wlw short stories

Love is Political (Part 2)

Rachel Graham has not always been well-read but her want to achieve some greatness lead her to dive deeper into her studies. Ever since she got recognized on making it to the first class honors, her parents have come to expect more from her. Showing off their daughter to the members of the congregation like a prize she was to them.

Her family was religious, she was brought up in a house where prayers are to be said before dinner and before bed, where sunday masses are to be regularly attended, where your actions and your words are scrutinised and where your mind was molded.

She was taught that same-sex relationship is a sin in the face of God. She was told that such relationships was not accepted in that house, watching how her parents silently cursed 'that gay cousin of hers', who's spreading a disease, unnatural to humans and a threat to the natural order of things.

Yet, she suddenly went and made a speech proclaiming that she was to be in a relationship with a woman, and that she had entered it willingly. She who is a woman was now in a relationship with another woman.

"Ahhhhh-, I guess this is okay. I'm away from home anyway", she mumbled, convincing herself that it wasn’t that bad.

She admits though that she was attracted to the girl; her mystery, introversion and intelligence, her bluntness, carelessness and uncaring persona. It was somehow addicting when the girl herself didn't know nor care of these things, her attention focused only towards herself and her thick books.

Meredith was talented, Rachel noticed, she was good with words and writing, in puzzles, good in art, in videography and editing, in photography, she knows how to pluck a guitar, and she's quick to learn. She is a jack of all trades.

It took her weeks to learn all that, stalking Meredith's social media account which was almost empty aside from the educational purposes videos, captured landscapes, and one video of her playing a guitar that dated three years back. And the other knowledge were obtained through Meredith's talks here and there. Rachel was a good listener, taking notes of the few words Meredith had spewn like every letter of it was gold.

They went on dates. They visited each other’s flat and drank a glass of wine on the day Meredith turned eighteen. They walked hand in hand at the park and in cold rainy days, they lay embracing each other looking for comfort. It became a norm for them, to be in each other’s radar that even their mates ventured to mention it in a joking manner.

Rachel would often be strongly opposed and would eventually get annoyed, sometimes even towards Meredith's silence on the matter. Meredith didn't care, it was for them to speculate and she didn't need to confirm nor deny.

It lead to fights, where Meredith would clam up and barricade herself into isolation. Rachel didn't understand that part of Meredith, at some moments she find it hard to and wouldn’t want to know of such behaviour. She didn't know when it started but it came to a point that she was thinking of the teachings she had grown up with, over her own girlfriend's well-being towards her.

There were times that she would get disgusted by Meredith's sweet kisses, soft touches or even her endearing words that comes through her ears as deceitful and unpure. She had struggled through it for quite sometime, putting up a good front for Meredith so she wouldn't notice.

Meredith did notice but couldn't explain what was making Rachel so distant. Ever since she came back after visiting back home, her entire demeanor has changed into something Meredith couldn’t understand. Rachel became less and less around her and was always busy with something about this and that, to meet-up with friends or class officer's obligations. Meredith let her, and distanced herself away from Rachel thinking that maybe, a little time away from each other would do them good.