Ruth: Reimagined

Fine

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Fine
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The sun blazed high in the sky, its golden rays warming the land of Moab, but Mahlon  shivered as if a cold wind had swept through the fields.

It was harvest time! And it was plentiful, to the point where men called out to other men for help. Chemosh bless us all! —the people throughout Moab said to one another.

Mahlon  paused, leaning heavily on his scythe, his breath coming in shallow gasps. Sweat clung to his brow, and he wiped it away with a trembling hand.

“Are you well, Achi?” called Chillion, narrowing his eyes at him from across the field.

Mahlon forced a smile. “Just the heat,” he muttered, though his voice wavered. "And it's been a while since I've done any field work."

Chillion chuckled. "You've been locked up in that woodshop of yours for years. It's good you're out here, feel the sun on your skin, and land underneath your feet."

"Yes, yes, Achi." Mahlon nodded, wiping the sweat off his brow.

"Besides, my sister in law is too kind to say this to your face, but I must speak for her at times. You've gained quite a lot of weight lately. It's frightening her."

Mahlon chuckled, a real laugh. "Oh really," he raised his brow. "I didn't know my wife was so concerned."

Chillion smiled, taking Mahlon in. It had been a while since they worked alongside each other. Although he helped his older brother in the woodshop, as the years passed, he focused more on trade

Observing him, it was quite the opposite, Mahlon had lost a significant amount of weight.

"It's funny because Orpah also came to me with her concerns."

Chillion's eyes danced with amusement.  "Oh really?"

" I was quite shocked, actually, but at the same time, it was expected.  She told me there are these songs you sing to her, at night, sometimes–lullabies, love songs—"

Chillion flushed red.

It started three years ago. Naomi, Mahlon, and Ruth were woken up in the middle of the night by the sound of singing. 

Terrible singing.

The lyrics were all wrong. Some words that were sung were slurred through because it was the moabite tongue, and Chillion still found some things hard to pronounce. As well as the singing was the sound of clear laughter coming from Orpah.

The next morning, as everyone ate breakfast together, Ruth, Naomi, and Mahlon were a giggling mess. Mahlon teased his brother, who had no idea what was funny, while Oprah raised her brow in question, staring at Ruth.

"Let's leave it," Naomi had said, calming herself. "Shall we have breakfast."

For the next three weeks, Chillion's love songs to Orpah still rang out in the middle of the night, her laughter echoing after him.

The clueless couple left Naomi smiling, in bed, her mind flickering to tender, goofy memories she shared with Elimelek. Ruth, while laughing, stared at Mahlon one time, stating,  "You never sing songs to me."

It wasn't long before the couple found out that everyone in the house could hear them.

"How stupid can you be, Chillion? Of course we could hear you. Your voice has been said to make mountains shake—I don't mean it as a compliment."

"Oh, don't be embarrassed, Orpah," Naomi had cooed when Oprah had covered her face with her  hands because there were nights where she joined in.

"It was quite lovely and romantic," Naomi continued, smiling.