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Tunnel
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Blinding. That's how Ruth would describe the light at the end of the dark, musty tunnel she was in. Yet, it was at a distance, one that seemed impossible to close.
Looking behind her, the darkness seemed to stretch out. Endless. She got up off the floor, and that's when she felt her bones cry out in pain, her muscles, strain at the movement. Looking down at her body, a gasp tore out of her, at the sight. She was badly bruised, her skin, black and blue, blood, dripping out from some of her injuries. The sight made a sob tear out her chest. In the tunnel, it echoed, back to her. A taunt.
What broke her even further was the state of her white dress. It was ripped beyond repair, hardly covering her up. Dirtied by mud and blood.
She felt utterly disgusted.
Ruth held in her the powerful urge to get out of her skin, yet she knew that was impossible. The blinding light at the end of the tunnel continued to shine.
Yet it was too far. She'd die before she made it. Her bruises and injuries were too gruesome. She fell to the floor and wept, her heart broken beyond repair.
The loneliness surrounded her, like a strong mist, suffocating. Squeezing at her lungs,telling her she wasn't worthy of life, that no one would come to save her.
In the midst of her weeping, enduring the pain, a sound broke through. A man's voice, one she knew well, coming from behind her.
"Ruth, my love," Eglon said, his voice hoarse, like,he'd been crying all night.
" You disgust me, you wayward woman!"
His footsteps got closer, her heart pounded, hard against her chest, as she rose to her feet, despite the pain.
"You don't deserve to live, Ruth."
His footsteps pounded against the floor, faster and harder. Ruth broke out of the crippling fear and the excruciating pain, and she ran.
She ran barefoot, in the dark tunnel, towards the distant, blinding light that promised refuge. A future. A life.
At a point, Eglon was right behind her, cackling at how close she was to death. Desperation, strengthened, what little determination she had left, and she ran faster. Her heart pounded against her chest as fast as her feet that padded against the floor.
Tears poured down her face.
Then, when she was only a breath away from the blinding light, her eyes fluttered shut, and she cried out as she stepped into the warmth.
Suddenly, she came to an abrupt stop, the light that once surrounded, her diminished. And looking down at the end of the tunnel was an abyss. Ruth wept, her breath catching, at the sound of Eglon drawing closer.
She looked behind her, then in front of her, down at the abyss. Terrified.
Jump.
Ruth heard a voice in her heart. It was familiar. Her soul came to life, at the word spoken, yet her doubt and fear held her back, crippling her.
YOU ARE READING
Ruth: Reimagined
Romance"I want you to belong to someone Ruth." Adira said, her voice softer. "I want you to be able to breathe in a world where everything is placed on a woman's chest, on her back and tied to her legs and then she's told to be beautiful, to be good enoug...
