The light vanished, or at least the faint glimmer he believed her once-tearful eyes held had faded into darkness. Those eyes, now shadowed, locked onto him.
The ensuing silence felt frigid, as if he stood on the precipice of another world, one entirely crafted by her emotions. He could sense her anger and pain, yet the person before him seemed unrecognizable.Then, a subtle shift occurred, her tense muscles eased.
"You don't know what you're saying," she scoffed. You have absolutely no idea of what you're saying.
"Maybe," A distant look crossed his face. Maybe. But, maybe someone out there would give anything to be in your shoes right now."
She was probably still standing there for the sake of the help he had rendered with her wound. But whatever he wanted to say, whatever message he had to pass across, he knew he had to do it fast. He whispered to the Holy Spirit for help and continued.
Listen, Kore, I may not fully grasp your pain, the abandonment by your blood parents, left to the mercy of a cruel world. But you've overlooked something I've been telling you."
"You probably do not have the slightest idea how it feels like to be the only surviving person in your lineage. I'm not only an orphan Kore, I'm the only one left. No uncles, no aunties, no distant relatives. I'm the only one left. And when I think of it, it's very lonely."
"Now, I'm here at your house, your 'family house." He raised his hands in the air to form air quotes.
"....for holidays and I'm like.... Wow! She's so lucky, she never has to worry about being lonely. I mean, your compound never seems to not teem with them. Except times like now, bedtime."I envy you for that Kore. You and Paul and Martha.
"Perhaps you're unaware that many of them haven't fully accepted me into the family, even after all these years," she finally spoke, her tone still cold.
"But, how about your focus be, like I'm sure you've been doing all these years, on the people, the family members that actually do."
"Look, Lawrence, I feel your pain but, I don't think you'll ever understand."
"That ?"
"What else do you want to hear ?" She snapped. "Those people are evil."
He stopped. A comfortable silence replaced the previous tension.
"Okay," he exhaled. "Okay, can we have a seat first ? My legs are killing me."
"Seriously ?" She deadpanned.
"Yeah ?"
**********
"Okay, so, 'evil,' that's a strong word.
She huffed.
"I heard it all but, I probably didn't get the full story. There's more to this than meets the eye."
She said nothing still.
"Just don't feed on the hurt too much or you'll get hardened and become evil too."
She turned to look at him then, her gaze swift and intent.
"What ? It's true."
She withdrew her gaze wordlessly, fixing it on the cemented ground. She appeared lost in thought, her emotions inscrutable.
"And don't misunderstand me, I'm not implying you'll become evil...""It's fine; I understand," she replied, her tone almost irritated.
A sigh filled the ensuing silence, the evening breeze offering a fleeting comfort before turning cold. She refrained from wrapping her arms around herself, knowing it wouldn't help.
Slowly and wordlessly withdrew her gaze and let it rest on the cemented ground. She seemed to be thinking but, for the moment, she seemed unreadable.
"And don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to imply that you'll become evil...."
"It's okay I get it," she finally replied almost sounding irritated.
"You know, I'm still getting to know Kore but, from the little I know, I think she's really sweet and very kind." He turned to her with a faint smile. "Don't you think ?"
She only rolled her eyes.
"I got to see another side of her, but, it's cool."
She suddenly stood up and Cody followed suit.
"I'll be on my way to bed now," she said and began her journey from the roof. Two sets of eyes followed her as she limped away. His and Cody's.
"Oh and Kore."
She stopped in her tracks, heaving an exasperated sigh. "What ?"
"Yeah, one more thing," he remained on his seat.
"Um, don't change. Please ? For the sake of your health, for the sake of the people who love you, and more importantly for the sake of Christ who died and forgave us and still forgives us even after many errors we've done, please, don't change," he finished.
"Goodnight."
He wasn't hoping for a reply and, to his disappointment, he got none. He could only hope she would heed all he had said.
He followed after her some minutes later, tired Cody by his side until only the silent sky remained as a silent witness.
He only hoped she would listen.
YOU ARE READING
A CAST OF PAIN (Closed For Editing)
General Fiction25 years go down the drain when series of dreams, supposedly forgotten parts of her life, memories spring up. They're painful but by implication, consequential. What does she do with the memories that seem to cause so much pain . Jojo, a happy go...
