Peter and Paul talk about."

"And you are, to me, the woman of Psalms, written by the psalmist David. Let the Lord receive all the praises and my gratitude be mentioned before Him, for you're such a blessing, which was bestowed upon me."

Her eyes lower and her lips stretch into a shy smile. Her cheeks are red and her breathing soft, hitting his t-shirt. She has a husband who has a way with words. Do not blame her if she is left blushing because of his words.

She releases his torso and slowly gets up, stepping aside from the laid mattress

A chuckle escapes him. "Speechless, wifey?" He teases, following her. They fold the mattress and arrange the Holy Bible in its right place.

The endearment 'wifey' he used fuels the fire set on her cheeks. She bites her bottom lip, walking out of the room while Adam follows behind.

"No. I just want to sleep," she makes an excuse while the reason he gave is indeed true.

He hums, a smirk forming on his lips. He catches his place beside sleeping Barak and watches her praying over him. After that, she turns the lamp off and sits beside Barak, leaning against the headboard, a sigh escaping her lips.

"Not sleepy now?" He reminds her and she denies it with a shake of her head. He smiles, knowing that she lied. But he doesn't comment.

"Dad booked us tickets. We're leaving tomorrow. Get ready by the morning. I'll help you pack the stuff."

"Are we gonna celebrate Christmas there?"

"Yes."

She grins wide. "My goodness, you don't know how happy I am to know this! I wanted to see Mom," she exclaims, keeping her voice low because of Barak.

He smiles, looking at her through the dim glow of the lamp by his side. Her smile is pretty and her eyes twinkle when she smiles.

Adam leans closer, saying, "You're even more beautiful when you smile." He cannot help but say this. No longer he can keep the secrets in his heart. He wants to take the curtain off now.

Once again she is shy, like a ripe tomato. "You make me smile," she says in a slow whisper, tilting her head.

"I'm glad to know," he whispers back, rubbing the back of her palm. His thumb grazes the wedding band on her finger and he is so in love with the truth that she is his wife.

The smile does not leave her face. She beholds him and so he does. However, the emotions contrast. While she is grateful to have him in her life, he is getting overwhelmed by her beauty, her smile, her simplicity, this silence, and perhaps everything that is pushing him towards her.

Like a magnet, she pulls him towards herself. The warmth seeping through their skin feels pleasant. Their breaths mingle and his eyes fall upon her lips. How drunk yet gentle he looks, along with being this attractive and sensually soft, he makes butterflies dance in her stomach and adrenaline rush through her system.

She follows his gaze and asks, "What are you thinking?"

"How sweet would be the touch of your lips?" He answers another question in a question, gently caressing the back of her palm. His touch melts her as well as turns her hotter due to shyness.

She raises her gaze from their hands to his face. So he does the same moment and their eyes collide.

Dark and hazy, pupils dilated. A few locks kissing his eyebrows and inky eyelashes framing those beautiful eyes—she is speechless just by the look in them. How handsome the man is, she praises in her heart but words do not come to her tongue.

Getting drunk on his intoxicated eyes, she mumbles like a victim of hypnotism, "Why don't you have a taste then?"

And that's it.

He holds the side of her neck and gets closer to let their lips touch and then melt at the lovely collision. 

❥⁠˙⁠๑

We don't want Barak to wake up at this time now!

Anyway, I hope you liked the chapter. Thanks for reading, guys :)
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