Eva's Sins.

XLV

„If I have to die, I'll be at least fulfilled, for being killed by the love's venom"

  Beth couldn't get asleep, at all. She was continuously moving in her bed, for about an hour already, but she couldn't find a comfortable position for her, for the emotions of seeing Eva again, took over her completely and were tormenting her. And she felt being again a stranger in that house, even if she lived there for a month already, but this feeling of weird was due to the cold walls, to the silent environment, and to the old lady who had been so kind with her and Stan, but she wasn't her family as she considered Eva being.

  Now instead, with Eva in that house, she felt life again pulsating in her chest. And, she suddenly got out of bed, lighted the candle, and left her room, on her fingertips, being careful to make the less possible noise with the door.

  But she was sneaking around like a cat lurking for sweets for nothing because everybody in that house was already sleeping and the hall was completely empty and badly illuminated, a sign of her being the only awakened ghost walking around.

  And she smiled when she caught that thought, but suddenly she became silent seeing the door of Eva's room, at the end of the corridor. Arriving in front of the door, Beth slowly knocked, but for a few minutes, nobody answered. She decided that probably Eva sleeps and it's better to turn back to her room, but a strange feeling took over her and as if being afraid that Eva escaped again, she half-opened the door and looked through it.

  Eva wasn't asleep. She was standing in front of the closed window, lurking the outside night, with her arms crossed on her chest and completely immersed in thoughts. Because of this, she didn't hear when Beth opened the door. Only when the darkness of the room had been pierced by the light of the small candle, she had turned her head and looked at the door, seeing Beth standing next to it and not knowing if to enter or to go. „Come in, Beth!" Eva said and smiled. „But, turn off the candle. There's not necessary to waste it only to watch the night."

  Beth listened to her, in silence, and blew air over the light of the candle. Then she put the candlestick on the small table next to the door and, with shy steps, she approached Eva and also looked through the window.

  Outside was a black night, with no stars or moon, because even if the storm already passed, the sky was still covered with black clouds, full of heavy rain, still waiting on the sky for a new opportunity to shed tears over the world. But even so, the tree, that was towering in front of the window, could be seen clearly: its thick branches, its even thicker trunk, but what was the most splendid at this tree was the fact that it was slowly moving in the sweet embracement of the wind, but what really was making one to dream was the slow shake of the branches which reminded somehow of a boat rocked by the small waves of a lake when everything around it is sunken in silence and when is heard only the sweet chirp of birds and the deaf hit of shovels, moved by the beloved man that is standing in front of you.

  Actually, Eva lived such an experience. In the past spring, a few days before breaking up with Brian. He invited her to a walk, but she asked him to take her to the lake. She knew that it was only March and that nature wasn't fully alive, but something inside her was telling her to go there, closer to nature.

  „At the lake? In such wheatear?" Brian said, smiling confused.

  „Yes. I think that it'd be a wonderful experience to be closer to nature. Only the two of us," Eva answered and, smiling, grabbed his arm and pulled him after her. „I don't think you will deny me such a pleasure, Mister Beneath. Not after our little bet we had. You ow me a behest."

  Brian smiled again when he remembered about the innocent bet, he had with Eva when the two had been at a horse race he loved to see each time he had the possibility. He wanted then to bet on another horse, but the girl insisted to bet instead on a beautiful grey Arabian mare. „I feel that she'll have today the worth success," Eva insisted when the man looked at her not so confident in that luck. „If she loses, then I'll do whatever you ask me to do," she said, staring into his eyes. „But if she wins, then you'll ow me a command, Mister Beneath and this won't be something you can discuss with me."