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Love
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One year later...
The first time Ruth laid eyes on her baby boy, the universe stilled. Within the tent, where she experienced excruciating pain, still exhausted, her heartbeat picked up to an exhilarating rhythm, and the pain numbed.
She barely registered the tight grip Naomi had held on her hand through each searing contraction. She did not hear the soft murmurs of Hannah and Keziah, the midwives who had guided so many women of Bethlehem through childbirth. At this moment, Ruth existed only in the presence of the tiny life she had brought forth.
A kaleidoscope of emotions welled up in her soul. “Is this, is this really happening?”
The baby's eyelids fluttered open, revealing eyes like pools of warm hazel—his father’s strength, his mother’s gentleness. His nose mirrored Boaz’s, his skin a golden hue kissed by the promise of dawn.
Tears blurred Ruth’s vision. A single drop slipped down her cheek and landed on her son’s soft skin. In that instant, as if recognizing her, his delicate fingers curled around her own. A tired laugh, broken yet whole, spilled from her lips.
"Oh Yahweh," she whispered, " has the barren woman truly given birth?"
“Yes, my daughter,” Naomi murmured, eyes glistening. “Yes. You have.”
Lifting her eyes, Ruth's gaze met with Naomi's warm, loving affection, the pain and shame of barrenness— losing its hold over her. Staring at Naomi's eyes that were once dulled by grief and witnessing a spark. It was all she needed to confirm, that they were beholding, and encountering some sort of heaven on earth.
And then, the world tilted. Darkness swallowed the edges of her vision.
“Ruth!” Naomi cried, shaking her gently.
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“Sir Boaz!”
Boaz straightened, sweat dripping down his brow as he placed a heavy stone into the well he was building. Squinting against the afternoon sun, he saw a man running toward him, arms flailing.
“Sir Boaz!” The voice grew closer, breathless with urgency.
Boaz stepped forward, heart pounding. As Judah stumbled before him, panting, Boaz’s brows lifted in shock.
“Judah,” Boaz exhaled, gripping the older man’s shoulders, “you’re speaking!”
Judah, once voiceless, once silenced by unseen wounds, was speaking. But there was no time to dwell on the miracle of it.
“Ruth,” Judah gasped between ragged breaths. “Ruth has given birth.”
Boaz did not wait for another word. He ran.
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“Ruth,” Naomi shook her, gently awake, worry hidden in her eyes, as Keziah and Hannah stepped forward.
“Not to worry, Naomi.” Keziah said, taking the baby in her arms. “This is normal. She will be okay.”
Hannah checked her pulse, nodded at it, and took care of Ruth. There was one other maiden who got rid of the sheets covered in blood and water.
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...
