CHAPTER 4-
"When death takes my hand, I will hold you with the other and promise to find you in every lifetime."
PRESENT TIME.
MARK stood over the concrete lining of Beth's grave. Carnations, sunflowers, lavender and daisies decorate the headstone, making it look almost too bright to house the deceased, but more fitting for someone like Beth. She had the most beautiful soul. "Elizabeth Yunusa, 1998-2020. The light amidst the darkness", it read.
Mark had read and re-read the epitaph more times than he could count. The first year she died, he had come to her grave almost every day and each day he had felt himself detach a little. Not from her, just from the reality that she was gone. He should've gotten used to it by now, accepted it, but instead he found himself wanting to die. If it meant he would get to see her again, he was willing to take that chance.
He had been willing for the past two years.
Mark set down the flowers he had in his hands amongst the rest. He takes a deep breath. As he looks at the multitude of flowers around the headstone, it almost covered the epitaph. It just showed how much she was loved.
Of course, she was.
But no one loved her like he did.
"I miss you so much." He said into the air. Tears slowly brimming at his eyes but with a sniff, it was almost gone. He wipes his face slowly with his palm to help gain his composure.
A woman approaches the grave next to Beth's, flowers in hand. She drops them at the foot of the cement lining, dabs away at her eyes, whispers a little prayer and sighs. She looks to her right, noticing Mark standing, lost in thought and completely oblivious to the fact that someone stood beside him. She glances at Beth's headstone and she was suddenly filled with curiosity. She tugs at her coat and smiles. She figured, that must have been his wife, or probably someone dear to him.
She musters all her courage, hoping to not let her shyness get the best of her.
"That's a beautiful name." She blurts out.
Mark comes out of his trance. A little phased as he just realized he wasn't alone anymore.
"What?" He asks as he realized he hadn't quite heard what the lady had said.
"Her name." She points with her chin at Beth's headstone. "It's beautiful. Unique". She tucks a lock of her cropped hair behind her ear. "What does it mean?"
"Yunusa?" Mark asks, his eyes meeting the inscribtion of Beth's name.
"Yes. Yuh-noo-sah? She attempted to pronounce it.
"It has multiple meanings." He begins, "The English word for it is 'Jonah' but it also means growth, fertility and the likes." He concluded.
"Amazing." She says.
"Yeah, she was."
She moves her eyes to scan his frame. The first thing she picks up is his height. She guessed he stood at six feet and three inches, maybe four. He had dark brown hair, curtain bangs swooped at the side of his face. He had an oblong face, thick eyebrows and full pouty lips, although today they were more downturned, sad. His figure was hard to decipher as he was draped in a long, black winter coat. She caught a whiff of his scent and he smelt like home, or like the pages of a new book. He smelt like rain.
And rain was her absolute favorite thing.
She found him very attractive and that made her more nervous.
