Cooking had always been one of Naomi's favorite things to do. Her cooking area was the only place where she could truly forget all about her troubles—at least for a while. There, she was the boss. The food had no choice but to succumb to her will.

    She measured a bowl full of grain—enough grain for that day and the next, which was the Sabbath. The sacred day of rest. Like most Israelites, the Sabbath was Naomi's favorite day. It afforded her the opportunity to transit smoothly into a new week. It was the day she dropped all the stress of the previous week and gathered up enough energy to get her through the next.

    Truth was, Naomi needed as much energy as she could get. Especially mental strength.

   Just the other day, she went to the city well to fetch water, and heard some women gossiping none-too-quietly about her.

    They criticized her decision to bring Ruth home with her and claimed that the deaths of her husband and sons must've been a result of some horrible sin she had committed.

    The group of gossips mostly compromised of people Naomi didn't care for, but that didn't lessen the sting of their words. It took all the strength she could muster not to break down in front of them. She walked back home as fast as she could while carrying a full water pot.

    That memory kindled anger inside her, and she took her anger out on the barley, crushing it into powdered form with the stone grinder.

    She was almost done crushing the last batch of barley when she heard a quiet voice call her name.

    At the sound of that voice, her breath hitched, and she her heart fluttered. She recounted many nights she spent wishing to hear that voice and the wise advice that usually came with it.

    It was a voice she grew up hearing. A voice belonging to someone with whom she had laughed with, cried with, and shared her deepest secrets.

    Naomi couldn't turn fast enough.

    She whipped around to find the owner of the voice and stood frozen when she did.

    Had it really been twelve years since she last saw Leesa? Twelve long, hard, miserable years.

    She looked from Leesa to the woman standing beside her. Another one of her closest friends, Abbey.

    She remembered helping Abbey when she became a destitute widow. She recalled bitter words Abbey had uttered, and empty words of comfort she had whispered to her, truly wishing she could console her friend.

    She smiled sadly. Now, she understood those tears she wiped from Abbey's face, and could very well relate to her. Hadn't she herself uttered some of those bitter words?

    "Naomi," Leesa called again with a voice choked full of emotion.

    Naomi let out a small cry, and within seconds, they closed the distance between them and wrapped her in a hug that made all those years apart disappear. Everything else might've changed, but their friendship remained.

   Just when she thought she had been abandoned, Naomi found that she had really just learnt the meaning of true friendship. Her other 'friends' had only been fair-weather friends only there when things were good.

    Naomi let out another cry of mixed emotions, expressing joy, regret and everything in between. After crying herself to sleep the previous night, she had been convinced that she'd run out of tears, however, the moisture on her face proved otherwise.

    "They've all left me. Elimelech, Mahlon, and Chillion. All of them!" She sobbed. "What hope has a childless widow in this world?"

    "What happened to you, Naomi?"

    Somehow, she managed to narrate the episodes of her life that they missed without breaking down completely.

    Being the expert on the matter, Abbey was the one to give consoling words. "I'm not going to tell you 'there's a reason for everything' or any thing like that..."

    Naomi was glad. She had said those words to many, including Abbey, but after being on the receiving end, she realized that those were exactly the words she didn't want to hear.

"...but what I will tell you is that it does get better. Don't give up hope. Life is still worth living."

    Naomi nodded, grateful. Leesa used her thumbs to wipe away Naomi's running tears.

♣♧♣♧♣

    Ruth was ambushed on her way to Boaz' field. Her attacker grabbed a handful of her dark locks and forced her to look up at him.

    "How dare you come to this land! Moabites are not welcome here."

    The man added his second hand to her throat. Ruth clawed at his hand and struggled to release herself from his grip. "I can't breathe!"

    "Good! Your breath pollutes this land. My father was killed by one of you Moabite dogs! You all deserve no mercy." Ruth gasped for air, and the hand on her neck tightened.

    Her eyes slid shut, and she was on the verge of unconsciousness.  This was not the way she wanted to leave the world. She sent a silent plea to her maker for help.

    How would Naomi cope without her? Her death might just be the last straw needed to finally drive Naomi into the open arms of depression.

    Before she could fully black out, she heard a familiar voice commanding her attacker to stop what he was doing. He let go of her and fled.

    She stumbled backward, but was caught in a Boaz' arms. She opened her eyes and stared up into his kind eyes. For a brief moment, he stared back into hers.

    Boaz caught himself before he could do or say something stupid. His servants were watching from the spot he left the horse, and he didn't want gossip going round about him and Ruth.

    "Are you hurt?"

    She shook her head no. He made sure she could stand on her own.

    "Come. I'll take you home."

    "No! I'm not hurt. I'd rather glean."

    He studied her well to make sure she truly wasn't hurt, then led her to his horse.