Tears | [BoyxBoy] | English

33

We were not allowed to see Shanalka's body because the coroner said his body was too mutilated to see. However, after his death, many people who studied with us at school came to the house where we lived to express their grief. While I was too shocked to talk to anyone, Yeheni took control of everything.

Sameera and others came to our house when Yeheni and I were cleaning the house. When the four of them arrived and got out of the vehicle, Yeheni gave me a weary look and put the broom aside.

'Hi...' Sameera placed a black bag in her hand on the table.

Yeheni took the piece of cloth in my hand and went to the kitchen. Sajini, who followed Sameera, put her hand on my shoulder and squeezed it gently.

'Without him...' She tried to say anything but Dilum patted Sajini on the back and signaled her to be quiet.

Yeheni came from the kitchen to the living room and looked at the guests with her mouth closed. 'What do you guys prefer? Tea? Coffee?'

Sajini looked at Yeheni with pitying eyes. Yeheni gripped the door edge and watched the guests. 'Shall I make tea?'

Yeheni disappeared back into the kitchen as I nodded my approval. Sameera sighed.

'Sandaruwani Akka said that Shanalka's nangi didn't even cry. I didn't believe it. But now I have to believe.'

'Miniru... take good care of her. Yeheni will do something like Mehansa...'

'Mehansa?' I stuttered and asked how they knew about Mehansa.

No one said anything and I let the silence embrace us. Yeheni didn't say anything until the four people who came to the house left, with eyes full of exhaustion.

Even the fact that she was not crying scared me. As usual, from getting up in the morning and cooking to closing the doors at night, she did not utter a word or complaint and spent her time chatting well with the people who came to the house. I couldn't even tell if she was grieving or trying to hide it because she was so strong.

The house without Shanalka felt like a haunted bungalow to me. I could not bear the emptiness that pervaded the house. I didn't want to lose my mind like the day Mehansa left me and I wanted to bear Shanalka leaving me. Even lying on the bed without him made me very nervous. The case related to his death was decided to be postponed but it was a matter of comfort that all those involved were taken into custody. I had a feeling that when Shanalka's trial came, Mehansa's case would come to the fore again as both the father and his boyfriend were in police custody. But once again I did not have the fear that this case will be buried like Mehansa's case.

Meanwhile, Yeheni changed. After people stopped coming to the house, Yeheni became rude. Her graceful manners had left her and she ruled the house with strict manners. Once again everything began to change four months after Shanalka's death.

Yeheni was out for a supermarket and I was out for Dad's business. As there was nothing to do that afternoon, I took my leave and came home before evening. As soon as I entered the house, Yeheni also entered the house through the door. Taking some of the bags in her hands, I took them without saying anything and placed them on a chair. I tried to turn to the other side but Yeheni grabbed my hand and stopped me.

Making me surprised, she threw her arms around my neck and kissed my lips as I gave her a questioning look. I could tell by her eyes that she was not conscious, but I did not try to stop her. Her grip tightened around my neck and pressed my body against the kitchen wall. Her lips weren't as full as Shanalka's, but like him, her kisses left a strange feeling in my stomach. I wrapped my arms around her waist, holding her tighter against my body.

Yeheni kissed me till my last breath and kept her head touching the kitchen wall looking at me. Her eyes suddenly closed and I felt her entire body collapse on top of mine.

'nangi...' I lifted her face and patted her shoulder.

She didn't even open her eyes. I could feel her body temperature dropping and she was getting cold and I was suddenly scared. Fearing that I might lose Yeheni like Shanalka and Mehansa, I took her in my arms and rushed to the hospital in the car. Even when she was admitted to the emergency department of the hospital, she had not regained consciousness.

'Patient Yeheni?' Almost two hours after she was hospitalized, a doctor came and called out her name.

I quickly got up and walked over to him. 'Yes, doctor?'

The doctor smiled with a relieved look. 'Congratulations Mr. Gamage. Your wife is pregnant.'

'What?' I asked.

'don't be scared. Both mother and the baby are safe. She fainted due to lack of oxygen to the brain.' The doctor said simply and shook my hand to wish me well.

I bit my bottom lip while thinking about whether or not to tell the doctor that Yeheni was not my wife. What scared me, even more, was Yeheni's age.

She just turned twenty-one a few months ago. I also doubted whether she was strong enough to hold a child in her womb.

'Can I see her?' I asked nervously.

'Yes. Come in.'

Following the doctor, I entered a room with a single bed. Yeheni was lying on the bed and a saline tube was attached to her arm. As soon as I entered the room, she opened her eyes and looked at me. I sat down on the bench next to her without saying anything.

'Nangi...'

She closed her eyes. 'Am I pregnant?' she asked in a tired voice.

I sighed. 'Yes.'

'What did I do wrong? All this to happen at once?' She asked again, ignoring me.

'Yeheni...'

'Hmm?'

'Does it hurt?'

'not at all.'

'Hungry?' After a moment I asked again, hoping to break the silence.

'no.'

I squeezed my thighs with my hands and looked at her. I could tell at a glance that her face was drawn from exhaustion. I looked at her for another moment and then stood up from the chair.

'Shall I go and get something to eat?'

I waited for about a minute when she didn't answer and then I left there and came to the courtyard of the hospital.

I didn't want to leave her alone. I also didn't want to let her feel alone. I thought about her again and again and decided to do something for her.

'I'm going to marry her.' I muttered to myself without thinking twice.

______

TEARS

2022. 08. 05